A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF UNANI FORMULATIONS FOR POTENTIAL IN TREATMENT OF HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) represents the third most common cause of death in the world. It is resistant to most chemotherapeutics and associated with a poor prognosis. Unani system of medicine offers effective treatment for various chronic liver diseases. These treatments have shown reversal of inflammation and fibrosis in various clinical conditions. In the present study, we have reviewed Unani formulations to identify plant drugs that are valuable for the development of novel and effective drugs in management of HCC. Method: PubMed and Google Scholar were searched using mesh terms ‘hepatocellular carcinoma’; ‘liver diseases’ ‘name of individual Unani formulation and plant drug’. The outcome of interest included formulations used for liver diseases; phytochemical and pharmacological information of individual plant drugs. The additional information sources were the National Formulary of Unani Medicine and Unani Pharmacopoeia of India (Formulation). The outcome of interest was the composition and applications of formulations prescribed for liver diseases. Result: Total of 710 unique formulations were searched, out of which 59 formulations having hepato-protective, hepatotonic, deobstruents, and astringent activity was selected for the present study. They were reviewed for individual ingredients. About 16 plant drugs among these were repeated in more than 7 formulations, each having a specific role in treatment options. They were further searched using PubMed and Google Scholar for phytochemical content and pharmacological activity and were found to have a high potential for use in HCC. Conclusion: The exhaustive review of 59 Unani formulations used for the treatment of liver dysfunctions identified about 16 traditionally proven plant drugs for exploration in the treatment of HCC.