Treatment efficacy of a probiotic preparation for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis: A pilot trial

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the therapeutic effect of a probiotic cocktail containing Lactobacilli, Bifidobacteria and Streptococcus thermophilus on non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). METHODS: In this open-label trial, 75 patients with NASH fed a low-fat/low-calorie diet were randomly divided into the control group and experimental group, with the latter receiving the probiotic cocktail once daily for 12 weeks. RESULTS: All patients were diagnosed with fatty liver by ultrasound examination and had elevated levels of gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and slightly increased body mass index (BMI) and cholesterol levels. BMI and serum cholesterol were reduced by the low-fat/low-calorie diet but ALT was not. However, the short-term (12-week) treatment with the probiotic cocktail caused a significant (by >20%) reduction of serum ALT compared with controls, indicating mitigation of inflammation. Accordingly, liver stiffness was decreased in the probiotic-treated group compared with the control group (P < 0.05). Moreover, a more significant decrease in the BMI and serum cholesterol was observed in the probiotic-treated group compared with control (P < 0.05). However, the reduction of GGT as a steatosis marker was insignificant. The composition of stool microbiota in probiotic-treated patients demonstrated a shift towards a normal pattern for all bacterial species examined. No adverse events were observed in any patient during the trial. CONCLUSION: Short-term treatment with the probiotic cocktail caused significant improvement of liver inflammation without adverse events and, thus, may represent a promising candidate therapeutic approach for NASH.