| Summary: | <i>Background</i>: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) can be ameliorated by weight loss although difficult to maintain. Emerging evidence indicates that prebiotics and antibiotics improve NAFLD. <i>Aim</i>: To determine whether inulin supplementation after brief metronidazole therapy is effective in reducing alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and maintaining weight loss achieved through a very-low-calorie diet (VLCD) among people with NAFLD. <i>Methods</i>: Sixty-two people with NAFLD commenced 4-week VLCD using Optifast meal replacements (600 kcal/day). Sixty were then randomised into a 12-week double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel three-arm trial: (1) 400 mg metronidazole twice daily in Week 1 then inulin 4 g twice daily OR (2) placebo twice daily in week one then inulin OR (3) placebo-placebo. Main outcomes were ALT and body weight at 12 weeks. Fecal microbiota changes were also evaluated. <i>Results</i>: Mean body mass index (BMI) and ALT reduced after VLCD by 2.4 kg/m<sup>2</sup> and 11 U/L, respectively. ALT further decreased after metronidazole-inulin compared to after placebo-placebo (mean ALT change −19.6 vs. −0.2 U/L, respectively; <i>p</i> = 0.026); however, weight loss maintenance did not differ. VLCD treatment decreased the ratio of <i>Firmicutes</i>/<i>Bacteroidetes</i> (<i>p</i> = 0.002). <i>Conclusion</i>: Brief metronidazole followed by inulin supplementation can reduce ALT beyond that achieved after VLCD in patients with NAFLD.
|
|---|