Hepatoprotection or antihepatotoxicity is the ability of a chemical substance to prevent damage to the liver.
The liver is an invaluable organ of our body. It starts its action at just the post-embryonic stage and stops acting in dying moments. Likewise, the liver is an extensively multitasking organ, which performs more than 500 specific physiological roles in the human body. Some of the functions are extremely clinically significant. And all the dysfunctions cause varied acute and chronic ailments.
Significant Functions:
Significantly, the liver’s main job is to filter the blood coming from the digestive tract, before passing it to the rest of the body. Meanwhile, the liver also detoxifies chemicals and metabolizes drugs. As it does so, the liver secretes bile that ends up back in the intestines.
Common Liver Problems:
Firstly, Fatty Liver,
Secondly, Alcoholic Hepatitis,
Thirdly, Non-Alcoholic Setatohepatitis,
Fourthly, Liver Cirrhosis,
Fifth, Liver Cancer, and
Lastly, Gall-bladder stone.
Prevention:
Primarily, Regular Exercise, weight reduction, avoid red meat and concentrated fat, good-glycemic control, Hepatitis-B vaccine, early detection of liver ailment, and Liver LFT as per physicians advice.
Treatment:
Besides, the use of herbal medicine, an age-old practice for hepatoprotection. Tricholine citrate and other choline salts are well accepted. Therefore, some synthetic drugs such as ursodeoxycholic acid, LOLA, lecithin, etc. enjoy well acceptance. Above all, Silymarin is the best option for safety and efficacy across all age groups even in pregnancy and lactation.
What is Choline?
Moreover, Choline is an essential nutrient that is naturally present in some foods and available as a dietary supplement. Further, Choline is a source of methyl groups needed for many steps in metabolism. The body needs choline to synthesize phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin, two major phospholipids vital for cell membranes.
What causes choline deficiency?
However, inadequate choline intake can also lead to fatty liver or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Similarly, the most common symptoms of choline deficiency are fatty liver and/or hemorrhagic kidney necrosis. Consuming choline-rich foods usually relieve these deficiency symptoms.