Beneficial drugs for liver diseases

Abstract

Liver diseases are a major problem of worldwide proportions. However, the number of drugs actually used successfully in humans is very small. In this review some of the most promising/studied drugs utilized for liver diseases were chosen and analysed critically from the basic to the clinical point of view. Antiviral agents are not discussed because excellent reviews have appeared on this topic. The compounds/preparations described herein are, alphabetically: colchicine, corticosteroids, curcumin, glycyrrhizin, interferons (for their antifibrotic properties), Liv 52, nitric oxide, resveratrol, silymarin, sulfoadenosylmethionine, and thalidomide. Colchicine and corticosteroids have been studied extensively in animals and humans; most clinical studies suggest that these compounds are not useful in the treatment of liver diseases. Glycyrrhizin is an herbal medicine with several components that has interesting hepatoprotective properties in patients with subacute liver failure but deserves more prospective controlled trials. Interferon has shown interesting antifibrotic properties in animals and humans; prospective studies on their antifibrotic/fibrolytic activity are required. Curcumin, resveratrol and thalidomide are very attractive newly discovered protective and curative compounds on experimental hepatic diseases. Their mechanism of action is associated with the ability to down-regulate NF-kappaB and to decrease pronecrotic and profibrotic cytokines. Unfortunately, clinical studies are lacking. Sulfoadenosylmethionine and silymarin are also promising drugs utilized mainly in cholestasis but the benefits can be expanded if more controlled trials are performed. The future is to carry out controlled prospective double-blind multicenter studies with the newly discovered drugs with proven beneficial effects on animals. Fundamental hepatobiology should also be encouraged.

Hepatoprotective and antioxidant activity ofMelaleuca styphelioideson carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatotoxicity in mice

“…Chronic liver injury may develop into several liver diseases, including hepatic steatosis, fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (Srivastava & Shivanandappa, 2010). There is now general agreement among hepatologists that the number of beneficial drugs currently available for the treatment of liver diseases is far from sufficient, and that there is an urgent need for safe and efficient therapeutic agents for the prevention and treatment of liver diseases (Muriel & Rivera-Espinoza, 2008). Corticosteroids, colchicines, and vaccines have been used for the treatment of several liver diseases; however, they have serious adverse side-effects and are of limited therapeutic benefits (Muriel & RiveraEspinoza, 2008;Srivastava & Shivanandappa, 2010).…”

Hepatoprotective properties of extensively studied medicinal plant active constituents: Possible common mechanisms

“…In addition to our personal experience, we have performed a literature search using mainly Web of Science (WOS), PubMed, and Google search. An extensive number of articles which address many plant constituents with reported experimental (in vitro or in vivo) effects are summarized in various reviews (Alvari et al, 2012;Dhiman et al, 2012;Ding et al, 2012;Girish & Pradhan, 2012;Muriel & Rivera-Espinoza, 2008;Zhang et al, 2013a). In this article, we only consider literature related to the most widely studied active plant constituents of chemically defined molecules with potential hepatoprotective activity and the models most commonly used for their validation.…”

“…However, most of these compounds were not sufficiently evaluated in humans. A wide variety of plant constituents, including silymarin, resveratrol, curcumin, quercetin, and glycyrrhizin, have been reported to have multiple biological activities, mainly due to their antioxidant and antiinflammatory properties (Alvari et al, 2012;Dhiman et al, 2012;Ding et al, 2012;Girish & Pradhan, 2012;Muriel & Rivera-Espinoza, 2008;Zhang et al, 2013a). The present article focuses on only few well-studied naturally occurring hepatoprotective (cytoprotective) compounds.…”

Ratlarda Karbon Tetraklorür ile İndüklenen Karaciğer Toksikasyonu Üzerine Resveratrol’ün Koruyucu Etkisinin Histopatolojik ve TUNEL Metodu ile Araştırılması

“…Resveratrol, güçlü antioksidan özelliği sayesinde serbest radikallerin yol açtığı hücre hasarını engellemeye yardımcı olduğu bildirilmiştir (16,19). Ayrıca yağların yükseltgenmesi sonucu bozulmasını ve buna bağlı hücre ölümünü engellediği bilinmektedir (8,16,20). Resveratrol yaşlanmayı geciktirdiği, kalp ve sinir hasarını engellediği, koroner kalp yetmezliği riskini azalttığı bildirilmiştir (11,21 formalin solüsyonuna alındı.…”