Efficacy of Resveratrol Supplementation against Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Meta-Analysis of Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trials

Abstract

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease with rising prevalence. Increasing evidence has demonstrated that resveratrol, a dietary phytochemical, is capable of attenuating NAFLD development and progression; however, results from clinical studies are inconsistent and inconclusive. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy of resveratrol on NAFLD, using several parameters to provide new insights for clinical application. We systematically searched EMBASE, PubMed, Science Citation Index, Elsevier, and Cochrane Library databases for studies published up to date (July 2016), in English, to identify and screen eligible, relevant studies. Either a fixed-effect model or random model was used to estimate mean difference (MD) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the effect of resveratrol on NAFLD. Four randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trials involving 156 patients were included in the meta-analysis. Levels of low-density lipoprotein (MD = 0.47, 95% CI: 0.21, 0.74, P < 0.05) and total cholesterol (MD = 0.49, 95% CI: 0.18, 0.80, P < 0.05) were higher in the resveratrol treatment groups than in placebo control groups, whereas other parameters were not altered. Overall, this study indicates that resveratrol treatment has negligible effects on attenuating NAFLD, given the small improvement in NAFLD features. More high-quality clinical trials of resveratrol for NAFLD are required to confirm these results.

Green tea as a safe alternative approach for nonalcoholic fatty liver treatment: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of clinical trials

“…Until now, there has been a lack of proven medical therapies for NAFLD treatment (Popov & Lim, 2015). As knowledge about the mechanisms of NAFLD pathogenesis is growing, researchers are aiming to find effective therapeutic agents across pharmacology, nutrition, and complementary fields (Kanai et al, 2016;Trovato, Catalano, Martines, Pace, & Trovato, 2015;Zhang et al, 2016). Although the evidences showed that herbal remedies are generally better tolerated than synthetic medications (Izzo, Hoon-Kim, Radhakrishnan, & Williamson, 2016), there is a lack of conclusive information in efficacy and their possible side effect on diseases, and this issue made it one of the important problems faced by doctors .…”

“…Accordingly, the adoption of proper interventions to control NAFLD is important for any healthcare system. In modern medicine, lifestyle modification, in the form of diet, physical exercise, and weight loss, is considered as the best solution for NAFLD management, but these changes are difficult for many people, so an effective adjunctive therapy with minimal side effects is needed (Hekmatdoost et al, ; Zhang et al, ). Recent evidence suggests that plant‐derived natural products such as flavonoids and polyphenols, which are predominantly found in fruits, vegetables, and tea, may be promising in NAFLD management by reducing liver enzymes and acting as antioxidant and antiinflammatory agents (Marventano et al, ; Van De Wier et al, ).…”

Health benefits of resveratrol: Evidence from clinical studies

“…In summary, a subtle potential of resveratrol against NAFLD has been demonstrated only by two clinical trials. 133,134 It is suggested that the frequent coexistence of other pathological conditions in NAFLD patients may SINGH ET AL.…”

Liver fibrosis and hepatic stellate cells: Etiology, pathological hallmarks and therapeutic targets

“…The mechanisms through which resveratrol alleviates fibrosis are shown in Figure 4. Although resveratrol has been shown to have beneficial biological functions in the antifibrotic response, its efficacy in NAFLD is insignificant; indeed, a meta-analysis conducted by Zhang et al[110] indicated that resveratrol can only improve LDL and total cholesterol levels in patients with NAFLD.…”