Review of natural products with hepatoprotective effects

Abstract

The liver is one of the most important organs in the body, performing a fundamental role in the regulation of diverse processes, among which the metabolism, secretion, storage, and detoxification of endogenous and exogenous substances are prominent. Due to these functions, hepatic diseases continue to be among the main threats to public health, and they remain problems throughout the world. Despite enormous advances in modern medicine, there are no completely effective drugs that stimulate hepatic function, that offer complete protection of the organ, or that help to regenerate hepatic cells. Thus, it is necessary to identify pharmaceutical alternatives for the treatment of liver diseases, with the aim of these alternatives being more effective and less toxic. The use of some plants and the consumption of different fruits have played basic roles in human health care, and diverse scientific investigations have indicated that, in those plants and fruits so identified, their beneficial effects can be attributed to the presence of chemical compounds that are called phytochemicals. The present review had as its objective the collecting of data based on research conducted into some fruits (grapefruit, cranberries, and grapes) and plants [cactus pear (nopal) and cactus pear fruit, chamomile, silymarin, and spirulina], which are consumed frequently by humans and which have demonstrated hepatoprotective capacity, as well as an analysis of a resin (propolis) and some phytochemicals extracted from fruits, plants, yeasts, and algae, which have been evaluated in different models of hepatotoxicity.

Hepatoprotective effect of Phytosome Curcumin against paracetamol-induced liver toxicity in mice

“…CAT converts H 2 O 2 to water and O 2 . GPx catalyzes the reduction of H 2 O 2 and other peroxides by coupling reduced glutathione (Madrigal-Santillan et al, 2014;Thanh et al, 2015). Our data have showed the activities of these enzymes in PAR group were declined.…”

Preclinical antitoxic properties ofSpirulina(Arthrospira)

“…In addition to its nutritional properties, within the last 20 years, other bioactive properties of cyanobacteria have been reported in animal -and other preclinical -models of experimentation, including antioxidant, immunomodulatory, hypolipidemic, hypoglycemic, antiobesity, antiviral, anticarcinogenic, antigenotoxic, antibacterial, hepato-protective, and antiparasitic effects, among others (Khan et al, 2006;Kulshreshtha et al, 2008;Madrigal-Santillan et al, 2014;Muga & Chao, 2014). However, clinical studies in humans have been limited.…”

Chemical Analysis and Antimicrobial Effect of Propolis from Hakkari Province of Turkey against Some Pathogenic Microorganisms

“…Existing studies suggest that propolis, when used as a nutritional supplement, is very important in protecting human health due to its biochemical and biopharmaceutical substances (4). Chemical substances in propolis are generally waxes, resins, balms, aromatic oils, pollen, flavonoids, terpenoids and other organic substances (5). Both the biological activity of propolis as antibacterial, antiviral, antioxidative, antifungal and antiatherogenic, antiproliferative, proapoptotic, antienflamatuar, cytotoxic, and the presence and proportion of bioactive substances in it varies by the phytogeographic properties of the area in which the samples are collected (6)(7)(8)(9).…”