Herbs for hepatitis C patients

Some patients with hepatitis C infection who do not respond to interferon therapy, may respond to treatment herbal mixture of extracts of mistletoe and green tomato, according to recent research.Researchers form the Charite University of Berlin, assessed the results in 79 hepatitis C patients who were treated with the herbal mixture. The patients had either failed to respond to interferon therapy or had a specific reason why they couldn't receive such therapy. After receiving the mixture for 2 years, 44 percent of patients had a complete response, 28 percent had a partial response, and 28 percent had no response. About 60 percent of patients had reactions at the injection site, but otherwise adverse events were mild and uncommon. The researchers explained that the mistletoe extract activates certain immune cells that trigger an attack on the hepatitis C virus. Moreover, green tomato extract helps the liver clear infected cells, and another ingredient helps the liver to regenerate. Mistletoe is used in the treatment of about 60 percent of cancer patients in Germany, so its safety profile is well established.

However, the herbs are not recommend as a first-line treatment, since interferon is associated with a better response rate and requires only one year of treatment. A better understanding of these herbs needs to be developed, and mistletoe itself may be dangerous for patients with severe liver disease. Therefore, more research is needed in this area to confirm the results.

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