Exotic fruit revolutionizes treatment of non-alcoholic fatty-liver disease, Quebec study finds

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Université Laval researchers found a 7.43-per-cent reduction in liver fat among participants who took camu-camu extract.

La Presse Canadienne

Katrine Desautels

Published Aug 25, 2024 • Last updated 1 hour ago • 3 minute read

Camu-camu is an exotic berry that grows in the Amazon. It’s not found in Quebec, but capsules containing extract of camu-camu are available in pharmacies. Photo by nito100 /Getty Images/iStockphoto

A tiny red fruit could make a big difference in the lives of 7 million Canadians affected by non-alcoholic fatty-liver disease. Researchers from Université Laval have discovered camu-camu reduces liver fat levels.

Camu-camu is an exotic berry that grows in the Amazon. It’s not found in Quebec, but capsules containing extract of camu-camu are available in pharmacies.

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The livers of people with non-alcoholic fatty-liver disease accumulates a great deal of fat and, unfortunately, there are few therapeutic options to treat it. Eating less sugar is one way to diminish the accumulation of fat in the liver because simple sugars like fructose are transformed into fat in the liver.

“We think this study is important because it’s the first time we see a natural health product — capsules of camu-camu that are a fruit extract — capable of improving liver health in people who already have altered liver health,” said Dr. André Marette, a professor in Laval’s faculty of medicine, who led the study.

It is known polyphenols in fruits have anti-inflammatory properties. In an earlier study, Marette and his team showed the potential of camu-camu to reduce hepatic fluid in animals. A few years later, the theory was tested in humans.

Over 12 weeks, 30 participants in a randomized clinical trial took either camu-camu extract or a placebo. The results of the study, just published in Cell Reports Medicine, show a 7.43-per-cent reduction in liver fat among participants who took camu-camu extract; with the placebo, there was an 8.42-per-cent increase in liver fat.

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“That’s a significant 15.85-per-cent difference,” Marette said.

The polyphenols in camu-camu are metabolized by the gut microbiome. One of them, Castalagine, does not penetrate the intestinal wall, but can still be metabolized by small bacteria so it is absorbed into the bloodstream.

“These molecules then reach the liver, where they are capable of metabolizing the small drops of fat or preventing their formation,” said Marette, who is also a researcher at the Institut universitaire de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Québec at Laval. “In this way, the liver is ‘de-fatted,’” he said.

This process is essential because when the organ contains too much fat, it leads to cirrhosis, “a very rapid route to causing cancers of the liver,” Marette said.

When hepatic cirrhosis is severe, there are few effective treatments, Marette said. Often, a liver transplant is the only option. This alternative is not a certain one because few livers are available and, besides, the patient might reject the transplanted organ.

“If we are able to block the accumulation of lipids or reduce it substantially — we know also that polyphenols have an anti-inflammatory effect — a liver which is less inflamed or which has fewer lipids is less likely to develop cirrhosis,” Marette said.

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The study participants were in the early stages of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. “Already, when we intervene at this moment, we can turn the tide reverse by a certain percentage the quantity of fat in just 12 weeks,” he said.

Other fruits, including cranberries, contain different polyphenols. Marette believes combining them with camu-camu can reinforce their beneficial effects on patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, although this theory has yet to be proved.

Université Laval is currently recruiting participants for a larger-scale study on the beneficial effects of plant polyphenols. People with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease are welcome to contact the university.

The health content of La Presse Canadienne receives funding through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. La Presse Canadienne is solely responsible for editorial choices.

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