Medicinal & Aromatic Plants
Open Access

Abstract

Mechanisms of Action of Herbal Cholagogues

Nikolay A. Spiridonov

Plant secondary metabolic compounds with the cholagogue mode of action are important therapeutic agents for the treatment of cholestasis and hepatobiliary disorders. Herbal cholagogues target different components of the complex bile production and secretion system, and exert their action via diverse routes, such as cholecystokinin-dependent and independent gallbladder contraction, up-regulation of the bile acid synthesis, stimulation of the bile salt export pump, multidrug resistance protein transporter system, and osmotic bile flow.