Herbal Medicine and Its Bioactive Compounds for Treatment of Hepatitis B

Abstract

Hepatitis B is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV) which is one of the most serious public health problems in the world. Some common approved drugs bring about dose-dependent adverse effects or drug resistance. Therefore, safe and useful new HBV therapeutics are essential. Medicinal plants have particular benefits to treat HBV-infected patients. Traditional medicines have many bioactive compounds that are effective as antiviral candidates including esculetin, helioxanthin, oxymatrine, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, wogonin, alkaloids, polysaccharides, etc. In this chapter, the authors summarize the pathogenesis and protein targets for the treatment of hepatitis B disease. They also indicate several medicinal plants and isolated compounds which are used for preventing and reduce symptoms of this disease.