Am J Pharmacol | Volume 1, Issue 1 | Review Article | Open Access
Kavita Gulati*, Mohd Rafi Reshi, Nishant Rai and Arunabha Ray
Department of Pharmacology, Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, India
*Correspondance to: Kavita Gulati
Fulltext PDFThe liver is a crucial organ for maintenance of gastrointestinal homeostasis and body function in general. In addition to its role in the digestive process, it also serves as a source of nutrients and detoxifier of unwanted substances. Hence, its optimal functioning is crucial for health and disease. An imbalance between aggressive and protective forces results in damage to the liver and complex mechanism are involved in such hepatotoxicity induced by a variety of environmental and chemical agents. It is thus important to understand the mechansims of hepatotoxicity for devising pharmacological strategies for their prevention. Inflammation, immunomodulation and oxidative stress are amongst the common biological mechanisms contributing to compromised liver function. A variety of drugs and chemicals are used to experimentally induce liver damage, which are assessed in the laboratory by physiological, biochemical and pathological biomarkers. Potential hepatoprotective agents are screened for efficacy and safety by observing their effects on these preclinical models, and their utility in clinical conditions are predicted. Several agents are reported to protect the liver from toxic insults and both synthetic and natural products are known to produce ameliorative effects both prophylactic and therapeutic. Medicinal plants are important alternative/ complimentary sources for potential hepatoprotective agents, and their efficacy and safety have been documented in both experimental and clinical studies. The present overview summarizes some of the basic concepts involved in hepatotoxicity, their preclinical evaluation methods and some relevant herbal hepatoprotective strategies.
Gulati K, Reshi MR, Rai N, Ray A. Hepatotoxicity: Its Mechanisms, Experimental Evaluation and Protective Strategies. Am J Pharmacol. 2018;1(1):1004.