Phosphatidylcholine functional foods and nutraceuticals: A potential approach to prevent non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common liver condition in the developed world and may progress to more severe forms of disease such as cirrhosis or liver cancer. Thus, steps taken to reduce its prevalence through preventative nutritional approaches such as functional foods and nutraceuticals (FFN) should be pursued. It is well known that certain lipotropic nutrients such as choline and metabolites betaine and phosphatidylcholine (PC; lecithin) could prevent or alleviate fatty liver through a variety of mechanisms, including increased hepatic VLDL secretion. Animal and human studies have demonstrated clear protective effects of choline, betaine and PC for NAFLD as well as possible roles in CVD prevention from epidemiological data. Currently, choline consumption is below dietary recommendations due in large part to a general lack of understanding regarding the importance of this nutrient for human health. As lecithin is commonly added (in small amounts) in many processed foods due to its functional capabilities, it is projected that increasing its abundance in the food supply and increasing consumer education and acceptance of lecithin-based functional foods and nutraceuticals may represent a progressive step towards preventing liver and whole-body metabolic pathologies in many areas of the world.