Detoxification

In our body, the liver is the main organ in charge of detoxification, and its activity adapts to the quantity of xenobiotics brought to it.

These xenobiotics are molecules foreign to our organism such as drugs, hormones, heavy metals, but also chemical compounds associated with food preparation (such as the famous Maillard bodies).

The liver is the body's main "purification" factory: it processes most foreign molecules and constantly filters the blood.

The cells that make up the liver, the hepatocytes, have a long lifespan, of the order of a year or even 500 days, and an important capacity for regeneration.

How does your liver eliminate xenobiotics?

To ensure the elimination of xenobiotics, the liver intervenes in several stages to transform the initially toxic substance into a soluble derivative, which will be eliminated through the urine or faeces.

The liver will eliminate these substances through several complex steps, the proper functioning of which depends on the level of exposure to xenobiotics but also on genetic predisposition and nutritional status.