When It Comes to Protecting Liver Health, Can the “Rising Star” Ingredient Camu Camu Fruit Be Better?
"Invisible Assassin" - Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
Fatty liver, which is often mentioned by people, is actually the abbreviation of fatty liver disease. According to its relationship with drinking, it can be divided into alcoholic fatty liver and non-alcoholic fatty liver. In recent years, due to changes in diet, environment, living habits and other aspects, the incidence of fatty liver is still increasing, and the age of onset is getting younger and younger. It is common for young and middle-aged people to suffer from fatty liver in clinical practice.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a metabolic stress-induced liver injury that is closely related to insulin resistance and genetic susceptibility. The disease spectrum includes non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), etc. Currently, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has gone from a relatively unknown problem to the most common chronic liver disease in the world.
According to the Frost & Sullivan report, the number of people with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is on the rise worldwide, reaching 1.76 billion in 2020, while the number of people with NASH worldwide has risen from 310 million in 2016 to 350 million in 2020, and is expected to reach 490 million in 2030. In China, the number of people with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease was close to 200 million in 2020, and is expected to reach 280 million in 2030 due to the aging population and factors such as obesity and diabetes. In 2020, the number of people with NASH in China reached 38.7 million, and is expected to reach 55.5 million in 2030.
Dietary polyphenols support liver health
NAFLD brings a great economic burden to socioeconomic development due to its high incidence and pathological consequences. However, only limited drugs (including vitamin K, metformin) are available for intervention in NAFLD/NASH. Foods rich in polyphenols may be a new solution for people with NAFLD. Dietary polyphenols are the most common phytochemicals in food. They are mainly found in various fruits, vegetables, tea, cereals, and herbs. They have multiple biological activities in anti-oxidation, liver protection, and weight management, such as tea polyphenols, bioflavonoids, phenolic acids, and stilbenes. They are widely used in medical treatment, new drug development, food, and health food.
Many studies have confirmed the positive effects of polyphenols on NAFLD. Zhenyu Wang et al. found that dietary polyphenols can affect the vagus nerve afferent pathway in the central nervous system and enteric nervous system through the gut-brain-liver axis, thereby affecting NAFLD; curcumin is a plant polyphenol compound. LI CP et al. found that curcumin can reduce the expression of visceral adipose tissue in the liver of NAFLD rats, thereby reducing liver inflammation and insulin resistance...
Camu camu may improve non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
Camu-camu (CC) is a fruit native to the Amazon region of Peru and Brazil. It is considered one of the most important sources of vitamin C. Its VC content may be as high as 6000 mg/100 g, and it contains carotenoids, phenolic compounds, and minerals. Studies have shown that these compounds have important synergistic effects, such as lowering cholesterol, lowering blood sugar, anti-oxidation, and anti-inflammatory effects. A study published in Cell Reports Medicine found that polyphenol-rich substances extracted from CC may improve non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
The study conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial on 30 overweight and hypertriglyceridemia adults who took 1.5 g of CC capsules or placebo daily for 12 weeks. The results showed that liver fat decreased by 7.43% in the CC group and increased by 8.42% in the placebo group, showing a significant difference of 15.85%; in addition, CC reduced plasma aspartate and alanine aminotransferase levels and promoted changes in the composition of intestinal microbiota. This finding supports that polyphenol-rich prebiotics can help reduce liver fat in overweight adults and reduce the risk of NAFLD.
The above results support the hepatoprotective effect of CC on NAFLD. Considering the increasing prevalence of liver health problems and the lack of relevant drugs worldwide, these findings are clinically relevant. Of course, further long-term studies with larger sample sizes are also needed to confirm the beneficial effects of CC on NAFLD and cardiometabolic health in humans.
Summary
As a metabolic disease closely related to an unhealthy lifestyle, the incidence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is increasing year by year. Reasonable diet control, proper exercise and scientific health education can effectively reduce the incidence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Therefore, paying attention to and actively preventing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease from the source is of great significance for reducing its incidence and alleviating the social medical burden.
As a high-quality differentiated functional raw material, Camu has been well applied in cosmetics, but its application in diet-related products is still relatively limited, and its application is concentrated in a few regions such as North America and Japan. Since the regulations on diet-related products are often more stringent, it will take some time for food applications in other regions, but Camu has a long history of consumption in the local area, and the continuous deepening of scientific research will indirectly promote its promotion and application in the food industry, and it is very likely to become a new "Internet celebrity" food in the future.