Supplementation with myo-inositol found to decrease triglyceride buildup in fructose-induced fatty liver

In this study, researchers from Gifu University in Japan investigated the effects of myo-inositol supplementation on fatty liver induced by fructose intake instead of sucrose. The results of their study were published in the journal of Nutrition Research.

• Excessive fructose ingestion drastically increases the accumulation of fat in the liver.
• According to previous studies, myo-inositol, the most prominent form of inositol, can remarkably reduce sucrose-induced hepatic triglyceride (TG) accumulation.
• Because myo-inositol is a strong lipotrope, the researchers hypothesized that it can also improve fatty liver induced by high ingestion of fructose.
• For their experiment, they fed three sets of rats a high-glucose diet (HGD), a high-fructose diet (HFD), and an HFD supplemented with 0.2 percent myo-inositol for 12 days, respectively.
• They reported that hepatic levels of TG as well as the mRNA levels of the following factors were higher in the HFD group than in the HGD group but were markedly decreased in the HFD group supplemented with myo-inositol:
  • Fructolysis: ketohexokinase and aldolase B
  • Lipogenesis: pyruvate kinase, liver, and RBC; glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase; acetyl-CoA carboxylase alpha; fatty acid synthase; and stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1
  • Carbohydrate-responsive element-binding protein, a key transcription factor for lipogenesis
• On the other hand, hepatic levels of mRNAs for B-oxidation (acyl-CoA synthetase and carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1a) did not differ among the three groups.

Based on their findings, the researchers concluded that myo-inositol supplementation decreases the expression of fructolytic or lipogenic genes and proteins, as well as TG accumulation in high fructose-induced fatty liver in rats.

Journal Reference:

Shimada M, Hibino M, Takeshita A. DIETARY SUPPLEMENTATION WITH MYO -INOSITOL REDUCES HEPATIC TRIGLYCERIDE ACCUMULATION AND EXPRESSION OF BOTH FRUCTOLYTIC AND LIPOGENIC GENES IN RATS FED A HIGH-FRUCTOSE DIET. Nutrition Research. November 2017;47:21–27. DOI: 10.1016/j.nutres.2017.08.005