Review
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World J Hepatol. Feb 27, 2015; 7(2): 204-212
Published online Feb 27, 2015. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v7.i2.204
Recent advances in dietary supplementation, in treating non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
Tannaz Eslamparast, Sareh Eghtesad, Hossein Poustchi, Azita Hekmatdoost
Tannaz Eslamparast, Azita Hekmatdoost, Department of Clinical Nutrition and Diet Therapy, Faculty of Nutrition and Food Technology, National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Science, 1981619573 Tehran, Iran
Tannaz Eslamparast, Sareh Eghtesad, Hossein Poustchi, Liver and Pancreatobiliary Diseases Research Center, Digestive Diseases Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, 14117-13135 Tehran, Iran
Author contributions: All authors contributed to this work.
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: Dr. Azita Hekmatdoost, Department of Clinical Nutrition and Diet Therapy, Faculty of Nutrition and Food Technology, National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Science, 7 No, West Arghavan St., Farahzadi Blvd., PO Box 19395-4741, 1981619573 Tehran, Iran. a_hekmat2000@yahoo.com
Telephone: +98-21-22360658 Fax: +98-21-22360657
Received: August 27, 2014
Peer-review started: August 31, 2014
First decision: September 28, 2014
Revised: November 9, 2014
Accepted: November 17, 2014
Article in press: November 19, 2014
Published online: February 27, 2015
Processing time: 169 Days and 15.4 Hours
Abstract

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is currently known as the most common liver problem, characterized by excessive lipid accumulation in hepatocytes, which may progress to other liver diseases such as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, hepatic tissue fibrosis, liver cirrhosis, and failure or hepatocellular carcinoma. Since NAFLD is positively associated with the development of obesity, insulin resistance, and ultimately type 2 diabetes mellitus, it is often regarded as the hepatic manifestation of the metabolic syndrome. No pharmacologic treatment has yet been proven for this disease. For most patients with presumed or confirmed NAFLD, the only proven strategy is to offer lifestyle advice that can lead to sustained weight loss. Since insulin resistance, oxidative stress, inflammation, and necro-apoptosis are involved in NAFLD pathogenesis, it seems that every potential therapeutic agent should target one or some of these pathologic events. There are many well known anti-oxidants, anti-inflammatory, and insulin sensitizer dietary supplements which have shown beneficial effects on NAFLD improvement in animal and human studies. The purpose of this review is to explore the existing evidences on dietary supplements considered to have hepatoprotective properties, and to present some proposed mechanisms by which they may protect against NAFLD.

Keywords: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; Dietary supplementation; Treatment

Core tip: This review explores the existing evidences on dietary supplements considered to have anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and/or insulin sensitizer properties, and their role in management of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease while addressing some of their proposed mechanism of action.