Green Tea in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Double Blind Randomized Clinical Trial

Objectives Antioxidant treatment with Iron chelating agents is one of the suggested treatments for fatty liver disease, which has become an important health problem in the recent decades. In this study the authors evaluated the general antioxidant, iron chelating, and sugar and fat absorption characteristics of green tea. Methods Patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease were randomly assigned to 2 groups for a double blind clinical trial. Patients in the intervention group received 550 milligrams of green tea tablets daily as well as nutritional education for 3 months. The control group received the same protocol with green tea replaced with placebo tablets. Results After 3 months, 45 participants (21 in the intervention and 24 in the placebo group) completed the follow-up. The change in body mass index (BMI), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and fasting blood sugar (FBS) was significantly different between the 2 groups, while the change in total iron binding capacity (TIBC), ferritin, alanine transaminase (ALT), HOMA, and weight did not show a significant difference. Conclusions The difference between the 2 groups was mainly observed in anthropometrics, liver enzyme, and metabolic indicators, although the difference might not have been highlighted due to the effectiveness of routine treatments, that both groups received.