ABSTRACT:-
The maintenance of a healthy liver is vital to overall health of the human beings. Since the liver is
involved in almost all biochemical processes and there are many different diseases that will affect it. The
liver is often abused by environmental toxins, which are eating habits, alcohol and overdose of certain
drugs which can damage and weaken the liver and eventually lead to many diseases. Medicinal herbs
are significant source of hepatoprotective drugs. Mono and poly-herbal preparations have been used in
various liver disorders. According to one estimate, more than 700 mono and poly-herbal preparations in
the form of decoction, tincture, tablets and capsules from more than 100 plants are in clinical use. From
the literature review near about 178 medicinal plants are reported to possess a hepatoprotective
activity. A drug having beneficial effect on the liver is known as hepatoprotective drug. On the other
hand, drugs having toxic effect on the liver are better known as hepatotoxic drugs. The most commonly
used parameters to assess the hepatoprotective activity are morphological e.g. Liver weight and volume,
biochemical estimations, such as measurement of transaminase activity, SGPT, SCOT, alkaline
phosphatase, serum bilirubin, total serum proteins, albumin, globulin and prothrombin time, functional
parameters, pentobarbitone and hexobarbitone sleeping time and finally histopathological study
regarding presence of necrosis, fatty degeneration and cirrhosis. In this review, we will briefly discuss
hepatotoxicity and hepatoprotectives. agents.
INTRODUCTION:-
Liver is the largest and most complex internal organ of living systems. It serves an important role in
maintenance of internal environment through its multiple and diverse functions. It is involved in the
intermediary metabolism of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. It acts as a storage depot for proteins,
glycogen, various vitamins and metals. It also has a role in regulation of blood volume by transferring
blood from portal to systemic circulation and its reticuloendothelial system participates in immune
mechanism. It plays central role in detoxification and excretion of many endogenous and exogenous
compounds.
HEPATOPROTECTIVE AGENTS:-
Hepatoprotective agents have been given attention due to their active roles in the additional treatment
of liver disease (Flatland, 2003; Sartor and Trepanier, 2003; Twedt, 2004). In order for a compound to be
used as a drug, it must be safe, harmless and effective for its intended use. The drug can be released in
the market only after undergoing an extensive Food and Drugs Administration’s (FDA) drug approval
process which is lengthy and costly. Apart from modern drugs, there are several hepatoprotective
agents like L-carnitine (Yapar et al., 2007), Vitamin C (Adikwu and Deo, 2013), Nacetylcysteine
(Maheswari et al., 2014), and Milk Thistle (Silymarin) . A review of available literature regarding
medicinal plants with hepatoprotective activity revealed that different hepatotoxins were used by
different workers to evaluate the activity in invitro and in vivo models. In some studies more than one
hepatotoxin was used to screen the same plant. The most commonly used hepatotoxin was carbon
tetrachloride (CC14 ). Near about 80% of studies CCl4 was used, irrespective of the route of
administration. The total dose of CCI4 administered was in the range of 0.2-2ml / kg in acute liver
damage with one day treatment and in the range of 1.5-5ml / kg in divided doses over a period of one
week for chronic (reversible), 12-20ml / kg for 5-12 week (irreversible).The most commonly used
parameters to assess the hepatoprotective activity were morphological e.g. Liver weight and volume,
biochemical estimations, such as measurement of transaminase activity, SGPT, SCOT, alkaline
phosphatase, serum bilirubin, total serum proteins, albumin, globulin and prothrombin time, functional
parameters, pentobarbitone and hexobarbitone sleeping time and finally histopathological study
regarding presence of necrosis, fatty degeneration and cirrhosis.
SILYMARIN:-
Silymarin is a standardized extract from the seeds of a plant called milk thistle (Silybum marianum L.;
Family: Asteraceae). In rural areas, it has been used as a natural remedy to treat liver diseases (Saller et
al., 2001). Silymarin helps to protect and enhance the regeneration of liver cells in most of the liver
diseases like cirrhosis, hepatitis and jaundice (Flora et al., 1998). Silymarin possess membrane stabilizing,
anti-oxidative, anti-lipid peroxidative (Pascual et al., 1993), anti-fibrotic (Jia et al., 2001), and
immunemodulatory properties and helps in liver regeneration (Pradhan and Girish, 2006). Studies on
human beings demonstrated that about 20-40% silymarin is excreted as sulphates and glucuronide
conjugates in bile (Saller et al., 2001). There are a few reports of low level of silymarin toxicity causing
allergic skin rashes and gastrointestinal disturbances.
HERBAL FORMULATIONS:-
Numerous medicinal plants and their formulations are used to treat liver disorders in ethno medicine
practice as well as traditional system of medicine in India. There are about 600 commercial herbal
formulations available in market all over the world, which are claimed to have hepatoprotective activity
(Bedi et al., 2016). In India, about 40 antihepatotoxic, patented, polyherbal formulations representing a
variety of combination of 93 medicinal plants from 44 families are available (Sharma et al., 1991). More
than 700 mono and polyherbal hepatoprotective preparations from more than 100 plants are in clinical
use in the form of decoction, tincture, tablets and capsules. Recent global increase in the utilization of
herbal drugs has also been reported in the literature (Girish et al.,2009)
MEDICINAL PLANTS:-
Eastern countries have been using herbal drugs to treat liver diseases since ancient time (Rajaratnam et
al., 2014). The ancient Chinese and Egyptian written records are available which describe medicinal
usesof plants (Rajaratnam et al., 2014). In ancient India (Vedic period) and China (Xia dynasty), records
on use of herbal medicines track back to 2100 BC. The first written reports date back to 600 B.C. with
the Charka Samhita of India and the early notes of the Eastern Zhou dynasty of China around 400 B.C
(Onyije and Avwioro, 2012). Ayurveda, an indigenous system of medicine in India, has a long tradition of
treating liver disorders with plant drugs. Minimizing side effects and increasing therapeutic efficacy of
medicines is the basic need of today. Alternative system of medicine like Ayurveda, Unani etc. has been
proved to be effective with minimum side effects. With rich diversity of plants, over 45,000 diverse plant
species are found in India out of which about 15,000-20,000 plants have medicinal and therapeutic
properties. Of these, only about 7,000-7,500 are being used by traditional practitioners (Bedi et al.,
2016). As per WHO report, around three quarters of the world’s population uses herbs and other
traditional medicines to cure various diseases, including liver disorders (Chaudhury and Refei, 2001). The
medicinal plant such as Guduchi (Sharma and Pandey, 2010), Elephantopus scaber (Ho et al., 2012),
Aquilegia vulgaris (Adamska et al., 2003), Strychnos potatorum (Sanmugapriya & Venkataraman, 2006),
Tridax procumbens (Ravikumar et al., 2006), Picrorhiza kurroa (Mohd et al., 2012), Silybum marianum
(Hermenean et al., 2015), Andrographis paniculata (Nasir et al., 2013), Azadirachta indica (Johnson et al.,
2015) and Glycyrrhiza glabra (Sharma and Agrawal, 2014) has proven hepatoprotective properties and
are used totreat liver disorders. Guduchi (Tinospora sp.) is one of the most versatile rejuvenating shrubs,
also known as ’Giloya’ in Indian vernacular, and is reported to have many therapeutic applications
(Pandey et al., 2012). Guduchi, as it is most commonly called, has been described as “one which protects
the body” (Gawhare, 2013).
CONCLUSION:-
The liver is of vital importance in intermediary metabolism, in the detoxification and in the elimination
of toxic substances. Since the liver has considerable functional reserve, damage to the organ may not
affect its activity. The maintenance of a healthy liver is vital to overall health of the human beings. Since
the liver is involved in almost all biochemical processes and there are many different diseases that will
affect it. The liver is often abused by environmental toxins, which are eating habits, alcohol and
overdose of certain drugs which can damage and weaken the liver and eventually lead to many diseases.
Therapies developed along the principles of Western medicine are often limited in efficacy, carry the risk
of adverse effects, and are often too costly, especially for the developing world. Therefore, treating liver
diseases with plant-derived compounds, which are accessible and do not require laborious
pharmaceutical synthesis seems highly attractive
 

MAHENDRA SHARMA
STUDENT ( D. PHARMA)
OPJS UNIVERSITY, RAJASTHAN