Positive Health Online

Abstract

NAKAMOTO and COLLEAGUES, 1. Department of Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kobe Gakuin University review published research regarding  clinical benefits of n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3- PUFAs) as a potential treatment for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

Background

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is characterized by the pathological accumulation of fat in the liver in the absence of any other disease related to liver steatosis, which includes a wide spectrum of liver diseases ranging from mild asymptomatic fatty liver to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and cirrhosis.

Methodology

Recently, it was reported that NAFLD is characterized by the impaired bioavailability of liver n-6 and n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). That is, compared with healthy individuals, steatosis and steatohepatitis patients have higher n-6/n-3 PUFA ratios.

Results

Furthermore, per recent research, decreasing the intake of total fats and increasing the intake of n-3 PUFAs may be beneficial in the treatment of NAFLD. In contrast, some reports describe that NASH patients have more metabolic abnormalities than NAFLD patients; however, these are not influenced by dietary fatty acids.

Conclusion

Thus, at present, various opinions exist regarding the efficacy of n-3 PUFA in the treatment of NAFLD. In this review, we discuss the considerable interest n-3 PUFA has attracted as a potential treatment for NAFLD.

References

Nakamoto K1, Obata T, Hirasawa A, Kim KI, Kim SR, Tokuyama S.[A Future Perspective on the Involvement of n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid in the Development of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease/Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis]. [Article in Japanese]. Yakugaku Zasshi. 136(4):583-9. doi: 10.1248/yakushi.15-00264-4. 2016.