Department of Physical Education and Recreation Studies, Faculty of Health and Community Studies, Mount Royal University, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Liver Int. 2012 May;32(5):701-11. doi: 10.1111/j.1478-3231.2011.02730.x. Epub 2011 Dec 30.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and the more severe non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) represent a spectrum of diseases involving hepatic fat accumulation and histological features essentially identical to alcoholic liver disease; however, they occur in the absence of excessive alcohol intake. They typically arise in conjunction with one or more features of the metabolic syndrome. Lifestyle mediated weight loss remains the primary mode of therapy for NAFLD and NASH, but this is often ineffective and adjunctive medical and surgical treatments are presently lacking. Prebiotic fibres are a group of non-digestible carbohydrates that modulate the human microbiota in a manner that is advantageous to host health. Rodent studies suggest that dietary supplementation with prebiotic fibres positively impacts NAFLD by modifying the gut microbiota, reducing body fat, and improving glucoregulation. Future research should focus on placebo-controlled, human, clinical trials using histological endpoints to address the effects of prebiotics on NAFLD and NASH. The aim of this review is to summarize current knowledge about prebiotics as an emerging therapeutic target for NAFLD.
非酒精性脂肪性肝病（NAFLD）和更严重的非酒精性脂肪性肝炎（NASH）代表了一系列涉及肝脂肪堆积和组织学特征与酒精性肝病基本相同的疾病；然而，它们发生在没有过量饮酒的情况下。它们通常与代谢综合征的一个或多个特征同时发生。生活方式介导的体重减轻仍然是非酒精性脂肪性肝病和非酒精性脂肪性肝炎的主要治疗模式，但这种方法往往效果不佳，目前缺乏辅助性的医疗和手术治疗。益生元纤维是一组不可消化的碳水化合物，它们以有利于宿主健康的方式调节人体微生物群。啮齿动物研究表明，通过改变肠道微生物群、减少体脂肪和改善血糖调节，用益生元纤维补充饮食可对非酒精性脂肪性肝病产生积极影响。未来的研究应集中在使用组织学终点的安慰剂对照、人体临床试验上，以解决益生元对非酒精性脂肪性肝病和非酒精性脂肪性肝炎的影响。本综述的目的是总结目前关于益生元作为非酒精性脂肪性肝病治疗新靶点的知识。
