No benefit of soluble fiber on liver function.

Abed Ghavami, Sepide Talebi, Hanieh Barghchi, Elyas Nattagh-Eshtivani, Hamed Mohammadi, Rahele Ziaei

Journal: International journal for vitamin and nutrition research. Internationale Zeitschrift fur Vitamin- und Ernahrungsforschung. Journal international de vitaminologie et de nutrition 2024;94(5-6):394-404

PMID: 38044659

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Plain Language Summary

Dietary fibre has been proposed to be beneficial for several factors involved in the development of liver disease, such as inflammation. However, dietary fibre intake is much lower than recommended levels in the general population. Supplementation with synthetic fibres has been proposed to bridge this gap. This systematic review and meta-analysis examined whether synthetic or isolated soluble fibre supplementation has any impact on liver function. Researchers reviewed data from 25 randomised controlled trials, involving nearly 1,800 healthy individuals and those with certain health conditions, to assess changes in various liver function markers after taking soluble fibre. The trials varied in duration and the amount of fibre used.

The results showed that soluble fibre supplementation did not significantly change levels of important liver function indicators, such as alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, gamma-glutamyl transferase, serum bilirubin, and albumin.

It was concluded that adding soluble fibre to the diet does not offer benefits for liver health in either healthy individuals or those with specific health conditions. This study could be used by healthcare professionals to understand that the supplementation of synthetic or isolated soluble fibre may not affect liver function, however it is unclear of the effects of soluble fibre supplementation on liver fat content.

Abstract

To conduct a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of current findings from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the effect of soluble fiber supplementation on liver function in both healthy individuals and people with specific health conditions, PubMed, Scopus, and ISI Web of Science were systematically searched for relevant RCTs published prior to April 2022. We estimated the change in liver function parameters for each 5 g/d increment in soluble fiber in each trial and then calculated the mean difference (MD) and 95%CI. A total of 25 RCTs with 27 treatment arms (1744 subjects; 884 cases, 860 controls) were included. A total of 25 RCTs with 27 treatment arms were included. The intervention duration of the included studies ranged from 3 to 52 weeks and the dose of soluble fiber supplementation varied from 0.0025 to 40 g/d. Soluble fiber supplementation could not significantly affect serum alanine transaminase (MD: -0.02 U/L, 95% CI: -1.06 to 1.01), aspartate transaminase (MD: -0.34 U/L, 95% CI: -0.84 to 0.15), alkaline phosphatase (MD: 0.29 U/L, -0.14 to 0.71), gamma-glutamyl transferase (MD: 0.12 U/L; 95% CI: -0.81 to 1.05), serum bilirubin (MD: 0.42μmol/L, 95% CI: -0.08 to 0.93) and albumin (MD: 0.64 g/dl, 95% CI: -0.42 to 1.70) levels. Findings from this study did not support the beneficial effects of soluble fiber supplementation on liver function biomarkers. There is a need for long-term high-quality interventions to examine the effects of different types and doses of soluble fibers on liver function as primary outcome.

Address: Department of Clinical Nutrition, School of Nutrition and Food Science, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Iran.; Department of Clinical Nutrition, School of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran.; Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Iran.; Nutrition, Food Sciences and Clinical Biochemistry Department, School of Medicine, Social Development and Health Promotion Research Center, Gonabad University of Medical Sciences, Iran.; Department of Community Nutrition, School of Nutrition and Food Science, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Iran.

DOI: 10.1024/0300-9831/a000800