Review Article Dietary Anthocyanins as Nutritional Therapy for Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Copyright © 2013 Luca Valenti et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), defined by excessive lipid accumulation in the liver, is the hepaticmanifestation of insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome. Due to the epidemics of obesity, NAFLD is rapidly becoming the leading cause of altered liver enzymes in Western countries. NAFLD encompasses a wide spectrum of liver disease ranging from simple uncomplicated steatosis, to steatohepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma.Dietmay affect the development ofNAFLDeither by increasing risk or by providing protective factors. Therefore, it is important to investigate the role of foods and/or food bioactives on the metabolic processes involved in steatohepatitis for preventive strategies. It has been reported that anthocyanins (ACNs) decrease hepatic lipid accumulation andmay counteract oxidative stress and hepatic inflammation, but their impact onNAFLD has yet to be fully determined. ACNs are water-soluble bioactive compounds of the polyphenol class present in many vegetable products. Here, we summarize the evidence evaluating the mechanisms of action of ACNs on hepatic lipid metabolism in different experimenta