Low-molecular-weight fucoidan and high-stability fucoxanthin decrease serum alanine transaminase in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease-A double-blind, randomized controlled trial

摘要

Brown seaweeds rich in flavonoids and bioactive polysaccharides have shown potential effects of suppressing fat" accumulation, oxidative stress, and inflammation in the liver. Refined seaweed compounds such as low-molecular-weight fucoidan and* high-stability fucoxanthin, have not been well studied regarding their biological function. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is, one of the most common liver diseases and is characterized by parameters of liver function and metabolic profiles. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the combined effect of fucoidan and fucoxanthin on NAFLD with respect to the biochemical parameters. Seventy patients .with NAFLD confirmed by abdominal echography and FibroScan were screened. Patients with seafood allergy and those taking vitamin E, pioglitazone, or liraglutide were excluded. Forty-two patients were randomly divided into a group receiving either fucoidan-fucoxanthin mixture or placebo. Both groups were subjected to 12-week follow-up! The degree of fatty liver and liver fibrosis was detected using transient elastography (TE) with, a controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) (FibroScan). The biochemistry of creatine, aspartate aminotrans-ferase, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and fasting blood sugar (FBS) was monitored every 4 weeks during the follow-up period. Moreover, the metabolic profile, including cholesterol, triglyceride, adiponectin, leptin, uric acid, and insulin, as well as complete blood count/differential count and C-reactive protein were measured at baseline, 4th, and 12th week of follow-up. There were no significant differences in the baseline of age, gender, BMI (body mass index), and severity of fibrosis in both groups, but more severe steatosis was observed in the treatment group. Combined supplementation of fucoidan and fucoxanthin led to a significant reduction of serum ALT compared to the control (P < 0.05). No prominent change was detected in the CAP and adiponectin, which may imply that this short intervention is not enough to improve NAFLD in patients receiving fucoidan-fucoxanthin binary mixture. In this pilot study, the seaweed derivative mixture can significantly reduce ALT, indicating that the combination of fucoidan and fucoxanthin might be a novel hepatoprotective supplement for NAFLD patients.