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31.07.2024

Supplementing with butyrate reverses fatty liver disease

A daily dose of 1 gram of butyrate, a short chain fatty acid released by bacteria that ferment dietary fibers in the large intestine, may prevent fatty liver disease. A small Italian trial suggests this. And no, it is not sponsored by a manufacturer.

Study
Italian doctors, affiliated with the Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, published a trial in Nutrients in the summer of 2024 in which 50 test subjects with fatty liver participated. The test subjects had non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, usually as a result of an unhealthy lifestyle with poor nutrition, little exercise and obesity.

The researchers divided the subjects into 2 groups. The subjects in one group took a placebo every day for 3 months. The subjects in the experimental group took 2 capsules of the supplement shown below every day after dinner. No, the manufacturer did not contribute to the study.

The supplement provided 1000 milligrams of calcium butyrate, 10 milligrams of zinc and 1000 IU of vitamin D3 daily. Butyrate was probably the most important component of the supplement. Butyrate is a short-chain fatty acid. It is released when microorganisms ferment indigestible fiber in the intestine.

Results
In the group that took the butyrate-zinc-vitamin D combination, scores with which hepatologists estimate the severity of fatty liver disease improved. In the supplementation group, the fatty liver index and the hepatic steosis index decreased. You can read how the researchers calculated those scores here.

You can see the scores in the table below. Click on it for a larger version.

There was no improvement in scores in the placebo group. [Table]

The researchers determined the fatty liver of their test subjects with scans. According to the scans, there was a slight trend towards improvement in the supplementation group and stabilization in the placebo group - but the difference is negligible.

Conclusion
"Further research is needed to confirm these suggestive findings, especially larger and longer-term studies involving individuals with a more severe degree of disease", the researchers put their findings into perspective.

Source:
Nutrients. 2024;16(15):2454.

More:
Supplement with vitamin E supports the non-alcoholic fatty liver 28.11.2023
Obese with a fatty liver? This dose of myo-inositol makes you healthier 27.02.2023
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