NCCAM Clinical Digest
National Institutes of Health • National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
The NCCAM Clinical Digest is a monthly e-newsletter that summarizes the state of the science on complementary health practices and a health condition (diabetes, cancer, sleep disorders, etc.)—clinical guidelines, literature searches, research highlights, and information for patients.
In each issue, you'll find evidence-based information for several complementary health practices used for the highlighted condition.
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Hepatitis C and Dietary Supplements
Centers for Disease Control
Hepatitis C, a contagious liver disease, is caused by the hepatitis C virus. People can get hepatitis C through contact with blood from a person who is already infected or, less commonly, through having sex with an infected person. The infection usually becomes chronic. Chronic hepatitis C often is treated with drugs that can eliminate the virus. This may slow or stop liver damage, but the drugs may cause side effects, and for some people, treatment is ineffective.
Some people with hepatitis C also try complementary health approaches, especially dietary supplements. Several herbal supplements have been studied for hepatitis C, and substantial numbers of people with hepatitis C have tried herbal supplements. For example, a survey of 1,145 participants in the HALT-C (Hepatitis C Antiviral Long-Term Treatment Against Cirrhosis) trial, a study supported by NIH, found that 23 percent of the participants were using herbal products. Although participants reported using many different herbal products, silymarin (milk thistle) was by far the most common. However, no dietary supplement has been shown to be effective for hepatitis C.
This issue provides information on what the science says about the safety and effectiveness of milk thistle and some of the other dietary supplements studied for hepatitis C.
