Abstract

Excessive alcohol consumption over time is one of the primary causes of liver disease and death globally. Because there is no effective treatment, the situation has become more complicated, and the emphasis has shifted to the use of alternative and complementary medicine to treat liver problems. Herbs with dietary use have played an important part in the treatment of liver diseases since antiquity. Amla or Indian gooseberry, scientifically known as Phyllanthus emblica or Emblica officinalis, is a fruiting plant of the Phyllanthaceae family that is used in a variety of traditional and folk medical systems. The fruits have both dietary and medicinal value and are used to prevent chemical-induced hepatocarcinogenesis and reduce experimentally induced hyperlipidemia and metabolic syndrome in laboratory animals. They also have hepatoprotective effects against a variety of hepatotoxins such as heavy metals, iron overload, ochratoxins, hexachlorocyclohexane, carbon tetrachloride, therapeutic drugs such as paracetamol, and antitubercular. Amla fruits and phytochemicals such as quercetin, gallic acid, ellagic acid, and kaempferol are known to reduce ethanol-induced liver damage, and mechanistic studies have shown that the beneficial effects of these phytochemicals are mediated in part by free radical scavenging, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory effects. This review examines the positive effects of amla fruit and its phytochemicals for the first time, as well as the mechanisms underlying the protective effects.

Keywords: Indian gooseberry, alcohol, hepatotoxicity, Phyllanthus emblica, Emblica officinalis, hyperlipidemia.