Hepatoprotective effects of antioxidants in chronic hepatitis C

We have read with interest the paper published in issue 2, volume 16 of World Journal of Gastroenterology 2010 by Nakamura et al, demonstrating that the antioxidant resveratrol (RVT) enhances hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication, consequently, they conclude that RVT is not a suitable antioxidant therapy for HCV chronic infection. The data raise some concern regarding the use of complementary and alternative medicine since the most frequent supplements taken by these patients are antioxidants or agents that may be beneficial for different chronic liver diseases. A recent study by Vidali et al on oxidative stress and steatosis in the progression of chronic hepatitis C concludes that oxidative stress and insulin resistance contribute to steatosis, thus accelerating the progression of fibrosis. We are particularly interested in investigating how the oxidative and nitrosative stress mechanisms are involved in the pathogenesis of different chronic liver diseases.