Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Caffeine

Abstract

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is defined as over 5% lipid accumulation in hepatocytes without viral infection, a significant amount of alcohol intake (10 g/day for women, 20 g/day for men) and any other etiology of liver disease. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease prevalence is directly proportional to obesity, insulin resistance and other components of the metabolic syndrome (MetS). Research on development, progression and treatment of NAFLD, which also causes complications outside of the liver, have increased. Recent research have shown that coffee consumption has a protective effect on the liver. It has been reported that caffeine from coffee has anti-fibrotic activity with various mechanisms in hepatocytes and hepatic stellate cells (HSC). The purpose of this review is to examine the protective effects of caffeine on NAFLD based on current literature.