The Efficacy of Plantago major Seed on Liver Enzymes in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Randomized Double-Blind Clinical Trial

Seyedeh Ferdows Jazayeri; Roshanak Ghods; Fataneh Hashem Dabaghian; Asie Shojaii; Seyed Ali Al-Hadi Moravej; Ebrahim Khadem; Seyed Saeed Seyedian

doi:10.1155/2021/6693887

The Efficacy of Plantago major Seed on Liver Enzymes in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Randomized Double-Blind Clinical Trial

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2021 Mar 27:2021:6693887. doi: 10.1155/2021/6693887. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Seyedeh Ferdows Jazayeri^{1

2}, Roshanak Ghods^{1

2}, Fataneh Hashem Dabaghian^{1

2}, Asie Shojaii^{1

3}, Seyed Ali Al-Hadi Moravej^{1

2}, Ebrahim Khadem⁴, Seyed Saeed Seyedian⁵

Affiliations

¹ Research Institute for Islamic and Complementary Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
² Department of Persian Medicine, School of Persian Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
³ Department of Traditional Pharmacy, School of Persian Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁴ Department of Traditional Medicine, School of Traditional Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁵ Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the effects of Plantago major (P. major) seed on liver enzymes and ultrasound patterns in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

Design: In this randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial, 74 patients with NAFLD were administered either 2 g P. major or placebo twice daily for 12 weeks. All patients were advised to follow the recommendations for daily exercise and diet modification. Levels of liver enzymes as well as other laboratory indexes were measured at the beginning of the study and after 12 weeks. Indeed, the alteration in ultrasound grade was evaluated in NAFLD patients.

Results: Sixty-three participants completed the study in the intervention and control groups. The mean age of participants was 43.3 (±8.927) and 38.7 (±8.48) years in the intervention and control groups, respectively. P. major group showed significant reduction in alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (47.32 ± 21.77 IU/L vs. 50.03 ± 21.19, P = 0.021), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (28.29 ± 10.49 IU/L vs. 32.03 ± 13.30, P = 0.004), triglyceride (TG) (200.93 ± 106.741 mg/dl vs. 183.75 ± 73.96, P = 0.001), waist circumference (WC) (101.25 ± 9.27 cm vs. 101.18 ± 8.63, P = 0.027), and grade of fatty liver in ultrasonography (P = 0.038), comparing to the placebo group. There was no significant difference between the two groups regarding serum levels of fasting blood sugar (FBS), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), cholesterol, and other outcomes.

Conclusion: P. major supplementation with a daily dose of 2 g for 12 weeks improved serum levels of ALT, AST, and TG in patients with NAFLD. Further studies with a larger sample size are recommended.