Toxipan® was a complex preparation based on a pork-liver protein hydrolysate with a cytoprotective effect. The consumption of the titrated liver extract (in the form of sugar-coated tablets) was recommended to treat liver dysfunctions, in obese patients or patients with a damaged liver due to the action of excess alcohol, or chemotherapy, or in cases of liver insufficiency in general (in the frame of a viral hepatitis for example). The extract was intended to reduce or suppress hepatic activities of enzymes involved in lipogenesis and fatty acid synthesis. The goal was to reduce lipogenesis, notably in patients suffering from obesity and/or alcoholism, to limit the progression of progressive hepatic disorders. Proteins and hydrolysates from the pork liver (usually obtained by trypsin digestion) can modulate an excessive accumulation of lipids and protect hepatocytes from oxidative damages. The drug is no longer used today but apparently porcine liver proteins may still be found in some antioxidant dietary supplements.
Liver lobules are collections of hepatocytes in a hexagonal shape. For this reason, the advert referred to the “hepatic hexagon” and represented an hexagonal shape with a multi-orientational protective action.
