Title:Is There a Role for Curcumin Supplementation in the Treatment of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease? The Data Suggest Yes
Volume: 23
Issue: 7
Author(s): Narges Amel Zabihi, Matteo Pirro, Thomas P. Johnston and Amirhossein Sahebkar
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Curcumin, steatosis, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, dyslipidemia, inflammation.
Abstract: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common type of liver disease. NAFLD is considered
a multifactorial disease and a clinically relevant hepatic manifestation of metabolic syndrome. NAFLD is
often accompanied by a constellation of metabolic and non-metabolic alterations, like dyslipidemia, insulin resistance
in the liver and peripheral tissues, inflammation and oxidative stress; therefore, treatment of NAFLD should
be directed at correcting all of these disturbances. The natural polyphenol curcumin has been the subject of increasing
research for the treatment of NAFLD due to its lipid-modifying, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, insulinsensitizing,
anti-steatotic, and anti-fibrotic properties. The therapeutic efficacy of curcumin has been demonstrated
in several experimental models of NAFLD, however, clinical evidence is still scarce. The present review
summarizes the current knowledge on the impact of curcumin supplementation on different biochemical and
histopathological features of NAFLD.
