Treatment of Hepatitis C

The present invention provides a method of treating or preventing hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in a subject, the method comprising administering to the subject in need thereof a therapeutically effective amount of a composition comprising one or more antiviral active herbal extracts derived from herbs selected from the group consisting of Vaccaria segetalis, Albizia julibrissin, Areca catechu and Ficus pumila Linn. The present invention further includes methods of treating or preventing HCV infection in a subject, wherein the aforementioned herbs are administered in combination with herbal extracts of Rheum palmatum L. and/or Polygala tenuifolia or a direct acting antiviral agent. The present invention also includes methods for preparing these extracts and methods for evaluating their efficacy in treating HCV.