Screening Models For Hepatoprotective Agents

Hepatoprotective agents are those compounds, which mitigate the liver injury caused by hepatotoxic agents. 1 Hepatoprotective effects of plant drugs and herbal formulations are studied against chemicals(alcohol, CCl 4 , alcohol-CCl 4 , beta galactosamine, thioacetamide) and drugs(paracetamol, nimusalide, antitubercular drugs like isoniazid, rifampicin etc.) induced hepatotoxicity in rats and mice as they virtually mimic any form of naturally-occurring liver disease.Hepatotoxicity from drugs and chemicals is the commonest form of iatrogenic disease. Some of the inorganic compounds producing hepatotoxicity are arsenic, phosphorus, copper and iron. The organic agents include certain naturally-occurring plant toxins such as pyrrolizidine alkaloids, mycotoxins and bacterial toxins. The synthetic group of organic compounds is a large number of medicinal agents. In addition, exposure to hepatotoxic compounds may be occupational, environmental or domestic that could be accidental, homicidal or suicidal ingestion. 2 The paper discusses various models used for screening hepatoprotective drugs.