Efficacy and safety of traditional Chinese medicines for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a systematic literature review of randomized controlled trials

Liang, Z., Chen, X., Shi, J. et al. · Chinese Medicine · 2021 January 11

Objective

This study aims to identify and evaluate the emerging evidence about the efficacy and safety of TCMs for NAFLD.

Conclusions

There is some evidence from RCTs that supported the effectiveness and safety of TCMs for NAFLD. However, no conclusive recommendations can be made due to the questionable quality of the RCTs. Improvement in the RCT protocol, the use of a larger sample size, a setting of multicenter, and a more focused approach in selecting TCMs are recommended for developing high quality evidence about the use of TCMs in managing NAFLD.

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Insights

Traditional Chinese medicines such as Shenge formula, Shugan Jianpi Huatan decoction and Heze lipid lowing oral liquid decoction might have positive effects on NAFLD by improving TCM syndrome scores, liver function, and body lipid profile.

A total of 53 RCTs involving 5997 participants with NAFLD were included in this review. Each included RCT tested a different TCMs giving a total of 53 TCMs identified in this study. Based on the evaluation of the RCT results, TCMs might have various beneficial effects such as improving TCM syndrome score, liver function, and body lipid profile. A range of non-serious, reversible adverse effects associated with the use of TCMs were also reported. However, no conclusion about the efficacy and safety of TCMs in NAFLD can be made. The quality of reporting was generally poor and the risks of bias was mostly uncertain in all trials.