Objective: To study the clinical effect of probiotics in the treatment of
non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (
NAFLD). Methods: A total of 200 patients with
NAFLD were randomly divided into 4 groups: control group (routine treatment group) and combined treatment group A, B and C. Each group had equal patients. The control group received orally
polyene phosphatidylcholine capsules; whereas combined group A, B and C were given orally the live "combined Bifidobacterium Lactobacillus and Enterococcus
powder" , "two live combined Bacillus subtilis and Enterococcus" , and the both probiotics respectively. The
duration of treatment was 1 month. Laboratory parameters were evaluated before treatment and thirtieth day
after treatment, including
cholesterol (TC),
triglyceride (TG),
high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C),
low density lipoprotein cholesterol(
LDL-C),
alanine aminotransferase(ALT),
aspartate aminotransferase (AST), fasting
blood glucose (FPG), serum high molecular weight
adiponectin (HMW-APN) and serum TNFα. Meanwhile the faece sample was collected for routine test and bacterial culture. Liver ultrasound scan was done in all patients. Results: In terms of blood
lipids and
blood glucose, each group improved
after treatment with significant differences (P<0.05) except for HDL-C. As for liver function, serum ALT and AST decreased
after treatment in each group; especially in combined group C which were lower than those of control group [(33.7±7.6) U/L vs. (45.0±8.5) U/L; (22.0±1.6) U/L vs. (29.4±3.7) U/L; P<0.05]. TNFα levels decreased
after treatment in each group, in addition the values in combined group C was significantly lower than that of control group[(0.51±0.27) µg/L vs. (0.82±0.28) µg/L, P<0.05]. Serum HMW-APN increased
after treatment in each group, and the HMW-APN in combined C group was significantly higher than that of control group[(9.28±3.72) µg/L vs. (7.87±3.96)µg/L, P<0.05]. (5)
After treatment, all groups showed improvement of
fatty liver by ultrasound, but the difference between groups was not statistically significant. (6) Compared with before treatment, fecal flora in combined groups was all reduced (P<0.01), but it was comparable before and
after treatment in control group. Conclusions: Probiotics improve intestinal microecological system in
NAFLD patients via inhibiting TNFα and enhancing
adiponectin, possibly resulting in regulating
blood glucose, lipid metabolism, and protecting liver injury from
NAFLD.