The effect of myo-inositol supplementation on nutritional status, cardiometabolic factors, liver function and gene expression of HIF1α, NF-κB, TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Abstract

significant improvements were observed in insulin sensitivity (reduction in insulin (p=0.008) and HOMA-IR (p=0.046)), lipid profile (reduced TC (p=0.010), LDL-C (p=0.004) and increased HDL-C (p=0.016)), and SBP (p=0.006) in MI group vs placebo group, while no significant differences were found for dietary intake, body mass index and other cardiometabolic factors. Furthermore, MI exerted slight ant-inflammatory effects through the down-regulation of HIF1α (p=0.011) gene and inhibiting TNF-α (p=0.005) mRNA expression compared with placebo. Moreover, MI supplementation improved NAFLD through the reductions in AST/ALT and liver steatosis (p=0.006 and p=0.014, respectively, without any inter-group differences in AST and ALT levels as well as liver fibrosis score at the end of the study. Conclusion: The findings of the present study indicate beneficial effects of MI supplementation in the improvement of NAFLD risk factors and severity of hepatic steatosis and MI supplementation could probably be used as adjunctive therapy for NAFLD. However, future studies with larger sample sizes and longer duration are required. Keywords: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, Myo- inositol, Inflammatory genes, Cardiometabolic factors