Chapter Seven Antiinflammatory and Hepatoprotective Medicinal Herbs as Potential Substitutes for Bear Bile

Publication date: 2017 Source:International Review of Neurobiology, Volume 135 Author(s): Sandra Appiah, Mike Revitt, Huw Jones, Milan Vu, Monique Simmonds, Celia Bell Practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) commonly prescribe medicinal formulations relying on the purported synergism of a combination of plant species, sometimes incorporating animal parts and minerals. Bear bile, obtained from either wild or farmed bears, is a commonly used constituent of traditional medicine formulations. With several bear species now listed under Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora as threatened with extinction and with bear farming being actively campaigned against on ethical grounds, it is important to seek and promote alternatives to the use of bear bile as medicine. This chapter describes and evaluates the scientific data relating to the efficacy of bear bile and potential alternatives to its use, including the use of bile from other animal species, the use of synthetic chemical alternatives, and the use of herbal substitutes. Scientific studies have confirmed the efficacy of bear bile as an antiinflammatory and a hepatoprotective agent. Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), the active component of bear bile is used in a synthetic form in Western medicine and can serve as an alternative to bear bile in the treatment and management of certain cholestatic liver conditions. In TCM practice, bile from domesticated animal species (such as...
Source: International Review of Neurobiology - Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research