Hepatoprotection Explained

Hepatoprotection or antihepatotoxicity is the ability of a chemical substance to prevent damage to the liver. This is opposite to hepatotoxicity.

Hepatoprotective molecules used in emergency medicine

• Acetylcysteine is considered the hepatoprotective drug of choice when treating an overdose of acetaminophen/paracetamol.^[1]
• Silymarin is given intravenously to treat poisoning from Amanita mushrooms according to the Santa Cruz protocol devised by Dr Todd Mitchell at UCSC.

Herbs with potentially hepatoprotective constituents

• Astragalus membranaceus^[2]
• Curcuma longa^[3]
• Brassica^[4]
• Silybum marianum
• Andrographis paniculata^[5]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Archived copy . 2019-11-07 . 2021-06-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210623190915/https://poisoncontrol.utah.edu/newsletters/pdfs/toxicology-today-archive/Vol7_No1.pdf . dead .
2. Chien. CF. Wu. YT. Tsai. TH. Biological analysis of herbal medicines used for the treatment of liver diseases.. Biomedical Chromatography. Jan 2011. 25. 1–2. 21–38. 21204110. 10.1002/bmc.1568.
3. Ghosh. N. Ghosh. R. Mandal. V. Mandal. SC. Recent advances in herbal medicine for treatment of liver diseases.. Pharmaceutical Biology. Sep 2011. 49. 9. 970–88. 21595500. 10.3109/13880209.2011.558515. free.
4. Steinkellner. H. Rabot. S. Freywald. C. Nobis. E. Scharf. G. Chabicovsky. M. Knasmüller. S. Kassie. F. Effects of cruciferous vegetables and their constituents on drug metabolizing enzymes involved in the bioactivation of DNA-reactive dietary carcinogens.. Mutation Research. Sep 1, 2001. 480-481. 285–97. 11506821. 10.1016/S0027-5107(01)00188-9.
5. Andrographis paniculata http://www.stuartxchange.com/Sinta.html