LIVER DISEASE

CHOLINE
(1 gram = 1000 milligrams)

1. Daily doses of choline (6 grams/day) reduced liver steatosis and abnormal liver enzymes in malnourished patients with cirrhosis.

GASTROENTEROLOGY (USA), 1989, 97/6 (1514-1520)
Choline may be an essential nutrient in malnourished patients with cirrhosis
Chawla RK, Wolf DC, Kutner MH, Bonkovsky HL.

GREEN TEA

2. Daily intake of green tea (300 mg per kilogram body weight) reduced oxidative stress and protected rats from liver injury when exposed to ethanol.

Biol Chem. 2002 Mar-Apr;383(3-4):663-70. 
Green tea extract protects against early alcohol-induced liver injury in rats.
Arteel GE, Uesugi T, Bevan LN, Gabele E, Wheeler MD, McKim SE, Thurman RG.

MILK THISTLE
Animal Study

3. Daily doses of silymarin (10, 50, and 250 mg per kilogram body weight) provided liver protection in mice.

Planta Med. 2002 Aug;68(8):676-9.
Physiological responses to a natural antioxidant flavonoid mixture, silymarin, in BALB/c mice: I induction of transforming growth factor beta1 and c-myc in liver with marginal effects on other genes.
He Q, Osuchowski MF, Johnson VJ, Sharma RP.

Animal/Cell Study

4. Treatment with silibinin (100 micromoles per liter) protected rat cells from free radicals and protected the liver.

Hepatology. 1996 Apr;23(4):749-54.
Inhibition of Kupffer cell functions as an explanation for the hepatoprotective properties of silibinin.
Dehmlow C, Erhard J, de Groot H.

5. Daily doses of silymarin (140 mg 3 times/day) for 40 months was effective treatment for alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver compared to placebo. There were no side effects.

J Hepatol. 1989 Jul;9(1):105-13. 
Randomized controlled trial of silymarin treatment in patients with cirrhosis of the liver.
Ferenci P, Dragosics B, Dittrich H, Frank H, Benda L, Lochs H, Meryn S, Base W, Schneider B.

N-acetyl L-cysteine (NAC)

6. Following ingestion of “2 handfuls” of 650 mg acetaminophen/tablet, a patient was given a dose of 140 mg NAC per kilogram of body weight, then 6 doses of 70 mg per kilogram of body weight and finally 11 doses of 100 mg per kilogram of body weight. After this administration of NAC, liver function was normalized.

N Engl J Med 1995 Jul 20;333(3):196
Overdose of Extended-Release Acetaminophen
Graudins A, Aaron CK, Linden CH

Animal Study

7. Doses of N-acetylcysteine (100 mg per kilogram body weight) for 7 days protected
rats from liver damage induced by the drug azathioprine which causes liver toxicity.

Comp Biochem Physiol C Toxicol Pharmacol. 2003 Apr;134(4):451-6. 
A comparison of hepatoprotective activities of aminoguanidine and N-acetylcysteine
in rat against the toxic damage induced by azathioprine.
Raza M, Ahmad M, Gado A, Al-Shabanah OA.

Animal Study
(1 gram = 1000 milligrams)

8. Daily feeding of N-acetylcysteine (1 gram per kilogram body weight) combined with
ethanol, protected rats from oxidative damage to the liver compared to those not
receiving N-acetylcysteine.

World J Gastroenterol. 2003 Apr;9(4):791-4. 
N-acetylcysteine attenuates alcohol-induced oxidative stess in rats.
Ozaras R, Tahan V, Aydin S, Uzun H, Kaya S, Senturk H.

Animal Study

9. Treatment with N-acetylcysteine (200 mg per kilogram body weight) reduced liver
damage in rats exposed to cocaine.

J Toxicol Environ Health A. 2003 Feb 14;66(3):223-39. 
N-acetylcysteine pretreatment decreases cocaine and endotoxin-induced hepatotoxicity.
Labib R, Abdel-Rahman MS, Turkall R.

Animal Study

10. Treatment with N-acetylcysteine (0.5 micromoles) prior to administering cocaine protected rats from liver toxicity and oxidative stress.

Biochim Biophys Acta. 2000 Apr 17;1496(2-3):183-95
Effect of N-acetylcysteine and deferoxamine on endogenous antioxidant defense system gene expression in a rat hepatocyte model of cocaine cytotoxicity.
Zaragoza A, Diez-Fernandez C, Alvarez AM, Andres D, Cascales M.

NARINGIN
(1 gram = 1000 milligrams)

Animal Study

11. Doses of naringin (0.125 grams per liter) for 5 weeks lowered the ethanol
content in the blood and worked as an antioxidant in the livers of rats fed ethanol.

Life Sci. 2003 Jul 4;73(7):933-46. 
Role of naringin supplement in regulation of lipid and ethanol metabolism in rats.
Seo HJ, Jeong KS, Lee MK, Park YB, Jung UJ, Kim HJ, Choi MS.

SELENIUM
(1 microgram = 0.001 milligrams)

12. Daily doses of selenium (100 micrograms) improved liver function in alcoholic cirrhosis compared to placebo. Patients with alcoholic cirrhosis were low in plasma selenium.

Biol Trace Elem Res. 1995 Jan-Mar;47(1-3):201-7. 
Low selenium status in alcoholic cirrhosis is correlated with aminopyrine breath test. Preliminary effects of selenium supplementation.
Van Gossum A, Neve J.
PMID: 7779548

Animal Study

13. Doses of selenite (1 mg and 10 mg per gram body weight) increased detoxification and prevented the death of rats with liver dystrophy.

Vopr Med Khim. 1976 Mar-Apr;22(2):254-7. 
[Bile secretion intensity and the chemical makeup of the bile in white rats with liver dystrophy in the process of sodium selenite treatment]
[Article in Russian]
Danik LM.
PMID: 1025887

VITAMIN E/TOCOTRIENOL

14. Daily doses of vitamin E (1000 IU) and vitamin C (1000 mg) for 6 months improved fibrosis scores in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis compared to placebo treatment.

Am J Gastroenterol.  2003 Nov;98(11):2485-90. 
Comment in:
    Am J Gastroenterol. 2003 Nov;98(11):2348-50.
Vitamin E and vitamin C treatment improves fibrosis in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.
Harrison SA, Torgerson S, Hayashi P, Ward J, Schenker S.
PMID: 14638353

15. A daily dose of vitamin E (2000 IU) is recommended for all patients who have primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC).

Gastroenterology.  1989 Feb;96(2 Pt 1):479-86. 
Intestinal malabsorption of vitamin E in primary biliary cirrhosis.
Sokol RJ, Kim YS, Hoofnagle JH, Heubi JE, Jones EA, Balistreri WF.
PMID: 2910763

ZINC

Animal Study

16. Doses of zinc (5 mg per kilogram body weight) prior to ethanol exposure prevented liver damage in mice. Zinc also decreased intestinal permeability of ethanol.

J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2003 Jun;305(3):880-6. Epub 2003 Mar 06.
Prevention of alterations in intestinal permeability is involved in zinc inhibition of acute ethanol-induced liver damage in mice.
Lambert JC, Zhou Z, Wang L, Song Z, McClain CJ, Kang YJ.
PMID: 12626662

17. Treatment with zinc (145 mg/day) improved liver function in patients with Wilson’s disease and cirrhosis.

Z Gastroenterol. 1985 Jan;23(1):25-9. 
[Oral zinc in Wilson disease--an alternative to D-penicillamine]
[Article in German]
Ramadori G, Keidl E, Hutteroth T, Dormeyer HH, Manns M, Meyer zum Buschenfelde KH.
PMID: 4060799