NUTRACEUTICAL APPROACH TO NON-ALCOHOLIC FATTY LIVER DISEASE: A REVIEW

Nutraceutical is employed to explain a medicinal or nutritional component with a food, plant, or natural material that will be purified or concentrated. It is used to improve health by preventing or treating disease. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a clinical condition characterized by lipid infiltration of the liver with a high prevalence in the general population affecting 25% of adults with a double prevalence in diabetic and obese patients. Nearly 1/3 of NAFLD progresses to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), leading to liver fibrosis and cirrhosis. There are currently no specific drugs approved on the market to treat NAFLD. So the treatment is essentially based on lifestyle optimization. However, some nutraceuticals may contribute to developing liver lipid infiltration and related anthropometric, haemodynamic and/or biochemical parameters. The objective of this article is to review the available clinical data on the effect of nutraceuticals on NAFLD and other parameters related to NAFLD. There are relatively few nutraceutical molecules that are adequately studied for their effects on NAFLD and other related diseases. Among them, we have analyzed the effects of nutrients, vitamins, minerals, different bacteria, food supplements, and other nutraceuticals such as carnitine, omega-3 fatty acids, silymarin, and resveratrol. In conclusion, vitamins (such as E and D), silymarin, and omega-3 fatty acids if administered well and for medium to long periods and associated with lifestyle changes that could have positive effects on NAFLD and their related parameters.