Drug with hepatoprotective activity

Abstract

The invention relates to pharmacology and can be used for treating liver diseases of various etiologies, inter alia, in combination with other preparations. Claimed is a drug with hepatoprotective activity comprised of 3-(4-bromophenyl)-6,6-dihydroxy-5-hydroxyiminohexahydro-2,4-pyrimidinedione and salts thereof of general formula (I),

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a U.S. National Phase of International Patent Application No. PCT/RU2016/000160, filed on Mar. 23, 2016, which published as WO 2016/159833 A1 on Oct. 6, 2016, and claims priority to Russian Patent Application No. 2015111184, filed on Mar. 27, 2015, all of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to pharmacology and can be used for treating liver diseases of various etiologies, inter alia, in combination with other preparations.

BACKGROUND ART

There is a commonly known hepatoprotective solution which is a complex of peptides obtained by extraction from the liver of cattle, U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,103 A, publ. Mar. 3, 1981.

Also known is a hepatoprotector with antioxidant activity, containing natural substances, namely, walnut core shell or its extract JP 2008074807 (A), publ. Mar. 4, 2008.

The drawbacks of the above extracts of animal and vegetable origin are:

• • impossibility to control the composition and quality of extracts;
  • frequent allergic reactions;
  • low efficiency.

The use of a substance representing a derivative of methionine and adenosine triphosphate (S-Adenosyl methionine-ademetionine), as a pharmaceutical for the treatment of various liver diseases.

This drug is taken as a prototype of the subject drug with hepatoprotective activity.

The drug is indicated for treatment of chronic hepatitis, intrahepatic cholestasis, liver cirrhosis, hepatic encephalopathy, withdrawal syndrome, etc. Ademetionin is present in all living cells and plays the key role in important biochemical reactions (transmethylation, transsulfation, synthesis of polyamines), however, natural ademetionine is unstable. Stable synthetic ademetionine was obtained in 1974 in Italy, but its therapeutic effectiveness cannot be considered sufficient.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to improve the efficacy of the drug with hepatoprotective activity.

According to the invention, the objective of the invention is achieved by providing a drug with hepatoprotective activity that is 3-(4-bromophenyl)-6,6-dihydroxy-5-hydroxyiminohexahydro-2,4-pyrimidinedione and its salts of the following general formula:

wherein X is selected from the following group: H, Na, K, or from the group of derivatives of hydroxyalkyl ammonia of the general formula

wherein R1 and R2 are selected from the following group: H, CH₃, CH₂CH₃, CH₂CH₂OH;R3 is selected from the following group: H, CH₂OH; n=1, 2;the drug can be prepared in the form of tablets or capsules for enteral administration; or in the form of a liquid or lyophilized substance for parenteral administration; or in the form of rectal suppositories; or in the form of capsules or tablets, or sweets for sucking; and may additionally contain the hepatoprotector Heptral; or the hepatoprotector Essentiale; or the hepatoprotector ursodeoxycholic acid.

The invention includes all spatial isomers of the subject compounds and all of their tautomeric forms.

The applicant is not aware of any sources of information that would contain information about identical technical solutions, which makes it possible to conclude that the claimed invention complies with the “Novelty” (“N”) criterion.

Due to the implementation of the subject technical solution, a technical result is achieved, consisting in a significant increase in the effectiveness of the drug.

The applicant has not found any sources of information containing data on the effect of the distinctive features of the invention on the technical result achieved due to their implementation. This, according to the applicant, demonstrates the compliance of this technical solution with the condition of patentability “Inventive Step” (“IS”).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following, the invention is explained with a detailed description of examples of its implementation without reference to the drawings.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

To solve the problem, the derivatives listed in Table 1 are preferred.

Derivative 1 of the subject substance is synthesized in 4 stages in accordance with Diagram 1, and derivatives 2-9, which are salts of derivative 1, are obtained by exposing derivative 1 to the corresponding bases according to Diagram 2.

Table 2 shows the decoding of the reagents (bases) used to synthesize derivatives 2-9.

Example 1. Preparation of 3-(4-bromophenyl)-6,6-dihydroxy-5-hydroxyiminohexahydro-2,4-pyrimidinedione (Derivative 1)

In the first step, 1 mole (172 g) of p-bromoaniline is dissolved while heating to 50° C. in 2.51 of water and adding 1.1 moles of HCl (105 ml of 30% hydrochloric acid). 1.1 mol (81 g) of potassium cyanate dissolved in 400 ml of water is added to the solution while stirring. The obtained mixture is heated for 15 min in a water bath, then cooled, a white crystalline precipitate is separated and flushed with water and then with aqueous alcohol, after which the precipitate is air dried to constant weight at 50° C. As a result, 175 g of N-(4-bromophenyl)urea in the form of a colorless crystalline solid is obtained. The yield is 81% of the theoretical value.

In the second step, 2 moles (46 g) of metallic sodium are dissolved in 600 ml of anhydrous methanol. 1 mole (160 g) of diethyl malonic ether is added to the obtained solution and stirred for 5 minutes. Then 1 mole (215 g) of N-(4-bromophenyl)urea is added and the mixture is boiled for 6 hours under reflux while stirring. Then the mixture is cooled to 25° C. and 2 L of water is added. The solution is filtered from the precipitate, after which the filtrate is acidified with HCl to pH 1, after which the formed precipitate is filtered and flushed with water. The resulting raw product is treated while stirring with 2 liters of water added to 100 ml of 25% aqueous ammonia, the insoluble residue is discarded, and the solution is acidified with HCl to pH 1, the formed residue is filtered, flushed with water and dried. 250 g of 1-(4-bromophenyl)barbituric acid are obtained in the form of a colorless crystalline product with the melting point of 261-263° C. The yield is 89% of the theoretical value.

In the third step, 1 mole (283 g) of 1-(4-bromophenyl)barbituric acid is dissolved in 3 L of water containing 1 mole (40 g) of NaOH. Into the resulting clear solution a solution of 75 g (1.1 mol) of sodium nitrite in 400 ml of water is poured and then stirred. The solution is cooled to 10° C., then while stirring, 1.2 mol (72 g) of acetic acid is added dropwise and kept at 25° C. for 1 hr. Then 200 ml of 30% hydrochloric acid are added to the obtained mixture and stirred for 10 minutes. The formed precipitate is filtered and flushed with 1% solution of HCl, then with water, and dried. 284 g of 1-(4-bromophenyl)violuric acid in the form of a pale yellow crystalline product with the melting point of 220° C. (with decomp.) is obtained. The yield is 91% of the theoretical value.

In the fourth step, 50 ml of 90% sulfuric acid are added to 9.36 g (0.03 mol) of 1-(4-bromophenyl)violuric acid and stirred at room temperature until dissolved. The resulting solution is added dropwise with vigorous stirring to 300 ml of ice water containing 200 g of crushed ice, ensuring that the temperature of the mixture does not exceed 3° C. The formed residue is separated on a glass filter, flushed with cold water until a neutral flush reaction occurs, and dried in air at room temperature to obtain 7.10 g of the desired product 3-(4-bromophenyl)-6,6-dihydroxy-5-hydroxyiminohexahydro-2,4-pyrimidinedione (1) in the form of a substantially colorless, fine crystalline powder.

The yield and the melting point of the obtained substance (1) are given in Table 3, the VUR spectrum data are given in Table 4, the elemental analysis data are given in Table 5.

Example 2. Synthesis of Derivatives (2-4)

300 ml of water containing an equimolar amount of the appropriate base (NaOH, KOH or tris-hydroxymethylaminomethane, see table 2) are poured into 16.50 g (0.05 mol) of 3-(4-bromophenyl)-6,6-dihydroxy-5-hydroxyiminohexahydro-2,4-pyrimidinedione (1). The mixture is heated to a temperature of no higher than 60° C. and stirred for 10 minutes, after which the solution is filtered, poured into vials for freeze drying and frozen at −20° C. After lyophilization, the desired product (2-4) is obtained in the form of a colored porous mass.

Example 3. Synthesis of Derivatives (5-9)

60 ml of water are added to 16.50 g (0.05 mol) of 3-(4-bromophenyl)-6,6-dihydroxy-5-hydroxyiminohexahydro-2,4-pyrimidinedione (1) and an equimolar amount of the corresponding base (1-aminopropan-3-ol, dimethylaminoethane-2-ol, diethylaminoetan-2-ol, N,N-diethanolamine or N-triethanolamine) (15-20) (see Table 2). The mixture is heated to a temperature of no higher than 60° C. and stirred for 10 minutes, with incomplete dissolution, another 10 ml of water are added and mixed for 5 minutes until complete dissolution.

The solution is filtered and then the solvent is removed in vacuo on a rotary evaporator at a temperature of no higher than 30° C. The residue is washed with 30 ml of alcohol, the precipitate is filtered off and air dried at room temperature to obtain the derivatives (5-9) in the form of a colored crystalline powder.

The yield and the melting point of the obtained derivatives (1-9) are given in Table 3, the VUR spectrum data are given in Table 4, the elemental analysis data are given in Table 5.

Example 4

A study of hepatoprotective activity of derivatives 1-9 was performed on Wistar rats of both sexes weighing 195-245 grams. The animals were in standard housing conditions under natural light conditions, with free access to water and food. Acute toxic hepatitis in rats was induced by means of intragastric administration of 50% solution of carbon tetrachloride (CCl 4) in olive oil at a dose of 1 ml/kg for 6 days. After 10 days all experimental animals confirmed the presence of toxic hepatitis according to the morphological pattern of the liver. The total duration of the experiment was 20 days.

The tested preparations were administered orally in the form of a suspension in olive oil once a day after the formation of the model pathology or intravenously at a dose of 25 mg/kg. The weight dynamics of the rats were determined on Sartorius scale.

The results are given in Tables 6 and 7.

The study of the efficacy of derivatives No. 1 and No. 2 was additionally carried out with the participation of patients (men and women aged 25 to 60 years) with the following diagnoses: toxic liver damage, alcoholic hepatitis, alcoholic liver disease (fatty hepatosis), alcoholic liver cirrhosis.

Inclusion criteria: increased levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (ASAT), gamma glutaminetransferase (GGTP) at least 2 times the upper limit of the normal value.

Derivative No. 1

Patients of the experimental group (30 persons) adhibited derivative No. 1 in the form of capsules containing 250 mg of the drug in a total dose of 1000 mg/day.

Patients of the control group (9 persons) adhibited placebo (capsules filled with chalk).

The dynamics of the decrease in ALT is presented in Table 8.

The dynamics of the decrease in ASAT is presented in Table 9.

The dynamics of the decrease in gamma glutaminetransferase is presented in Table 10.

Derivative No. 2

Patients of the experimental group (30 persons) adhibited derivative No. 2 in the form of lyophilisate for IV injection containing 50 mg of the drug in a total dose of 300 mg/day.

Patients of the control group (10 persons), were administered a 0.9% solution of NaCl as a placebo.

The dynamics of the decrease in ALT is presented in Table 11.

The dynamics of the decrease in ASAT is presented in Table 12.

The dynamics of the decrease in gamma glutaminetransferase is presented in Table 13.

The efficacy of derivative No. 4 on additional parameters was studied in laboratory rats.

For the modeling of toxic hepatitis, the combined administration of dichloroethane and acetaminophen in doses of 300 and 250 mg/kg, respectively, was used. After 10 days all experimental animals confirmed the presence of toxic hepatitis according to the morphological pattern of the liver. In the untreated control group, by the 10th day of the study, 4 animals out of 10 died. In groups where animals were enterally or parenterally injected with derivative No. 4, not a single animal died.

From that time, for 10 days, the experimental animals were administered, once a day, derivative No. 4 (50 mg/kg, intragastrically in starch mucus) or derivative No. 4 (10 mg/kg, IV, into the tail vein).

Also, the combined effect of the subject compounds and known drugs for the treatment of hepatic diseases was examined.

For the modeling of toxic hepatitis, the combined administration of dichloroethane and acetaminophen in doses of 500 and 500 mg/kg, respectively, was used. After 10 days all experimental animals confirmed the presence of toxic hepatitis according to the morphological pattern of the liver.

The results of the study are presented in Table 17.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The invention is implemented using common materials and equipment, resulting, according to the applicant's opinion, in compliance of the invention with the “Industrial Applicability” (“IA”) patentability criterion.

Table 1

The structure of the most active of the subject derivatives (1-9) of the general formula

TABLE 2
No.	X	R1	R2	R3	n
1	H	—	—	—	—
2	Na	—	—	—	—
3	K	—	—	—	—
4 5 6 7 8 9		H H CH3 CH2CH3 CH2CH2OH CH2CH2OH	H H CH3 CH2CH3 H CH2CH2OH	CH2OH H H H H H	1 2 1 1 1 1

The structure of the bases used to obtain derivatives (2-9)

TABLE 3
                 The synthesized
Reference base   subject substance, No.
NaOH             2
KOH              3
H2N—C(CH2OH)3    4
H2N—CH2CH2CH2OH  5
(CH3)2N—CH2CH2OH 6
Et2N—CH2CH2OH    7
HN(CH2CH2OH)2    8
N(CH2CH2OH)3     9

The yield and the melting point of derivatives 1-9

TABLE 4
Substance No.	Yield, %	Melting point (dec)
1	74	220-222
2	99	>290
3	99	>290
4	99	199-201
5	96	205-207
6	91	216-219
7	89	213-215
8	90	222-225
9	86	225-227

¹H NMR spectra data for derivatives 1-9 in DMSO-d₆

TABLE 5
	Chemical shift, ppm, J, Hz
Substance	ArH, 2H + 2H,	NH, br. s,
No.	d + d or d.d, J 8.0	(1H)	OCH2	NCH2 (NCH)	Other H
1	2	3	4	5	6
1	7.22 + 7.27	11.77	—	—	1.76
	(d + d, 2H),				br. s, (1H, NOH).
	7.68 (d.d, 2H)
2	7.15 (d, 2H), 7.64	11.18	—	—	—
	(d, 2H)
3	7.15 (d, 2H), 7.64	11.18	—	—	—
	(d, 2H)
4	7.09 + 7.51, d + d	11.13	3.49 s (6H)	—	5.25 br. s (3H, OH), 7.01
					br. s (3H, NH3+)
5	7.09 + 7.51, d + d	11.18	3.52 t (2H)	2.99 T(2H)	1.72 m (2H, CH2), 6.80
					br. s (3H, NH3+)
6	7.12 + 7.55, d + d	11.07	3.72 t (2H)	3.22 t (2H)	2.67 s (6H, 2NMe2)
7	7.15 + 7.56, d + d	11.10	3.74 t (2H)	3.23 m (6H)	1.02 (t, 6H)
8	7.10 + 7.52, d + d	11.15	3.70 t (4H)	3.19 t (4H)	7.24 br. s (2H, NH2+)
9	7.13 + 7.54, d + d	11.09	3.77 t (6H)	3.24 t (6H)	—

Elemental analysis of derivatives 1-9

TABLE 6
Substance	Found, %		Calculated, %
No.	C	H	N	Gross formula	C	H	N
1	36.46	2.33	12.82	C10H8BrN3O5	36.39	2.44	12.73
2	34.22	1.89	11.99	C10H7BrNaN3O5	34.12	2.00	11.93
3	32.62	1.80	11.41	C10H7BrKN3O5	32.62	1.92	11.41
4	37.41	4.12	12.53	C14H19BrN4O8	37.27	4.24	12.42
5	38.71	4.06	14.01	C13H17BrN4O6	38.53	4.23	13.83
6	40.32	4.29	13.55	C14H19BrN4O6	40.11	4.57	13.36
7	43.05	5.07	12.60	C16H23BrN4O6	42.97	5.18	12.53
8	38.69	4.30	12.93	C14H19BrN4O7	38.64	4.40	12.87
9	40.14	4.80	11.72	C16H23BrN4O7	40.10	4.84	11.69

Survivability of the animals

	TABLE 7
		Survivability of the animals
		by day 28 (in %)
		Intraventricular	Intravenous
		administration	administration
	Control 1—	100	100
	not treated with CCl4
	Control 2 —	5	5
	treated with CCl4, not
	treated with drugs
	Prototype	46	48
	1	59	57
	2	57	58
	3	59	60
	4	58	56
	5	61	60
	6	55	59
	7	57	60
	8	59	59
	9	58	60

Body weight of the surviving animals

TABLE 8
	Body weight of the animals
	by the 20th day (in %)
	Intraventricular	Intravenous
	administration	administration
Control 1—	175 ± 6	175 ± 6
treated with CCl4
Control 2—	137 ± 9	137 ± 9
treated with CCl4, not
treated with drugs
Prototype	160 ± 4	159 ± 4
1	170 ± 4	171 ± 5
2	162 ± 6	168 ± 6
3	174 ± 6	171 ± 6
4	170 ± 7	174 ± 9
5	161 ± 9	168 ± 7
6	175 ± 6	169 ± 6
7	171 ± 5	170 ± 9
8	173 ± 5	172 ± 6
9	170 ± 5	169 ± 7

The number of patients with a decrease in ALT by 30% or more from the baseline in groups.

TABLE 9
		The number of patients
	Total number	in the group with a
	of patients	decrease in ALT
Group	in the group	by 30% or more
Control	9	1
Patients taking derivative No. 1	30	23

The number of patients with a decrease in ASAT by 30% or more from the baseline by groups.

TABLE 10
		The number of patients
	Total number	in the group with a
	of patients	decrease in ASAT
Group	in the group	by 30% or more
Control	9	1
Patients taking derivative No. 1	30	23

The number of patients with a decrease in gamma glutaminetransferase by 30% or more from the baseline by groups.

TABLE 11
		The number of patients
	Total number	in the group with a
	of patients	decrease in GGTP
Group	in the group	by 30% or more
Control	9	2
Patients taking derivative No. 1	30	25

The number of patients with a decrease in ALT by 30% or more from the baseline by groups.

	TABLE 12
			The number of
			patients in the
		Total number	group with a
		of patients in	decrease in ALT
	Group	the group	by 30% or more
	Control	10	1
	Patients taking derivative No. 2	30	17

The number of patients with a decrease in ASAT by 30% or more from the baseline by groups.

TABLE 13
		The number of
		patients in the group
	Total number	with a decrease
	of patients in	in ASAT by
Group	the group	30% or more
Control	10	1
Patients taking derivative No. 2	30	19

The number of patients with a decrease in gamma glutaminetransferase by 30% or more from the baseline by groups.

TABLE 14
		The number of
		patients in the group
	Total number	with a decrease
	of patients	in GGTP by
Group	in the group	30% or more
Control	10	2
Patients taking derivative No. 2	30	25

Morphometric indices of the experimental animals treated with derivative No. 4 of the combined toxic liver damage caused by dichloroethane and phenacetin (day 10 of the experiment)

TABLE 15
	Experimental groups
			Enteral	Parenteral
			administration	administration
	Intact	Without	of derivative	of derivative
Indices	animals	treatment	No. 4	No. 4
Body weight, g	190 ± 5	150 ± 10	180 ± 15	185 ± 5

Biochemical indices of the experimental animals treated with derivative No. 4 of the combined toxic liver damage caused by dichloroethane and phenacetin (day 10 of the experiment)

TABLE 16
	Experimental groups
			Enteral	Parenteral
			administration	administration
	Intact	Without	of derivative	of derivative
Indices	animals	treatment	No. 4	No. 4
1	2	3	4	5
Total protein, g/l	64 ± 2	28 ± 4	52 ± 5	48 ± 4
Total lipids, g/l	3.7 ± 0.3	2.9 ± 0.1	3.2 ± 0.1	2.9 ± 0.2
Glucose, mmol/l	5.0 ± 0.3	3.2 ± 0.4	4.5 ± 0.4	4.6 ± 0.2
Cholesterol, mmol/l	1.72 ± 0.44	1.92 ± 0.24	1.58 ± 0.21	1.70 ± 0.26
Total bilirubin, mmol/l	3.0 ± 0.3	8.2 ± 0.2	3.2 ± 0.1	3.8 ± 0.2
ALT, μkat/l	0.20 ± 0.03	2.55 ± 0.25	0.54 ± 0.08	0.69 ± 0.06
ASAT, μkat/l	0.60 ± 0.05	1.54 ± 0.17	0.72 ± 0.06	0.76 ± 0.08
ALP, μkat/l	0.69 ± 0.10	3.15 ± 0.35	0.73 ± 0.09	0.82 ± 0.12
LDH, mmol/h/l	4.92 ± 0.32	15.56 ± 1.3	6.82 ± 0.34	8.24 ± 0.35
Timole test, units of turbidity	1.46 ± 0.04	10.27 ± 1.5	2.86 ± 0.44	3.22 ± 0.53
-SH-group, μmol/100 ml	1650 ± 90	330 ± 30	900 ± 50	640 ± 50
Ceruloplasmin, mg/l	420 ± 10	920 ± 70	520 ± 50	580 ± 80
ChE, μmol/g/min	2.5 ± 0.1	1.8 ± 0.3	2.1 ± 0.2	2.2 ± 0.2
Prothrombin time, s	33 ± 5	92 ± 17	43 ± 5	526 ± 8
Bromsulfalein, at the 10th minute	13.8 ± 1.2	54.2 ± 2.6	19.3 ± 1.1	23.0 ± 1.6
after the introduction, mg %

Liver values of the experimental animals treated with derivative No. 4 of the combined toxic liver damage caused by dichloroethane and phenacetin (day 10 of the experiment)

TABLE 17
	Experimental groups
			Enteral	Parenteral
			administration	administration
	Intact	Without	of derivative	of derivative
Indices	animals	treatment	No. 4	No. 4
Reduced	160 ± 5	50 ± 10	165 ± 10	170 ± 10
glutathione,
mg %
Glycogen,	2500 ± 100	400 ± 60	1600 ± 100	1500 ± 200
mg %
Cytochrome	1.24 ± 0.03	0.72 ± 0.06	0.98 ± 0.06	1.12 ± 0.03
P450 mmol/mg
protein ×10−4
Cytochrome	0.85 ± 0.04	0.34 ± 0.06	0.54 ± 0.07	0.68 ± 0.04
B5 mmol/mg
protein ×10−4
Hexenalum	25.0 ± 1.5	52.5 ± 2.5	27.0 ± 1.5	29.5 ± 1.5
sleep, min

                                 Survivability by the
Preparation                      10th day (%)
Untreated control                10
No. 1                            40
No. 2                            40
No. 4                            40
Prototype                        30
No. 1 and Prototype              100
Essentiale                       20
No. 2 and Essentiale             100
Ursodeoxycholic acid             20
No. 4 and ursodeoxycholic acid   100
Substance under the patent of the 20
Russian Federation No. 2400233*
No. 1 and Substance under the patent of 100
the Russian Federation No. 2400233
*Derivatives of bis(2-thio-4,6-dioxo-1,2,3,4,5,6-hexahydropyrimidin-5-yl)arylmethanes.

Claims

1. A compound 3-(4-bromophenyl)-6,6-dihydroxy-5-hydroxyiminohexahydro-2,4-pyrimidinedione and salts thereof, having a structure according to general formula:

2. The compound of claim 1, wherein the compound is substantially isolated.

3. The compound of claim 1, wherein X is H and the compound is produced by reacting an aqueous solution of 1-(4-bromophenyl)violuric acid with sulfuric acid, cooling the resulting solution, and isolating the resultant solid residue.

4. The compound of claim 1, wherein X is H.

5. The compound of claim 1, wherein X is Na.

6. The compound of claim 1, wherein X is K.

7. The compound of claim 1, wherein X is

8. A pharmaceutical composition comprising the compound of claim 1 and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or excipient.

9. The pharmaceutical composition of claim 8, further comprising an additional agent selected from Heptral, Essentiale, and ursodeoxycholic acid.

10. A pharmaceutical dosage form comprising the compound of claim 1, wherein the dosage form is selected from a tablet, a capsule, a liquid, a lyophilized substrate, a suppository, a cachet, and a sweet.

11. A pharmaceutical dosage form comprising the compound of claim 1, wherein the dosage form is for enteral administration.

12. A pharmaceutical dosage form comprising the compound of claim 1, wherein the dosage form is for parenteral administration.

13. A method of treating a liver disease in a subject in need of such treatment, comprising administering to the subject a therapeutically effective amount of the pharmaceutical composition of claim 8.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the liver disease is selected from hepatitis, intrahepatic cholestasis, hepatic encephalopathy, toxic liver damage, alcoholic liver disease, fatty hepatosis, and liver cirrhosis.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the hepatitis is chronic hepatitis, toxic hepatitis, or alcoholic hepatitis.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the pharmaceutical composition is administered enterally.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the pharmaceutical composition is administered parenterally.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the method further comprises administering an additional agent selected from Heptral, Essentiale, and ursodeoxycholic acid.

19. A method of treating a liver disease in a subject in need of such treatment, comprising administering to the subject a therapeutically effective amount of the compound of claim 1.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the liver disease is selected from hepatitis, intrahepatic cholestasis, hepatic encephalopathy, toxic liver damage, alcoholic liver disease, fatty hepatosis, and liver cirrhosis.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the hepatitis is chronic hepatitis, toxic hepatitis, or alcoholic hepatitis.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein the compound is administered enterally.

23. The method of claim 19, wherein the compound is administered parenterally.

24. The method of claim 19, wherein the method further comprises administering an additional agent selected from Heptral, Essentiale, and ursodeoxycholic acid.