Given the increasing worldwide prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)and a lack of approved medication,the development of effective nutritional supplements for NAFLD has gained more attention.The use o...Given the increasing worldwide prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)and a lack of approved medication,the development of effective nutritional supplements for NAFLD has gained more attention.The use of the prebiotic inulin has been shown to protect against NAFLD by targeting the gut-liver axis.In this minireview,we present an overview of the hepatoprotective effects of inulin,including anti-liver injury,antisteatotic,anti-inflammatory,anti-fibrotic,and antioxidant activities.Additionally,the influence of inulin on gut microbiota,short-chain fatty acids,and bile acids observed along with NAFLD improvement are also dis-cussed.While the majority of hepatoprotective effects were demonstrated in animals,the efficacy of inulin to treat NAFLD in humans is yet to be validated.Since inulin can be easily purchased in the market as a supplement and often formulated with probiotic bacteria in synbiotic supplements,it is envisaged that more studies will be conducted to translate the findings reported in pre-clinical studies and determine a safe and effective dosage for human use.展开更多
基金supported by the Research Grants Council General Research Fund Ref.No.CUHK 14109223.
文摘Given the increasing worldwide prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)and a lack of approved medication,the development of effective nutritional supplements for NAFLD has gained more attention.The use of the prebiotic inulin has been shown to protect against NAFLD by targeting the gut-liver axis.In this minireview,we present an overview of the hepatoprotective effects of inulin,including anti-liver injury,antisteatotic,anti-inflammatory,anti-fibrotic,and antioxidant activities.Additionally,the influence of inulin on gut microbiota,short-chain fatty acids,and bile acids observed along with NAFLD improvement are also dis-cussed.While the majority of hepatoprotective effects were demonstrated in animals,the efficacy of inulin to treat NAFLD in humans is yet to be validated.Since inulin can be easily purchased in the market as a supplement and often formulated with probiotic bacteria in synbiotic supplements,it is envisaged that more studies will be conducted to translate the findings reported in pre-clinical studies and determine a safe and effective dosage for human use.
