Traditional fermented products made from soybeans and rice, commonly consumed in the Japanese diet, show significant potential in preventing the progression of fatty liver disease.
In the study, C57BL/6J mice were first acclimated for two weeks. Following this period, they were segregated into groups and fed on different diets for a duration of 20 weeks. These diets included a Normal Diet (ND), a High-Fat Diet (HFD), an HFD containing 5% of the fermented soybean and rice product (denoted as HFD+M), and an HFD with 5% of a pre-fermented form of the product (HFD+PFM). The focus was on assessing the impact of these diets on the development of fatty liver disease in the subjects.
The mice consuming solely the high-fat diet developed the symptoms of a typical fatty liver, as anticipated. However, the mice fed with diets that included either the fermented soybean and rice product or its pre-fermented variety showed a substantial reduction in the progression of the fatty liver disease, notably in the female subjects. This was observed in terms of diminished liver weight. Moreover, a decrease was noted in the levels of leptin and resistin, hormones linked with obesity and insulin resistance, in the serum of these groups. The male subjects also showed resistance against fatty liver disease progression upon the consumption of these diets. This study therefore demonstrates the value of including such traditional fermented food products in the diet as possible deterrents against lifestyle-induced ailments like metabolic syndrome.
