The Benefits and Risks of Antioxidant Treatment in Liver Diseases

Abstract

Chronic liver diseases are a public health issue, because of their high incidence and prevalence, the important impact on the quality of life and high mortality rates. From a pathogenic point of view, in almost all liver diseases there is an increase in oxidative stress. Oxidative stress represents as an imbalance between the production of oxidizing agents and antioxidants. This imbalance contributes to the initiation and progression of hepatic injury. Among the most important risk factors for increased oxidative stress in chronic liver diseases are alcohol, drugs, environmental pollutants and irradiation. For the restoration of the oxidant-antioxidant balance and reduction of the oxidative stress in chronic liver diseases, a promising role may have the antioxidants. This hypothesis is now based on experimental evidence of their efficacy in animal models. In low concentrations, antioxidants improve liver function by preventing the oxidation of an oxidizable substrate, but in high doses, they may cause adverse reactions, such as the pro-oxidant effect, glutathione S transferase inhibition and thus the inhibition of detoxification and interference with coagulation. The objective of the article is to review the benefits of antioxidant treatment in chronic diseases of the liver, in order to put them in balance with their adverse reactions.