Turmeric Protects the Liver Against the Risk of Hepatic Steatosis in Obese

By Kyle J. Norton


The liver is the largest internal organ that not only plays an essential role to cleanse the blood coming from the digestive system before passing them to other parts of the body but secrets cholesterol to aid digestive function, produce steroid hormones and vitamin D and build strong cell walls.

Steatosis is a condition caused by abnormal retention of lipids within a cell or organ. Hepatic steatosis is a medical condition caused by the accumulation of fat in the liver.

In other words, if the fat of your liver is more than 5% of liver weight, you are considered to have hepatic steatosis. Over time, untreated hepatic steatosis can lead to advanced forms of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease which have been found to induce negatively the function of the liver, particularly.  in patients with obesity-associated with alcohol intoxication and/or hepatic disorders.

There are several mechanisms involved in the accumulation of intrahepatic fat, including increased flux of fatty acids to the liver, increased de novo lipogenesis, and/or reduced clearance through β-oxidation or very-low-density lipoprotein secretion.

People who are obese, having the condition of insulin resistance or diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, rapid weight loss, using hepatotoxic medications total parenteral nutrition (TPN) are at the increased risk of hepatic steatosis.

Conventionally, there is no effective treatment of liver steatosis. However, treatment of liver steatosis in obese are focusing to reduce weight and symptoms and improve quality of life, totally depending on the severity of the disease.

Usually, weight loss through a combination of a healthy diet and exercise is also the first line of treatment. in patients with an advanced stage of liver fibrosis, (cirrhosis) liver transplantation may be an option.

Turmeric is a perennial plant in the genus Curcuma, belonging to the family Zingiberaceae, native to tropical South Asia.

The herb has been used in traditional medicine as anti-oxidant, hypoglycemic, colorant, antiseptic, wound healing agent, and to treat flatulence, bloating, and appetite loss, ulcers, eczema, inflammations, etc.

On finding a natural compound for the prevention of liver steatosis, researchers examined the alleviation effect of KBH-1, an herbal mixture of Saururus chinensis, Curcuma longa and Polygala tenuifolia in obesity-induced hepatic steatosis.

The experiment included HepG2 cells, primary neuronal cells and a high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity rat model in vitro and in vivo.

According to the tested assays, KBH-1 not only suppressed the lipid deposition in HepG2 cells exposed to free fatty acids (FFA) but also significantly inhibited major factors in lipogenesis associated with the formation of fat and promoted major factors in lipolysis involved in breaking down of fats.

In high fat-induced obesity model, KBH-1 improved hepatic steatosis by alleviating the effects on lipogenic genes and kinases similarly to those in vitro.

Furthermore, KBH-1 significantly improved the leptin-mediated signals that regulate food intake, energy expenditure, metabolism,.. impaired by obesity or FFA in the obesity model.

Moreover, according to the HPLC analysis, onji-saponin B  and curcumin found in the formula has also potently suppressed the level of triglycerides.

In other words, KBH-1 activated the expression of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) associated with the regulation of energy metabolism that stimulates glucose uptake and lipid oxidation to produce energy and suppressed the expression of PPARγ involved in hepatic steatosis... in obesity.

Based on the findings, researchers wrote, "These findings show the potential of KBH-1 as a functional food supplement or preventive agent in the treatment of obesity (.associated with hepatic steatosis)".

Taken altogether, turmeric processed abundantly bioactive compound curcumin may be considered supplements for the prevention and treatment of hepatic steatosis in obese, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Intake of turmeric in the form of supplement should be taken with extreme care to prevent overdose acute liver toxicity.

Natural Medicine for Fatty Liver And Obesity Reversal - The Revolutionary Findings To Achieve Optimal Health And Lose Weight

How To Get Rid Of Eye Floaters 
Contrary To Professionals Prediction, Floaters Can Be Cured Naturally 

Ovarian Cysts And PCOS Elimination
Holistic System In Existence That Will Show You How To
Permanently Eliminate All Types of Ovarian Cysts Within 2 Months

Back to Kyle J. Norton Homepage http://kylejnorton.blogspot.ca


Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.

Sources
(1) KBH-1, an herbal composition, improves hepatic steatosis and leptin resistance in high-fat diet-induced obese rats by Lee JH1, Lee JJ1, Cho WK1, Yim NH1, Kim HK2, Yun B2, Ma JY. (PubMed)
(2) The effects of herbal composition Gambigyeongsinhwan (4) on hepatic steatosisand inflammation in Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima fatty rats and HepG2 cells by Yoon S1, Kim J1, Lee H1, Lee H1, Lim J1, Yang H2, Shin SS3, Yoon M. (PubMed)