The Effect of Stevia Rebaudiana on Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD): A Review

Due to the increasing prevalence, indefinite proven treatment for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) as well as the correlation between NAFLD and metabolic disease including obesity, diabetes and dyslipidemia, researchers are trying to evaluate treatment methods of these types of diseases in order to treat NAFLD. This review aims to discuss the effects of Stevia rebaudiana on NAFLD. A literature search in Pubmed, Science direct and Google scholar was undertaken using the keywords “Stevia”, “steviol glycoside”, “diabetes”, “insulin resistance”, “blood glucose”, “dyslipidemia”, ”cholesterol”, “obesity”, “food intake”, “inflammatory cytokines”, and then qualified articles were used. Several studies have shown the beneficial effects of stevia on improving fasting blood sugar (FBS) levels, glucose intolerance, and insulin resistance. Moreover, some studies have expressed that stevia decreases the food intake. Results about the efficacy of stevia on serum cholesterol and HDL-c are controversial; however, almost all support the useful effects of stevia on triglyceride level. Furthermore, its reducing effect on the inflammatory factors was previously clarified. Stevia was shown to have certain health benefits on diabetes, dyslipidemia, obesity and inflammation. Although there have been few studies, which evaluated the impact of Stevia rebaudiana on NAFLD, it is likely that Stevia rebaudiana improves NAFLD.