The Sunlight Experiment

Herbal Actions

Hepatic

Acts on and supports the liver

Acts on and supports the liver — the body's main organ of detoxification and a hub of digestion and metabolism. Filter to hepatoprotectives, cholagogues and choleretics; some bile-stimulating herbs are best avoided with gallstones or bile-duct obstruction.

How it works

Hepatic is not one mechanism but several overlapping ones. Each of these is its own herbal action — follow a link for the herbs strongest in that mechanism.

Hepatoprotective Protects liver cells from damage. Cholagogue Stimulates the gallbladder to release stored bile; best avoided with gallstones or bile-duct obstruction. Choleretic Stimulates the liver to produce more bile, supporting fat digestion and elimination.

Herbs with a hepatic action (36)

Key herbs

Herbs for which hepatic is a headline action.

Chanca Piedra

Phyllanthus niruri

DiureticHepaticAntiviralAntioxidant

Dandelion

Taraxacum officinale

BitterCholagogueCholereticDiuretic

Erva Tostao

Boerhavia diffusa

DiureticHepaticAnti-inflammatoryAntispasmodic

Milk Thistle

Silybum marianum

HepatoprotectiveAntioxidantCholereticCholagogue

Schisandra

Schisandra chinensis

HepatoprotectiveAntioxidantAdaptogenNervine
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Abuta

Cissampelos pareira

AnalgesicAnti-AbortiveAntifertilityAntibacterial

Andrographis

Andrographis paniculata

BitterImmunomodulatorAnti-inflammatoryAntimicrobial

Astragalus

Astragalus membranaceus

AdaptogenAntioxidantAntiviralCardiotonic

Burdock

Arctium lappa

AlterativeBitterDiureticLymphatic

Calendula

Calendula officinalis

VulneraryAnti-inflammatoryLymphaticStyptic

Catnip

Nepeta cataria

SedativeCarminativeDiaphoreticNervine

Chanca Piedra

Phyllanthus niruri

DiureticHepaticAntiviralAntioxidant

Chrysanthemum

Chrysanthemum morifolium

Anti-inflammatoryAntipyreticNervineAntioxidant

Coffee

Coffea arabica

AntioxidantBronchodilatorCardiotonicDiuretic

Dan Shen

Salvia miltiorrhiza

CardioprotectiveAntihypertensiveAntiplateletHepatoprotective

Dandelion

Taraxacum officinale

BitterCholagogueCholereticDiuretic

Erva Tostao

Boerhavia diffusa

DiureticHepaticAnti-inflammatoryAntispasmodic

German Chamomile

Matricaria chamomilla

Anti-inflammatoryAntispasmodicAntiallergicAntibacterial

Gotu Kola

Centella asiatica

NervineNeuroprotectiveNootropicVulnerary

Lion's Mane

Hericium erinaceus

NervineAntioxidantImmunomodulatorAntibacterial

Milk Thistle

Silybum marianum

HepatoprotectiveAntioxidantCholereticCholagogue

Peppermint

Mentha × piperita

AntiemeticAntitussiveAntimicrobialAntispasmodic

Reishi

Ganoderma lucidum

AdaptogenImmunomodulatorAnalgesicAntispasmodic

Schisandra

Schisandra chinensis

HepatoprotectiveAntioxidantAdaptogenNervine

Suma

Pfaffia paniculata

AdaptogenAnticancerAntidiabeticChemoprotective

Turmeric

Curcuma longa

Anti-inflammatoryAntioxidantCholereticCholagogue

Yarrow

Achillea millefolium

BitterAntioxidantEmmenagogueDiaphoretic