Bile acid metabolism and liver fibrosis following treatment with bifid triple viable capsules in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Yuqing Zhou; Wen Lu; Guorong Yang; Yifeng Chen; Jiwei Cao; Chunli Zhou

Bile acid metabolism and liver fibrosis following treatment with bifid triple viable capsules in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Am J Transl Res. 2021 Dec 15;13(12):13485-13497. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Yuqing Zhou¹, Wen Lu¹, Guorong Yang¹, Yifeng Chen¹, Jiwei Cao¹, Chunli Zhou¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Gastroenterology, The Affiliated Suzhou Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Suzhou Municipal Hospital, Gusu School, Nanjing Medical University Suzhou, Jiangsu, China.

PMID: 35035690
PMCID: PMC8748085

Abstract

Purpose: This study investigated liver enzymes, bile acid metabolism, and liver fibrosis in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) to evaluate the therapeutic effects of microecological preparations on fatty liver.

Methods: Liver enzymes, liver fibrosis, and bile acids were assessed in 40 healthy volunteers and 124 NAFLD patients. All patients were retested for liver enzymes, bile acids, and liver fibrosis after two months of bifid triple viable capsule therapy. Results: (1) Prior to treatment, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, glutamyl transpeptidase, FibroScan liver stiffness, total bile acid, chenodeoxycholic acid, deoxycholic acid, glycocholic acid, glycochenodeoxycholic acid, glycodeoxycholic acid, taurocholic acid, taurochenodeoxycholic acid, taurodeoxycholic acid, and taurolithocholic acid increased with the severity of NAFLD (P<0.05). Primary/secondary bile acids increased in patients compared to healthy controls; free/conjugated bile acids decreased (P<0.05). (2) We detected a positive correlation between total bile acid, cholic acid, chenodeoxycholic acid, deoxycholic acid, ursodeoxycholic acid, glycocholic acid, glycochenodeoxycholic acid, glycodeoxycholic acid, taurocholic acid, taurochenodeoxycholic acid, taurodeoxycholic acid, taurolithocholic acid, tauroursodeoxycholic acid, and FibroScan liver stiffness. (3) Following treatment, liver enzymes decreased. Bile acids were impacted by decreasing primary/secondary bile acids and increasing free/conjugated bile acids. Improvements were observed in the fibrosis of mild fatty liver. No effects were observed for moderate and severe fatty liver.

Conclusions: Liver enzymes, bile acids, and liver fibrosis were correlated with the severity of NAFLD. There were positive correlations between bile acids and liver fibrosis. Bifid triple viable capsules could decrease liver enzymes and impact bile acid metabolism but failed to effectively improve liver fibrosis.

Keywords: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; bifid triple viable capsules; bile acids; liver fibrosis.