Abstract

Environmental toxicants from industrial pollutants and agrochemicals to heavy metals and mycotoxins are 
pervasive contributors to liver injury worldwide. The liver’s central role in xenobiotic metabolism renders it 
particularly vulnerable: biotransformation reactions produce reactive metabolites and reactive oxygen species 
(ROS), initiating oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, lipid peroxidation, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, 
and maladaptive inflammatory signaling. Together these processes drive hepatocellular injury, cholestasis, fibrosis, 
and, in chronic exposure settings, cirrhosis or hepatic carcinogenesis. Natural products, plant-derived polyphenols, 
flavonoids, terpenoids, alkaloids, and certain marine-derived compounds exert pleiotropic activities that 
simultaneously scavenge free radicals, induce endogenous antioxidant defenses, stabilize mitochondria, and 
modulate detoxification enzymes and inflammatory pathways. This review synthesizes mechanistic links between 
environmental toxicants and hepatic oxidative injury, summarizes classes of natural compounds with dual 
antioxidant and hepatoprotective effects, examines translational evidence, discusses formulation and safety 
considerations, and outlines research priorities needed to translate natural-product strategies into preventive and 
therapeutic tools against environmental hepatotoxicity.