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Abstract
As the gateway to the systemic circulation from the gut, the liver is the main organ of metabolic homeostasis. It performs numerous critical functions, coordinating substrate metabolism, and detoxification as well as responding to immune stimuli (Chin et al., 2016).
It is composed of three systems which perform its functions: the biochemical hepatocytic system, concerned with metabolic reactions, synthesis and degradation of macromolecules (principally protein), xenobiotics biotransformation (e.g., drugs); the biliary system, which is responsible for bilirubin and bile salts metabolism; and the reticuloendothelial system, concerned with the immune system and the production of heme and globin metabolites e.g., bilirubin (Kaplan et al., 2017; McPherson et al., 2017; Mitra and Metcalf, 2012a).
It is responsible for most of all metabolic activities in the body (Campbell, 2006). It performs its metabolic functions mainly using the hepatocytes. These include aerobic and anaerobic metabolism of glucose and other sugars; glycogen synthesis, storage and breakdown; amino acid and nucleic acid metabolism; amino acid and dicarboxylic acid interconversions via transaminases (aminotransferases), and lipid metabolism (Mitra and Metcalf, 2012b). The hepatobiliary system on the other hand, is concerned with the metabolism of bilirubin and the formation and secretion of bile Campbell, 2006.