Alternative Therapies for Hepatitis

Therapy	Best Evidence *	Probably Useful †	Least Evidence ‡
Herbals	Milk thistle (hepatitis, cirrhosis), 70–140 mg t.i.d.	Artichoke; Astragalus membranaceus caraway; glycyrrhizin, licorice root 100 mg/day, 1 g root t.i.d., higher doses affect electrolytes, BP; goldenseal 500 mg t.i.d., use with caution; lemon balm; raspberry tea; turmeric, 250–500 mg b.i.d.	Oregon grape, yellow dock, wormwood; evening primrose oil (alcoholic liver disease); Sho-Saiko-to (TJ-9); Compound 861; Phyllanthus amafus .
Diet and Nutrition/Lifestyle			Proteolytic enzymes; vitamin A up to 25,000 IU/day; vitamin C 500 mg t.i.d.; vitamin E 100 IU t.i.d.; zinc 20 mg/day.
Mind-Body Interventions	Psychotherapy.
Alternative Systems of Care		Ayurveda.

^*Therapies with the highest degree of scientific support for efficacy and safety.
^†Therapies that are often helpful but that do not have the highest degree of supporting evidence for efficacy and safety.
^‡Therapies that may be useful but that have limited scientific evidence for efficacy and safety.
SOURCE: Sierpina, VS: Integrative Health Care: Complementary and Alternative Therapies for the Whole Person, F.A. Davis, Philadelphia, 2000.