Nutrients, herbs & natural products studied for Fatty Liver
14 PubMed clinical trials & meta-analyses analyzed
AI summary
Evidence stage: Meta-AnalysisAcross the abstracts, the main studied natural products for fatty liver conditions were resistant starch, silymarin, vitamin E, vitamin D, and artichoke leaf extract, with some broader reviews also covering dietary polyphenols and fecal microbiota transplantation-related probiotic use. The strongest human evidence in the provided set comes from meta-analyses and randomized controlled trials, especially for silymarin and vitamin E, while resistant starch and artichoke leaf extract were each tested in individual randomized trials. Observed outcomes included changes in intrahepatic triglyceride content, liver histology, liver enzymes, lipids, insulin resistance markers, and gut microbiome features, with direction of effects varying by compound and study. Some abstracts report improvements, while others describe uncertainty or mixed effects, particularly in systematic reviews. This evidence is educational; it is not FDA-approved and is not medical advice.
Doses are those reported in the studies, not recommendations. Talk to your doctor before taking anything.
Vitamin E
NutrientStrong evidenceMeta-AnalysisDoses studied: 300 mg orally daily; dose, duration, and route also included in systematic review as any dose/duration/route
Duration: 3 months in the randomized trial; not specified in the systematic review abstract
In the randomized trial, 29.3% of participants in the vitamin E group achieved the primary histologic outcome compared with 14.1% in placebo. The study reported significant improvement in steatosis, lobular inflammation, and fibrosis stages. The systematic review evaluated vitamin E alone or combined with other vitamins or minerals, but the abstract does not provide pooled outcome estimates.
Silymarin
HerbStrong evidenceMeta-AnalysisDoses studied: Not specified in abstract
Duration: Not specified in abstract
A meta-analysis of 26 randomized controlled trials involving 2,375 patients reported that silymarin significantly reduced total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-C, fasting insulin, and liver injury markers including ALT, and increased HDL-C. The abstract also states that it attenuated liver injury, while the HOMA-IR result was reported as not clearly significant in the excerpted text. Another systematic review of dietary polyphenols also included silymarin among the studied compounds.
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