Impact of Long-Term Supplementation with Fish Oil in Individuals with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Double Blind Randomized Placebo Controlled Clinical Trial

Randomized Controlled Trial

. 2020 Nov 2;12(11):3372.

doi: 10.3390/nu12113372.

Affiliations

PMID: 33147705
PMCID: PMC7693661
DOI: 10.3390/nu12113372

Randomized Controlled Trial

Kátia Cansanção et al. Nutrients. 2020.

Abstract

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a chronic disease affecting up to 25% of the population worldwide. n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) have been associated with improved clinical parameters of NAFLD. Our purpose was to conduct a pilot study to evaluate the effects of n-3 PUFA supplementation in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study performed on NAFLD individuals diagnosed by ultrasound. Patients received n-3 PUFA (n = 13) or placebo (n = 11) supplementation for six months. Circulating miR-122 expression (determined by quantitative real time-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), liver fibrosis (FibroScan®), red blood cells (RBC) fatty acids (gas chromatography), and biochemical tests were performed at baseline and after intervention. After the intervention, in the n-3 PUFA group, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and omega index increased significantly in RBC (p = 0.022 and p = 0.012, respectively), in addition to a significant reduction in alkaline phosphatase (ALP) (p = 0.002) and liver fibrosis (p = 0.039). However, there was no change in the expression of circulating miR-122 in both groups. Our results showed that omega-3 PUFA were incorporated in erythrocytes after six months of fish oil supplementary intake, and that n-3 PUFA were effective in reducing ALP and liver fibrosis without altering the expression of circulating miR-122 in individuals with NAFLD.

Keywords: NAFLD; alkaline phosphatase; fish oil; liver fibrosis; miR-122; miRNA; polyunsaturated fatty acid.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1

CONSORT flow chart of participant flow.

Figure 2

Percentage of DHA (A), EPA (B), n-3 DPA (C), total n-3 PUFAs (D), and omega-3 index (EPA + DHA) (E), in RBC, at baseline and after six months of intervention. Within-group differences were assessed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Values are medians and interquartile ranges (IQRs). * p < 0.05 is considered statistically significant. DHA, docosahexaenoic acid; EPA, eicosapentaenoic acid; n-3 DPA, omega-3 docosapentaenoic acid; n-3 PUFA, omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid; RBC, red blood cell.

Figure 3

Comparison between the relative expression of miR-122 after six months of intervention. Within-group differences were assessed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test.

Cited by

Can Nutraceuticals Support the Treatment of MASLD/MASH, and thus Affect the Process of Liver Fibrosis?
Sokal-Dembowska A, Jarmakiewicz-Czaja S, Ferenc K, Filip R. Sokal-Dembowska A, et al. Int J Mol Sci. 2024 May 11;25(10):5238. doi: 10.3390/ijms25105238. Int J Mol Sci. 2024. PMID: 38791276 Free PMC article. Review.
What's New in the Treatment of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD).
Kosmalski M, Frankowski R, Ziółkowska S, Różycka-Kosmalska M, Pietras T. Kosmalski M, et al. J Clin Med. 2023 Feb 26;12(5):1852. doi: 10.3390/jcm12051852. J Clin Med. 2023. PMID: 36902639 Free PMC article. Review.
Effectiveness of Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Aziz T, Niraj MK, Kumar S, Kumar R, Parveen H. Aziz T, et al. Cureus. 2024 Aug 28;16(8):e68002. doi: 10.7759/cureus.68002. eCollection 2024 Aug. Cureus. 2024. PMID: 39347373 Free PMC article. Review.
Functional foods and dietary supplements in the management of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Wang LL, Zhang PH, Yan HH. Wang LL, et al. Front Nutr. 2023 Feb 14;10:1014010. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2023.1014010. eCollection 2023. Front Nutr. 2023. PMID: 36866059 Free PMC article.
Diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Fu Y, Zhou Y, Shen L, Li X, Zhang H, Cui Y, Zhang K, Li W, Chen WD, Zhao S, Li Y, Ye W. Fu Y, et al. Front Pharmacol. 2022 Nov 2;13:973366. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2022.973366. eCollection 2022. Front Pharmacol. 2022. PMID: 36408234 Free PMC article. Review.

References

1. Younossi Z.M., Koenig A.B., Abdelatif D., Fazel Y., Henry L., Wymer M. Global epidemiology of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease—Meta-analytic assessment of prevalence, incidence, and outcomes. Hepatology. 2016;64:73–84. doi: 10.1002/hep.28431. - DOI - PubMed
1. Ekstedt M., Hagström H., Nasr P., Fredrikson M., Stål P., Kechagias S., Hultcrantz R. Fibrosis stage is the strongest predictor for disease-specific mortality in NAFLD after up to 33 years of follow-up. Hepatology. 2015;61:1547–1554. doi: 10.1002/hep.27368. - DOI - PubMed
1. Buzzetti E., Pinzani M., Tsochatzis E.A. The multiple-hit pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) Metabolism. 2016;65:1038–1048. doi: 10.1016/j.metabol.2015.12.012. - DOI - PubMed
1. Cansanção K., Monteiro L.S., Leite N.C., Dávalos A., Do Carmo M.D.G.T., Ferreira Peres W.A. Advanced liver fibrosis is independently associated with palmitic acid and insulin levels in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Nutrients. 2018;10:1586. doi: 10.3390/nu10111586. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
1. Yasutake K., Kohjima M., Kotoh K., Nakashima M., Nakamuta M., Enjoji M. Dietary habits and behaviors associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. World J. Gastroenterol. 2014;20:1756–1767. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i7.1756. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Impact of Long-Term Supplementation with Fish Oil in Individuals with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Double Blind Randomized Placebo Controlled Clinical Trial - PubMed (original) (raw)