Inclusion Criteria:

- Chronic hepatitis C diagnosis, with abnormal liver function tests, positive serology
for Hepatitis C antibody, positive viremia as indicated by PCR techniques.

- Age 18 or over

- There must be no plans to use interferon in the following 12 months due to EITHER: a
specific contraindication to interferon therapy, including but not limited to:history
of depression, or other psychiatric disease, history of autoimmune disease,psoriasis,
rheumatoid arthritis, history of renal dysfunction, thyroid abnormalities, seizure
disorder, depressed blood cell counts, history of asthma OR patient discontinuation
of interferon-based therapy prematurely due to intolerable side effects with
sustained active viremia OR patient refusal to take interferon

- Patients must be able to understand and sign informed consent.

- Female participants must agree to practice approved methods of birth control (if
applicable).

Exclusion Criteria:

- Coinfection with hepatitis B as defined by a positive Hepatitis B surface antigen
(HBsAg) test.

- Coinfection with HIV

- Patients with alcohol intake >40g day

- Patients with recent myocardial infarction or heart failure.

- Concurrent use of Sho-saiko-to, or any of its constituent plants.

- Concurrent use of interferon containing products.

- Use of interferon-based treatment within the past 6 months.

- Women who are pregnant, nursing, or have the potential to becoming pregnant, unless
utilizing birth control. A negative pregnancy test must be documented during the
screening period for women of childbearing potential.

- History of malignancy, unless there is currently no evidence of disease and patient
completed all surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy for that disease a minimum of
two years previously

- Concurrent life-threatening illness, for which the prognosis is poor.

- Patients with diffusing capacity on pulmonary testing less than 50% of predicted will
be excluded.

- Patients with diffusing capacity on pulmonary testing less than 70% of predicted AND
total lung capacity less than 80% of predicted will be excluded.