Hepatoprotection and hepatotoxicity of Chinese herb Rhubarb (Dahuang): How to properly control the “General (Jiang Jun)” in Chinese medical herb

• Main Authors: Tongxi Zhuang, Xinyi Gu, Nian Zhou, Lili Ding, Li Yang, Mingmei Zhou
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2020-07-01
• Series: Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy
• Subjects: Rhubarb; Hepatoprotection; Hepatotoxicity; Mechanisms; Guidance
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0753332220304169

Chinese herb Rhubarb (Dahuang), one of the most widely used traditional Chinese medicine in clinical application for over a thousand years and known as the “General (Jiang Jun)” in Chinese medical herb, currently used clinically for long-term treatment of gastrointestinal diseases and chronic liver diseases. Through previous researches, it has been identified that Rhubarb possessed a good hepatoprotective effect, which primarily protected liver from oxidation, fibrosis and cirrhosis, liver failure, hepatocellular carcinoma and various types of hepatitis. Meanwhile, it has been recently reported that long-term administration of Rhubarb preparation may undertake the risk of liver damage, which has aroused worldwide doubts about the safety of Rhubarb. Therefore, how to correctly understand the ''two-way'' effect of Rhubarb on liver protection and liver toxicity provides a basis for scientific evaluation of Rhubarb's efficacy on liver and side effects, as well as guiding clinical rational drug use. In this review, the mechanisms of Rhubarb how to play a role in hepatoprotection and why it causes hepatotoxic potential will be elaborated in detail and critically. In addition, some positive clinical guidances are also advised on how to reduce its hepatotoxicity in medical treatment.