Cautiously using natural medicine to treat liver problems

Table 1 Information about typical natural herbal formula "Sho-saiko-to" for treatment of liver diseases

Natural medicine	Ref.	Literature type	Effects and mechanisms/possible mechanisms	Adverse reactions
Sho-saiko-to	Shimizu[4], 2000	Review	Preventive and therapeutic effects on experimental hepatic fibrosis; inhibition of oxidative stress in hepatocytes and hepatic stellate cells	Not mentioned
	Yamashiki et al[5], 1992	Article	Efficacious against chronic liver diseases, malignant diseases and acute infectious diseases	Not mentioned
	Yamashiki et al[6], 1999	Article	Suppressing liver cancer development; increasing interleukin-12 production and macrobiotic activity	Not mentioned
			in liver cirrhosis patients
	Lee et al[15], 2011	Review	1 Protecting against development of hepatocellular carcinoma in cirrhotic patients	Interstitial pneumonia and acute respiratory failure
			2 Reducing hepatocyte necrosis and enhancing liver function
			3 Inhibiting hepatic fibrosis by reducing activation of stellate cells
			4 Inhibiting hepatic lipid peroxidation, promoting matrix degradation, and suppressing extracellular matrix accumulation