Hepatoprotection or antihepatotoxicity is the ability to prevent damage to the liver.

This is
opposite to the hepatotoxicity.

Silymarin is a mixture of flavonolignans extracted from the milk thistle (Silybum

marianum Gaertneri) and has a history as a medical plant for almost two millennia. The main
component of silymarin is silibinin (in a 50:50 mixture of Silybin A and Silybin B); the remaining
components are silydianin, silycristin, isosilybin A, isosilybin B, isosilycristin, and taxifolin.
Silibinin has strong antioxidative and antifibrotic properties,[1, 2] which make it a potentially
useful drug for treatment of chronic liver diseases. Nevertheless, the role of the drug for
treatment of liver diseases remains controversial. Part of this uncertainty is due to the lack of
data on its pharmacokinetics and optimal dosing regimens. Because of the complexity of the
absorption, metabolism, and disposition nature of various flavonoids, it is still unclear which form
[i.e., the parent flavonoid or its metabolite(s)] contributes to the overall effects in the body.
Although flavonoids are rapidly absorbed after oral ingestion, their plasma concentrations are
very low, whereas the phase II metabolites such as glucuronides, sulfates, and methylated
conjugates seem to be predominant in blood circulation. Extensive first-pass metabolism in the
intestine and the liver are responsible for low oral bioavailabilities of flavonoids.

Essential Phospholids from soybean are often used in membrane-associated disorders and
diseases, their high quality of purification and effects on prevalent liver diseases, especially on
fatty liver diseases (FLDs) of different origin, are still widely unknown and a matter of continuous
active research.

Gallstones cause problems such as pain, yellowing of your skin and the whites of your
eyes (jaundice), inflammation of your pancreas (pancreatitis), and gallbladder inflammation.
They occur when bile, which is normally fluid, forms stones. Gallstones commonly contain
lumps of fatty (cholesterol-like) material that has solidified and hardened. They may also contain
bile pigments and calcium deposits. These stones can block the bile duct, causing pain.
Surgery is the usual treatment for gallstones that are causing symptoms, but treatment
with ursodeoxycholic acid may dissolve smaller stones which are made mainly of cholesterol.
Ursodeoxycholic acid is a bile acid which is produced naturally by the body. It works by reducing
the amount of cholesterol released by your liver and by slowly dispersing the cholesterol. This
breaks up the stones.
Some ursodeoxycholic acid preparations can also help to treat primary biliary cholangitis. This is
a condition that slowly damages the bile ducts in the liver, and as the disease progresses, it can
damage the liver.
S-Adenosyl Methionine (SAMe) is the amino acid methionine bound to an ATP molecule; this
molecule circulates in the blood naturally and acts as a 'methyl donor'. A methyl group in
chemistry is simply a carbon molecule (bound to some hydrogens), and donating a methyl
group to other molecules can accelerate or preserve reactions in the body as a form of
metabolic 'maintenance'. Choline is another prominent methyl donor in the body, but due to
selectivity of some reactions the two are not necessarily interchangeable.

Some body states appear to be associated with lower circulating levels of SAMe, including
osteoarthritis and depression where SAMe appears to hold potent therapeutic potential; after a
build-up period of 1-2 months, supplemental SAMe at 800-1600mg daily appears to be as
potent as some pharmaceutical options for both osteoarthritis and depression and appears to
enhance some anti-depressants. Although lower circulating levels of SAMe are also seen in
diabetes, the benefits of SAMe and glucose control are not as well established as depression
and osteoarthritis.

SAMe appears to follow many nutrient-like motifs in the body, being regulated within a certain
serum range and being associated with adverse effects when that range is perturbed. It
potentially holds a lot of benefit in body states where circulating SAMe levels decline.

Although side-effects are not commonly reported with SAMe, numerous studies note a small set
of participants who experience mania after supplementing SAMe. It is not common, but it does
appear to be related to SAMe supplementation for unknown reasons; it has been reported in
some persons without history of mania as well and does not appear to be related to any
pathological condition per se.

epatitis C is a viral infection that causes liver inflammation, sometimes leading to serious liver
damage. The hepatitis C virus (HCV) spreads through contaminated blood.

Until recently, hepatitis C treatment required weekly injections and oral medications that many
HCV-infected people couldn't take because of other health problems or unacceptable side
effects.

That's changing. Today, chronic HCV is usually curable with oral medications taken every day
for two to six months. Still, about half of people with HCV don't know they're infected, mainly
because they have no symptoms, which can take decades to appear. For that reason, the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends a one-time screening blood test for
everyone at increased risk of the infection. The largest group at risk includes everyone born
between 1945 and 1965 — a population five times more likely to be infected than those born in
other years.

Symptoms

Long-term infection with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) is known as chronic hepatitis C. Chronic
hepatitis C is usually a "silent" infection for many years, until the virus damages the liver enough
to cause the signs and symptoms of liver disease. Among these signs and symptoms are:

 Bleeding easily

 Bruising easily

 Fatigue

 Poor appetite
  Yellow discoloration of the skin and eyes (jaundice)

 Dark-colored urine

 Itchy skin

 Fluid buildup in your abdomen (ascites)

 Swelling in your legs

 Weight loss

 Confusion, drowsiness and slurred speech (hepatic encephalopathy)

 Spider-like blood vessels on your skin (spider angiomas)

Every chronic hepatitis C infection starts with an acute phase. Acute hepatitis C usually goes
undiagnosed because it rarely causes symptoms. When signs and symptoms are present, they
may include jaundice, along with fatigue, nausea, fever and muscle aches. Acute symptoms
appear one to three months after exposure to the virus and last two weeks to three months.

Acute hepatitis C infection doesn't always become chronic. Some people clear HCV from their
bodies after the acute phase, an outcome known as spontaneous viral clearance. In studies of
people diagnosed with acute HCV, rates of spontaneous viral clearance have varied from 14 to
50 percent. Acute hepatitis C also responds well to antiviral therapy.

Causes

Hepatitis C infection is caused by the hepatitis C virus. The infection spreads when blood
contaminated with the virus enters the bloodstream of an uninfected person.

Globally, HCV exists in several distinct forms, known as genotypes. The most common HCV
genotype in North America and Europe is type 1. Type 2 also occurs in the United States and
Europe, but is less common than type 1. Both type 1 and type 2 have also spread through much
of the world, although other genotypes cause a majority of infections in the Middle East, Asia
and Africa.

Although chronic hepatitis C follows a similar course regardless of the genotype of the infecting
virus, treatment recommendations vary depending on viral genotype.