Hepatoprotective Activity: A Review

Abstract

The liver is a significant and essential organ in the human body, responsible for extensive metabolism and excretion. It plays a crucial role in maintaining, optimising, and regulating the body's homeostasis. It plays a crucial role in nearly all metabolic processes related to development, immune response, nutrition absorption, energy production, and reproduction. The primary roles of the liver include the metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, detoxification, bile secretion, and vitamin storage. Therefore, ensuring the proper functioning of the liver is an essential determinant of one's overall health and well-being. However, prolonged and diverse exposure to environmental toxins, such as CCl4, drug abuse, alcohol consumption, infections, and autoimmune disorders, along with the use of prescribed antibiotics, chemotherapeutic agents, and over-the-counter drugs, can ultimately result in different liver conditions, including hepatitis, cirrhosis, and alcoholic liver disease. Hepatoprotective medications can effectively treat these diseases. Over the past years, researchers have built both in vitro and in vivo liver models to explore the effects of hepatoprotective drugs. This system assesses the efficacy of test medications in preventing or treating liver injury caused by different hepatotoxins in laboratory animals