Abstract
Background
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common chronic liver disorders. The main causes of NAFLD are associated with insulin resistance, severe lipid metabolism disorders, oxidative stress and inflammation. Previous studies have reported that ginger has positive metabolic results.
Aim
The aim of this study was to determine the effect of ginger powder supplement on lipid profiles, insulin resistance, liver enzymes, inflammatory cytokines and antioxidant status in patients with NAFLD.
Methods
In this randomized clinical trial, 46 people with NAFLD were parted into two groups and subjected to the ginger or placebo capsules (3 capsules daily, each containing 500 mg of ginger or wheat flour) over 12 weeks. All patients received a diet with balanced energy and physical activity during the intervention period. Liver ultrasonography, anthropometric indices and biochemical parameters were measured before and after intervention.
Results
No significant difference was found between the two groups in the baseline variables at the beginning of the study. At the end of the study, serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C), fasting blood glucose, and insulin resistance index (HOMA), C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and fetuin-A in the group receiving a ginger supplement significantly decreased compared to placebo. However, there was no significant difference between the two groups in body weight, fasting insulin, HDL-C, triglyceride, adiponectin, alpha-tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), fatty liver index (FLI), fatty liver grade and blood pressure.
Conclusion
The ginger supplement may be used as a complementary therapy along with existing therapies to reduce insulin resistance, liver enzymes and inflammation in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver.
Data Sharing Statement
The data sets used and/or analyzed during this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request and permission for use was received by the ethics committee of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences.
Acknowledgments
The reported results were a part of the MSc thesis of Roya Rafie (NRC-9501) that is registered in the Nutrition and Metabolic Diseases Research. This study was supported by the Vice Chancellor for research affairs of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences.
Author Contributions
All authors contributed to data analysis, drafting or revising the article, gave final approval of the version to be published, and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.
Disclosure
The authors declare that they have no competing interests in this work.