Dietary CLA May Prevent Liver Disease

Dietary CLA May Prevent Liver Disease

SAGA, Japan--Japanese researchers studied the protective effects fromhepatic injury of dietary conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a mixture ofpositional and geometric isomers of linoleic acid. The study, published in theJanuary issue of the Journal of Nutrition (135:9-13, 2005) (www.nutrition.org),delved into the effects of supplemental CLA in Zucker rats with nonalcoholicfatty liver disease (NAFLD)--a term used to describe the spectrum of liverdamage ranging from hepatic steatosis to steatohepatitis, liver fibrosis andcirrhosis--that is emerging as the most common liver disease in industrializedcountries.

After eight weeks of supplementation, hepatomegaly, hepatic triglyceride (TG)accumulation and elevated hepatic injury markers in plasma were markedlyalleviated in CLA-fed rats compared with linoleic acid-fed (control) rats. Theeffects were attributed in part to the enhanced hepatic activities of carnitinepalmitoyltransferase, a key enzyme of fatty acid beta-oxidation, and microsomalTG transfer protein--an important factor for lipoprotein secretion due to theCLA diet. Adiponectin concentration was increased and the mRNA expression oftumor necrosis factor-alpha, an inflammatory cytokine, was markedly suppressedin the liver of CLA-fed rats.

The scientists concluded the enhanced level of liver adiponectin may preventthe development and progression of NAFLD in CLA-fed rats.