Interactions between Transporters and Herbal Medicines/Drugs: A Focus on Hepatoprotective Compounds

Many herbal medicines and drugs are available in the clinic as potent hepatoprotective agents for the treatment of commonly occurring liver diseases. Recently, herbal medicines such as silymarin and curcumin have gained more attention and popularity for the treatment of various liver diseases because of their safety and efficacy profiles. Some of them are related to transporters for drug disposition processes, therapeutic efficacy and/or adverse drug reactions. Currently, herbal medicines and diet supplements made from natural products are widely used in patients who are being treated with conventional prescription medicines, which are related to an increasing risk of herbal-drug interactions (HDIs) and/or drug–drug interactions (DDIs). The purpose of present review is to summarize the contemporary knowledge of transporter-mediated HDIs or DDIs for herbal medicines/drugs focusing on hepatoprotective compounds. Several herbal medicines/drugs are discussed in detail in this review.