Zinc and the liver: an active interaction
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 15, 2026

Atomic Absorbance Spectroscopy to Measure Intracellular Zinc Pools in Mammalian Cells
Published on: May 16, 2019
Ioannis Stamoulis1, Grigorios Kouraklis, Stamatios Theocharis
1Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, University of Athens, Medical School, Goudi, Athens, Greece.
Abstract:
Zinc is an essential trace element, exerting important antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiapoptotic effects. It affects growth and development and participates in processes such as aging and cancer induction. The liver is important for the regulation of zinc homeostasis, while zinc is necessary for proper liver function. Decreased zinc levels have been implicated in both acute and chronic liver disease states, and zinc deficiency has been implicated in the pathogenesis of liver diseases. Zinc supplementation offers protection in experimental animal models of acute and chronic liver injury, but these hepatoprotective properties have not been fully elucidated. In the present review, data on zinc homeostasis, its implication in the pathogenesis of liver diseases, and its effect on acute and chronic liver diseases are presented. It is concluded that zinc could protect against liver diseases, although up to now the underlying pathophysiology of zinc and liver interactions have not been defined.
More Related Videos
11:04Ion Mobility-Mass Spectrometry Techniques for Determining the Structure and Mechanisms of Metal Ion Recognition and Redox Activity of Metal Binding Oligopeptides
Published on: September 7, 2019
04:54Assessing Mineral Availability in Fish Feeds using Complementary Methods Demonstrated with the Example of Zinc in Atlantic Salmon
Published on: October 29, 2021
Related Concept Videos
Pharmacokinetics: Drug–Food and Drug–Viral Interactions
EDTA: Auxiliary Complexing Reagents
Antiprotozoal Agents
Effect of Hepatic Disease on Pharmacokinetics: Active Drug, Metabolite and Fraction of Metabolized Drug
Effect of Hepatic Disease on Pharmacokinetics: Pathophysiologic Assessment and Liver Function Test
Drug Binding to Blood Components
HSA is the most abundant plasma protein and is vital in drug binding. It contains distinct drug-binding sites, with different drugs exhibiting affinity for specific sites. There are three main drug-binding domains for HSA: sites I, II, and III. These domains are further...