Role of Antioxidants in Hepatoprotection: Current Insights and Future Directions

The benefits of using medicinal plants that are hepatoprotective in nature are valuable to doctors and researchers alike. The most significant reason that makes herbal products a popular option is their lower cost than pharmaceuticals, as well as their relatively fewer potential side effects and greater overall safety profile; thus, many patients prefer to use them versus pharmaceuticals. In this paper, we will focus on the phytochemical composition of the selected herbs, as well as their pharmacological activity and the outcomes of clinical studies pertinent to those herbs: Glycyrrhiza glabra, Phyllanthus amarus Schumach. & Thonn., Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge., Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bunge, Capparis spinosa (L.), Cichorium intybus (L.), Solanum nigrum (L.), Sapindus mukorossi Gaertn., Ginkgo biloba (L.), Woodfordia fruticosa (L.) Kurz, Vitex trifolia (L.) and Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill., Litsea coreana (H. Lev.), Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels, Lycium barbarum, and Cuscuta chinensis (Lam.). Several functions are carried out by the liver, one of them being: the performing, maintaining homeostasis, the providing of nutrients and energy supplys and also being used as the source of growth and metabolism regulation within the body. Approximately 10% of all deaths recorded in the United States can be contributed to drug-induced liver injury. Conclusively, if one uses the criteria above to identify drug-induced hepatotoxicity, approved medications can be identified as having contributed to over one-half (50%) of the>1,000 cases of severe hepatic impairment in the ALFSG cohort of patients admitted to 17 different sites in the U.S. In addition, the liver is capable of activating or inactivating through a chemical process, exogenous and endogenous xenobiotics (foreign chemicals added to body) due to its defence mechanisms, resulting in a state of dysfunction (chronic liver disease) at the anatomical and/or functional level and thus resulting in pathophysiological changes leading to hepatotoxicty. Liver disease is a global health issue, as the liver is the main tissue responsible for detoxifying agents and maintaining normal metabolic functions. Additionally, the liver metabolises compounds that can lead to the generation of free radicals (FR) within the liver. Antioxidants help to destroy FR and thus allow the liver to maintain its oxidative and antioxidative balance; when the balance becomes disrupted.