Table 2.
General and nutritional-associated compounds with beneficiary action on NAFLD.
| Compounds | Effects on Liver | Effects on Intestinal Microbiota | References | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glutathione | 1. Therapeutic effect of oral glutathione in patients with NAFLD | [121] | ||
| 2. Improvement of ALT blood levels | [122] | |||
| 3. Decrease in triglycerides, NEFAs, and ferritin levels | [127] | |||
| 4. Lowers protein-bound glutathione to normal basal levels | ||||
| 5. Improvement of hyperferritinemia and oxidative stress, and exertion of therapeutic effects in patients with NAFLD | ||||
| Soy lecithin as a source of choline and inositol | 1. Lecithin in the context of NAFLD is considered one of the most important sources of choline and inositol | [151] | ||
| 2. Choline, phosphatidylcholine, and lecithin are associated with the prevention of the development of fatty liver | [152] | |||
| 3. Choline and betaine have been shown in animal and human studies to prevent and even ameliorate NAFLD | [155] | |||
| 4. Lecithin ensures adequate TG export from the liver | [157] | |||
| Turmeric and curcumin extracts | 1. Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-fibrotic properties, as well as insulin-sensitizing effects | 1. Probiotic-like effects | [158] | |
| 2. Induces increased energy metabolism of adipocytes and/or induction of apoptosis, increased expression of neseptin levels in serum | [165,167] | |||
| 3. Loss of appetite, reduction in body fat, anti-inflammatory activities, anti-hyperglycemic activity, metabolic and neuroendocrine regulation | [168,169] | |||
| 4. Reduces body fat mass by inhibiting adipocyte differentiation through suppression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ and by increasing adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase resulting in lipolysis | [174] | |||
| 5. Enhances the activities of detoxifying enzymes such as glutathione-S-transferase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, catalase, and he-oxygenase-1 in the liver and thus suppresses oxidative stress in the liver | [179,180,181] | |||
| 6. Blocks the activation of key mediators of cellular inflammation such as NF-κB, 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX), and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) | [182,183] | |||
| 7. Inhibits the activation and proliferation of stellate cells in the liver, which have a known role in the progression of liver fibrosis | [184] | |||
| Silymarin | 1. Anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-fibrotic activity | [188] | ||
| 2. Reduces insulin resistance | [193] | |||
| 3. Reduces liver inflammation by inhibiting lipooxygenase activity and reducing the function of leukotrienes and their effect on Kupffer cells in the liver and by reducing oxidative stress by increasing glutathione levels | ||||
| 4. Improvement of serum superoxide dismutase activity and malondaldehyde (MDA) levels in rats in which NAFLD was induced | [192] | |||
| 5. Reduce serum aspartate aminotransferase enzyme levels and levels of triglycerides (TGs) and cholesterol including VLDL in NAFLD-induced rats | ||||
| Sterculic acid (SA) | 1. Improvement in glucose tolerance and blood pressure, reduction in body mass, and benefit in serum levels of triglycerides and adiponectin | [228] | ||
| Aquamin [241] | 1. Prevents and can even help stop the progression of NAFLD | 1. Regulates expression of several proteins related to cell differentiation in the colon mucosa | [235,241] | |
| 2. Reduce the formation of tumors | [236,237] | |||
| 3. Reduces inflammation, damage to hepatocytes, and the appearance of collagen deposits | 2. Change the intestinal bacterial profile | [241] | ||
| Oleic acid | 1. Prevents the accumulation of lipids in the liver | [248] | ||
| 2. De novo synthesized oleic acid contributes to the protection of hepatocytes against insulin resistance | ||||
| 3. Modulates the activity of liver X receptors (LXRs) | [249] | |||
| 4. Protects against the cytotoxic activity caused by treatment with palmitic acid-induced steatosis in primary rat hepatocytes in culture. | [259] | |||
| Bilirel (BIL) | 1. Rapid improvement in liver fat accumulation, improvement in glucose levels and metabolism | [260] | ||
| Cannabinoids | 1. Decreases fibrosis | [261] | ||
| 2. Stimulation of adipocyte metabolism | [262] | |||
| 3. Improvement on the insulin–glucose circuit and inhibition of weight gain | [263] | |||
| 4. Suppresses the development of NAFLD | [264,265,266] | |||
| 5. Decreases hepatic TG synthesis, as does VLDL synthesis, and increases insulin sensitivity |
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; 5-LOX, 5-lipoxygenase; COX-2, cyclooxygenase-2.