Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2016:2016:4305074.
doi: 10.1155/2016/4305074. Epub 2016 Mar 21.

Substitutes for Bear Bile for the Treatment of Liver Diseases: Research Progress and Future Perspective

Sha Li  1 , Hor Yue Tan  1 , Ning Wang  1 , Ming Hong  1 , Lei Li  1 , Fan Cheung  1 , Yibin Feng  1
Affiliations
Review

Substitutes for Bear Bile for the Treatment of Liver Diseases: Research Progress and Future Perspective

Sha Li et al. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2016.

Abstract

Bear bile has been a well-known Chinese medicine for thousands of years. Because of the endangered species protection, the concept on substitutes for bear bile was proposed decades ago. Based on their chemical composition and pharmacologic actions, artificial bear bile, bile from other animals, synthetic compounds, and medicinal plants may be the promising candidates to replace bear bile for the similar therapeutic purpose. Accumulating research evidence has indicated that these potential substitutes for bear bile have displayed the same therapeutic effects as bear bile. However, stopping the use of bear bile is a challenging task. In this review, we extensively searched PubMed and CNKI for literatures, focusing on comparative studies between bear bile and its substitutes for the treatment of liver diseases. Recent research progress in potential substitutes for bear bile in the last decade is summarized, and a strategy for the use of substitutes for bear bile is discussed carefully.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The chemical structure of bile acids in bear bile.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Zhang Y. J., Yuan S. G., Ruan S. B., Hong Z. F. Review on Chinese pharmacology and clinical application of bear bile. Journal of Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. 2010;12(17):107–108.
    1. Chen Y.-H., Xue H.-W., Zhou C.-F. Research of rare animal medicine bear gall. Chinese Journal of New Drugs. 2012;21(9):952–968.
    1. Still J. Use of animal products in traditional Chinese medicine: environmental impact and health hazards. Complementary Therapies in Medicine. 2003;11(2):118–122. doi: 10.1016/s0965-2299(03)00055-4. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Feng Y., Siu K., Wang N., et al. Bear bile: dilemma of traditional medicinal use and animal protection. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 2009;5(2):1–9. doi: 10.1186/1746-4269-5-2. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Zhou C.-F., Gao G.-J., Liu Y. Advances in studies on bear bile powder. China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica. 2015;40(7):1252–1258. - PubMed