Efficacy of Silymarin on Treatment of Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis

Background and purpose: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common causes of increased liver enzymes. The world population are suffering from NAFLD (30% in IRAN, 20% - 40% in western countries, and 5% - 30% in Asia-Pacific). The prevalence of NAFLD is higher in hyperlipidemic, diabetic and obese people. This study assessed the preventive effect of sylmarin on the progression of NAFLD/NASH. Materials and methods: This clinical trial was performed in 41 patients with NAFLD referring to gastrointestinal clinics in Sari. The patients were randomly divided into case and control groups. The case group was treated with a tablet containing 140 mg silymarin twice a day for six months and the control group was given placebo for the same period. The data was analyzed using independent t-test, paired t-test and Chi-Square in SPSS. Results: At the end of the treatment period the improvement of steatosis in sonography was more significant in case group (P= 0.03). Liver enzymes reduced significantly in silymarin group compared to other group (P= 0.002 for ALT and P= 0.01 for AST). Conclusion: In this study sylmarin reduced the liver enzymes in the intervention group. Therefore, it could be of great benefit in the treatment of NAFLD.