Fatty liver disease (FLD), also commonly called fatty liver or hepatic steatosis, is a condition of the excessive accumulation of lipid in hepatocytes. The prevalence of FLD in the general population ranges from 10% to 24% in various countries, and FLD is the common cause of abnormal liver function tests in developed countries. By considering the contribution by alcohol, fatty liver is generally classified as alcoholic steatosis (alcoholic FLD) or nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

According to the changes of health-related circumstance, likely decreased carrier of hepatic viruses, and increased population with obesity, FLD has become a major cause of chronic liver diseases including steatohepatitis (nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, NASH, and alcoholic steatotic hepatitis, ASH), liver fibrosis, and cirrhosis worldwide. FLD has a complex pathology involving the imbalance between lipogenesis and lipolysis, followed by inflammatory response. FLD is thought to be prevalent; however, no typical treatment exists, and then medicinal herbs-derived remedies are expected as potential therapeutics.

We invite investigators to contribute original research as well as review articles for FLD focused on potential of the medicinal herbs against the disorders. We are particularly interested in articles that evaluate the clinical or animal-based evidences for the effectiveness of traditional herbs and their compounds.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Animal studies for the effectiveness of medicinal herbs and their compounds against fatty liver including nonalcoholic (NASH) or alcoholic steatotic hepatitis (ASH)
• Clinical studies for the effectiveness of medicinal herbs and their compounds against fatty liver including nonalcoholic (NASH) or alcoholic steatotic hepatitis (ASH)
• Mechanical studies for FLD and herb-derived therapeutics using animal or cell models
• Review articles related to FLD, for example, epidemiology and herb-derived treatments