JOURNAL OF LIAONING TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

INVESTIGATING THE EFFECTS OF GUT MICROBIOTA MODULATION ON NON-ALCOHOLIC FATTY LIVER IN ADULTS

Rizwan Ahmed, Sundus Khalid, Sakib Zaheer, Poshmal Zahid, Shingraf Waseem, Matee Ullah

ABSTRACT

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is driven by lifestyle factors and limited by existing treatment options. Gut microbiota modulation, focusing on restoring microbial balance, offers a promising alternative by reducing inflammation and improving lipid metabolism. Therefore, this randomized controlled trial assessed the impact of gut microbiota modulation on NAFLD progression over six months in 80 adult participants. Interventions included probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, and dietary changes, with a control group. Liver function, lipid profiles, insulin sensitivity, and gut microbiota composition were evaluated. Results showed significant improvements in liver function and lipid profiles in the intervention groups, especially with synbiotics, which exhibited the lowest ALT (29.6 ± 4.3 U/L) and AST (27.0 ± 4.1 U/L) levels. Lipid profiles were most favorable in the dietary and synbiotics groups, with the lowest total cholesterol (158 ± 11 and 160 ± 12 mg/dL, respectively) and LDL levels. Gut microbiota analysis revealed higher diversity in the synbiotics group (Shannon Index: 3.8 ± 0.5) and increased levels of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium compared to the control. Insulin sensitivity, measured by HOMA-IR, was also notably better in the synbiotics group (1.5 ± 0.3) versus the control (2.5 ± 0.6). Our study concluded that gut microbiota modulation, especially with synbiotics improved liver health, lipid profiles, and insulin sensitivity in NAFLD patients. Synbiotics showed the most benefit among interventions, suggesting their potential as an effective addition to standard care. Future studies should further explore these benefits with larger samples and extended follow-up to establish synbiotics' role in long-term NAFLD management.

Keywords: Dysbiosis, Inflammation, Insulin Sensitivity, Lipid Metabolism, Synbiotics.