Hepatitis C - Epidemiology and Review of Complementary/Alternative Medicine Treatments

The hepatic damage is due both to the cytopathic effect of the virus and the inflammatory changes secondary to immune activation. The use of the botanical components glycyrrhizin, catechin, silymarin and phytosterols, and the antioxidants N-acetylcysteine and vitamin E are reviewed for their efficacy in treating chronic hepatitis and affecting liver damage.