Oxidative Stress in Liver Diseases

Abstract

Liver, being the second largest organ, maintains homeostasis by undergoing a number of risk factors that include alcohol, drugs, environmental pollutants, and radiation. All these factors are capable of inducing oxidative stress by generating free radicals that eventually result in various forms of severe liver diseases. In this chapter, the consequences of oxidative stress are studied, along with its pathophysiology, its effects on organelles, physiological alterations, and the common diseases that occur due to oxidative stress. The progression of various liver diseases primarily involves lipid peroxidation, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) damage, signaling of inflammatory mediators, and ultimately generation of free radicals. The inarguable role of prooxidants in hepatic pathogenesis can be evidenced by an increase in the levels of biomarkers of oxidative stress, namely, malondialdehyde (MDA) and 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE), to name a few. These markers are paralleled by utilizing endogenous antioxidant mechanisms, thus decreasing the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT), and glutathione (GSH).

This challenge was overcome by a diverse and rapid development in the field of biomarkers and antioxidants. Newer advances in the field of biomarkers outlined strategies to identify diseases at an early stage so that the treatment procedure could be both clinically useful and cost-effective. Advanced research on antioxidants, to treat liver disease, resulted in the emergence of natural substances that contain common natural herbal extracts, vitamins, and other compounds. Antioxidant use, either as a single compound or in combination, has become key molecules today for counteracting our stressed system and to achieve healthy homeostasis. However, new research should be carried out at cellular and molecular pharmacology levels in combination with drug targeting systems so as to get innovative ideas for the therapeutics of hepatic disease, which are not known enough.