Natural Agents Against Liver Death

Liver is crucial to health and life. Liver cell death is a cardinal feature of almost every prevalent liver disease. Ethanol-induced cell death by necrosis and/or apoptosis is a valid model to test for hepatoprotective agents. Potential approaches include amino acids and phytochemicals. The pharmacologic effects of glycine (Gly), cysteine, N-acetylcysteine, Astragalus spinosus and Astragalus boeticus (A. boeticus) were investigated on hepatocyte death. Agents with cytoprotective effects were further examined by estimating reduced glutathione, lipid peroxidation and membrane blebbing. Moreover, the molecular mechanisms underlying Gly hepatoprotection were studied using isolated rat hepatocytes. Caspase-3 activity, chromatin condensation and cytochrome c translocation were assessed. In conclusion, both Gly and A. boeticus demonstrated promising hepatoprotective effects. Particularly, Gly could be a very effective drug to ameliorate liver injuries because it prevents both forms of hepatocyte death. This study should be especially useful to pharmacologists, clinical hepatologists, nutritionists, and to every liver patient who might benefit one day from this experimental research.