Protective role of curcumin in disease progression from non-alcoholic fatty liver disease to hepatocellular carcinoma: a meta-analysis

Abstract

Background: Pathological progression from non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) to liver fibrosis (LF) to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common dynamic state in many patients. Curcumin, a dietary supplement derived from the turmeric family, is expected to specifically inhibit the development of this progression. However, there is a lack of convincing evidence.Methods: The studies published until June 2023 were searched in PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and the Cochrane Library databases. The SYstematic Review Center for Laboratory animal Experimentation (SYRCLE) approach was used to evaluate the certainty of evidence. StataSE (version 15.1) and Origin 2021 software programs were used to analyze the critical indicators.Results: Fifty-two studies involving 792 animals were included, and three disease models were reported. Curcumin demonstrates a significant improvement in key indicators across the stages of NAFLD, liver fibrosis, and HCC. We conducted a detailed analysis of common inflammatory markers IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α, which traverse the entire disease process. The research results reveal that curcumin effectively hinders disease progression at each stage by suppressing inflammation. Curcumin exerted hepatoprotective effects in the dose range from 100 to 400 mg/kg and treatment duration from 4 to 10 weeks. The mechanistic analysis reveals that curcumin primarily exerts its hepatoprotective effects by modulating multiple signaling pathways, including TLR4/NF-κB, Keap1/Nrf2, Bax/Bcl-2/Caspase 3, and TGF-β/Smad3.Conclusion: In summary, curcumin has shown promising therapeutic effects during the overall progression of NAFLD–LF–HCC. It inhibited the pathological progression by synergistic mechanisms related to multiple pathways, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and apoptosis regulation.

Spirulina platensis peptide-loaded nanoliposomes alleviate hepatic lipid accumulation in Male Wistar Rats by influencing redox homeostasis and lipid metabolism via the AMPK signaling pathway

“…Davidson, 2012;Min et al, 2012). Cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase (CYP7A1) catalyzes bile acid biosynthesis from hepatic cholesterol and exerts a protective role against NAFLD in maintaining hepatic cholesterol homeostasis(Li et al, 2024). ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) serves an essential role in enhancing the transportation of cholesterol, phospholipids, and other lipophilic compounds across cellular membranes into circulation, resulting in increased levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and exhibiting a protective role in NAFLD (Lyu et al, 2020).…”