Table 1.

The influence of bioactive aliment compounds on NAFLD.

Nutrients/Category	Effects on Liver	Effects on Intestinal Microbiota	References
Dark chocolate	1. Positive effects on the lipid profile, reducing total and LDL cholesterol levels and increasing HDL levels		[36]
	2. Improve insulin resistance through reducing oxidative stress, improving endothelial function, and/or altering glucose metabolism		[39]
	3. Decrease aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels in the serum of NAFLD patients		[44]
	4. Increase glucose uptake, increase fatty acid and glucose oxidation, inhibit lipid synthesis		[45]
	5. Anti-inflammatory properties, which can regulate the TNF-κB gene expression and reduce inflammatory biomarkers and ROS production		[50]
Cocoa butter	1. Lowers cholesterol LDL levels and increases cholesterol HDL levels		[56]
Peanut butter	1. Lowers cholesterol LDL levels and increases protective cholesterol HDL levels.		[67]
	2. Prevents cell damage and induces cell repair, effects associated with reduced risk of chronic diseases such as NAFLD		[59,61]
Caffeine	1. Lowers the risk of NAFLD in healthy people		[75,77]
	2. Reduces the risk of developing fibrosis
Sweeteners
Stevia	1. Plays a role in glucose metabolism and has even been reported to improve the postprandial glucose–insulin index		[87]
	2. Significant improvement of liver enzymes blood levels, improvement of liver steatosis and liver fibrosis	1. Causes changes in the composition of the microbiome.	[88]
	3. Decreased inflammation associated with oxidative stress	2. An inverse relationship with Akkermansia abundance associated with body weight of mice and humans	[96]
	4. Lower gene expression related to oxidative stress. Improve fasting glucose levels and improve insulin sensitivity
Sucralose and saccharin		1. Sucralose may cause dysbiosis by reducing the total number of aerobic and anaerobic species, bifidobacteria, lactobacilli, Bacteriodes, and Clostridiales	[102]
		2. Saccharin may inhibit the growth of six bacterial strains: three species of lactobacilli and three strains of E. coli in animal models	[95]
		3. Associations between the consumption of sweeteners and a disturbed microbiota	[98]
Maltitol	1.Suppress cholesterol synthesis in the liver leading to a decrease in circulating cholesterol levels		[106,107]
	2. Maltitol mimics indigestible fibers, absorbs bile acids in the intestine, and reduces circulating bile acid levels, which leads to the activation of bile receptors in the liver and an increase in circulating bile acid levels		[108]
	3. Prevents obesity, hyperglycemia, hypercholesterolemia, and fatty liver degeneration in mice fed a high-fat diet		[109]
Erythritol	1. Long-term administration of Ery has no effect on body weight and glucose tolerance of young/adolescent mice		[110]
	2. Alleviate metabolic disorders in mice induced by a high-fat diet (HFD), including dyslipidemia, impaired glucose tolerance, and obesity		[111]
	3. Inhibits hepatic lipid accumulation and alleviate hepatic oxidative damage in HepG2 cells induced by fatty acid treatment and in high-fat diet-induced NAFLD models		[113]
	4. Exerts an antioxidant function by activating the Nrf2 signaling pathway, thus inhibiting endoplasmic reticulum stress and lipid accumulation and then playing a role in alleviating NAFLD.
Soluble dietary fiber (FDS)	1.Improvement caused by the administration of fructo-oligosaccharide (FOS) in improving NASH disease in mice	1. Improvement of intestinal barrier function	[139]
	2. Regulate the accumulation of lipids in the liver		[141]
	3. Inhibit fat accumulation in adipose tissue as well as promote lipid and glucose metabolism in the liver		[144]
	4. Provide potential ligands for the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ- (PPARγ), and as a result can result in improved insulin sensitivity		[145]
	5. Decrease expression of pro-inflammatory markers such as interleukin-6 and nuclear factor-kappa-beta (NF-κB), thereby raising the threshold for inflammatory reactions in the liver of rats fed a high-fat diet		[146]

LDL, Low-density lipoprotein; HDL, High-density lipoprotein; VLDL, Very low-density lipoprotein; TNF-α, Tumor necrosis alpha; NF-κB, Nuclear Factor-Kappa beta; ROS, Reactive oxygen species; AST, Aspartate aminotransferase; ALT, Alanine transaminase; NASH, Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis; NAFLD, Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; TGs, Triglycerides; MDA, Malondialdehyde; IL-1β, Interleukin-1 beta; IL-6, Interleukin-6.