Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (
NAFLD) and its advanced stage, non-
alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), are a major health issue throughout the world. Certain food components such as
polyphenols are expected to possess preventive effects on
NAFLD and NASH. In this study, the preventive effects of black soybean
polyphenols were examined by using three
NAFLD/NASH animal models. In a
choline-deficient and L-
amino acid-defined high-fat diet-induced NASH model, the intake of black soybean
polyphenols decreased oxidative stress, but failed in attenuating liver injury and decreasing the expression of alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA). In a Western diet with
sucrose and
fructose containing sweetened water-induced
NAFLD model, black soybean
polyphenols suppressed hepatic
lipid accumulation, oxidative stress,
aminotransferase activities in the plasma, inflammatory
cytokine expression, and α-SMA expression accompanied by modulation of lipid metabolism. In a combination of Western diet and
carbon tetrachloride model, black soybean
polyphenols also suppressed hepatic
lipid accumulation, oxidative stress,
aminotransferase activities in the plasma, and α-SMA expression. In conclusion, black soybean is an attractive food for the prevention of
NAFLD and NASH due to its strong
antioxidant activity.