Lead finding from medicinal plants with hepatoprotective potentials.

BACKGROUND: Several lead compounds have been developed from natural resources as hepatoprotective. The hepatotoxic nature of the drugs, industrial toxins and drug-induced hepatotoxicity has been recognized as the major problem associated with liver diseases. Natural products including herbs have great potential in treating liver disorders. OBJECTIVE: Botanicals have been used traditionally by herbalists and indigenous healers worldwide for several years for the prevention and treatment of liver disease and clinical research in this century has confirmed the efficacy of several plants in the treatment of liver disease. Many herbs used in several systems of alternative medicines have a long history of traditional use in revitalizing the liver and treating liver dysfunction and disease. Many of these herbs have been evaluated in clinical studies and are now being investigated phytochemically to understand their actions in a better way. CONCLUSION: An attempt has been made through this article to review the most potential medicinal plants with pharmacologically established hepatoprotective activity. Further, this article highlights their phytochemical profile and finds the effective leads from natural resources for the desired therapeutic benefit.