Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jan 14, 2015; 21(2): 384-395
Published online Jan 14, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i2.384
Role of the diet as a link between oxidative stress and liver diseases
Teresa Arrigo, Salvatore Leonardi, Caterina Cuppari, Sara Manti, Angela Lanzafame, Gabriella D’Angelo, Eloisa Gitto, Lucia Marseglia, Carmelo Salpietro
Teresa Arrigo, Caterina Cuppari, Sara Manti, Gabriella D’Angelo, Eloisa Gitto, Lucia Marseglia, Carmelo Salpietro, Department of Pediatric, Gynecological, Microbiological and Biomedical Sciences, University of Messina, 98122 Messina, Italy
Salvatore Leonardi, Angela Lanzafame, Department of Medical and Pediatrics Science, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Sicily, Italy
Author contributions: All authors of this paper have equally participated in the planning ordrafting of the manuscript.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Leonardi Salvatore, MD, Department of Medical and Pediatrics Science, University of Catania, Via Santa Sofia, 64, 95123 Catania, Sicily, Italy. leonardi@unict.it
Telephone: +39-95-3782764 Fax: +39-95-378238
Received: September 4, 2014
Peer-review started: September 4, 2014
First decision: September 27, 2014
Revised: October 24, 2014
Accepted: December 1, 2014
Article in press: December 1, 2014
Published online: January 14, 2015
Abstract

Oxidative stress is caused by an imbalance between the production of reactive oxygen (free radicals) and the body’s ability (antioxidant capacity) to readily detoxify the reactive intermediates or easily repair the resulting damage. An adequate diet, characterized by daily intake of foods associated with improvements in the total antioxidant capacity of individuals and reduced incidence of diseases related to oxidation, can modulate the degree of oxidative stress. In fact, diet-derived micronutrients may be direct antioxidants, or are components of antioxidant enzymes, leading to improvement of some indicators of hepatic function. However, although their increased dietary intake might be beneficial, literature data are still controversial. This review summarizes what is known about the effects of diet nutrients on oxidative stress, inflammation and liver function. Moreover, we have analyzed: (1) the main nutritional components involved in the production and/or removal of free radicals; and (2) the role of free radicals in the pathogenesis of several hepatic diseases and related comorbidities.

Keywords: Nutrition, Micronutrients, Macronutrients, Liver disease, Oxidative stress

Core tip: Nutritional intake is a fundamental determinant of health. Recently, it has been observed that dietary supplementation has hepatoprotective and anti-oxidant effects. The aim of this review was to summarize the molecular changes promoted by diets and to underline the relationship between diet, oxidative stress and liver disease.