Heart, Liver and Metabolic Herbs
The Herbs (24)
Japanese Knotweed
Invasive East Asian plant, Hu Zhang in Chinese medicine, whose roots are the main source of resveratrol, studied for heart and blood-vessel health.
Read the deep dive →Chanca Piedra
Known as the stone breaker, this Amazonian herb is studied mainly for kidney stones, with further research on hepatitis B and blood sugar.
Read the deep dive →Milk Thistle
A thistle whose seeds yield silymarin, the most studied liver-protective herb, used for fatty liver disease, hepatitis support and gallbladder health.
Read the deep dive →Berberine
Yellow alkaloid from barberry and goldthread roots, best studied for blood sugar and cholesterol, with trials comparing it head to head with metformin.
Read the deep dive →Gymnema
Called the sugar destroyer in Hindi, this Indian vine blocks sweet taste and is studied for lowering blood sugar in type 2 diabetes.
Read the deep dive →Mulberry Leaf
The leaf that feeds silkworms, a Chinese medicine herb whose DNJ compound can blunt post-meal blood-sugar spikes when taken with carbohydrate food.
Read the deep dive →Horsetail
Ancient spore-bearing living fossil rich in silica, traditionally used as a gentle diuretic and as a tonic for bones, hair, skin and nails.
Read the deep dive →Senna
Dried leaves and pods of a legume shrub, a well-proven stimulant laxative for occasional constipation that is meant for short-term use only.
Read the deep dive →Hawthorn
Thorny rose-family tree whose leaves, flowers and berries are best studied for mild chronic heart failure, with supporting research on blood pressure.
Read the deep dive →Javanese Turmeric
Bitter orange rhizome from Java and the backbone of Indonesian jamu, studied for liver support and digestion, mostly in animal and laboratory work.
Read the deep dive →Bitter Melon
Warty, intensely bitter gourd eaten as food and medicine across Asia and the Caribbean, studied for modest reductions in blood sugar.
Read the deep dive →Nhan Tran
Aromatic Vietnamese herb brewed as an everyday cooling tea for jaundice and sluggish digestion, though human trials of it are essentially missing.
Read the deep dive →Costus
Spiral-stemmed ginger look-alike from India and Southeast Asia used in Ayurveda and jamu, whose blood-sugar claims rest mostly on animal work.
Read the deep dive →Cleavers
Clingy spring weed of Western folk herbalism, traditionally used as a gentle cleansing tonic, mild diuretic and skin wash, though evidence is thin.
Read the deep dive →Cats Whiskers
Southeast Asian mint-family shrub drunk as Java tea for kidney stones and gout; its European licence reflects traditional use, not trial evidence.
Read the deep dive →Dandelion
The familiar lion's-tooth weed, whose bitter root and potassium-rich leaves are traditionally used for the liver, bile flow, digestion and as a diuretic.
Read the deep dive →Hibiscus
Tart crimson tea brewed from dried roselle calyces, enjoyed across the world and studied for a modest but genuine lowering of blood pressure.
Read the deep dive →Coleus Forskohlii
Indian mint-family root yielding forskolin, studied for weight loss, glaucoma and asthma; it lowers blood pressure and can increase bleeding risk.
Read the deep dive →Elephantopus
Rough-leaved Asian roadside weed used for fever and liver complaints; its cancer research is laboratory and animal only, and it can trigger skin allergy.
Read the deep dive →Uva Ursi
Bearberry, a trailing evergreen whose arbutin-rich leaves are a traditional remedy for urinary complaints, with a strict short-term-only safety limit.
Read the deep dive →Marsh Barbel
Spiny Indian wetland plant whose seeds are an Ayurvedic remedy for urinary complaints and jaundice, though human clinical evidence is essentially absent.
Read the deep dive →Garcinia Cambogia
Sour Malabar tamarind rind used in South Indian curries and sold for weight loss, despite thin evidence and rare reports of serious liver injury.
Read the deep dive →Horse Chestnut
Seed extract studied for chronic venous insufficiency and leg swelling, while the raw seeds, bark and leaves of the same tree are poisonous.
Read the deep dive →Bupleurum
Chai Hu, a core root of Chinese and Japanese formulas for liver and mood, studied mostly in formulas and linked to rare lung reactions.
Read the deep dive →Herbs used for the liver, the kidneys and urinary tract, blood sugar and blood lipids. This is the group where a herb is most likely to interact with a prescription doing the same job, which is why each page addresses that directly.
A herb is filed here by what it is traditionally used for, not by a claim that it works. Each herb page states its own evidence tier, its documented harms and its drug interactions — read those before the category name.