Table 1.

Animal models of non‐alcoholic fatty liver diseases

Model	Summary of diet composition	Obese	Steatosis	NASH	Fibrosis	HCC
High‐fat diet	45–75% of the animals' total calorie intake is derived from fat. The classic reported HFD model comprised 71% fat, 11% carbohydrates, and 18% protein	Yes	Yes	Yes (mild)	Yes	No
ob/ob mice	NA	Yes	Yes	No (does not develop spontaneously)	No (resistant to fibrosis)	No
db/db mice	NA	Yes	Yes	No (does not develop spontaneously)	No (does not develop spontaneously)	No
Methionine and choline‐deficient diet	Diet usually consists of sucrose (40% of energy) and fat (10%); however, it is deficient in methionine and choline	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
High‐cholesterol diet	Approximately 1% of animals' total calorie intake is from cholesterol. Often fed in conjunction with high fat (15%) or high cholate (0.5%)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
foz/foz mice	NA	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Choline‐deficient high‐fat diet	20% protein, 35% carbohydrate, and 45% fat, without choline added	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Choline‐deficient l‐amino acid‐defined diet	28.9 kcal/g l‐glutamic acid, 15.8 kcal/g l‐aspartic acid, 12.7 kcal/g l‐arginine, and 10.5 kcal/g l‐leucine, without choline bitartrate	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Choline‐deficient l‐amino acid‐defined diet + carbon tetrachloride	28.9 kcal/g l‐glutamic acid, 15.8 kcal/g l‐aspartic acid, 12.7 kcal/g l‐arginine, and 10.5 kcal/g l‐leucine, without choline bitartrate, with CCl4 injection	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
High‐fat diet + streptozotocin	24.8% protein, 46.7% nitrogen‐free extract, and 14.4% fat, with 200‐µg streptozotocin injection	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Hepatocyte‐specific PTEN‐deficient mice	NA		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Db/db mice + DEN	NA	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes

DEN, diethylnitrosamine; HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma; NA, not available; NASH, non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis; PTEN, phosphatase and tensin homologue.