Plant-based foods Bioactive component Study type Models Doses Main effects Molecular mechanisms Ref Fruits—NAFLD Grape Resveratrol In vitro HepG2 cells 12.5, 25, 50, 100 μ M Inhibiting lipogenesis and proliferation Not mentioned [79 ] Grape (red wine) Resveratrol In vitro , in vivo HepG2 cells 40 μ M Alleviating lipid accumulation and oxidative stress Activating the PKA-AMPK-PPAR-α pathway [80 ] Resveratrol In vitro , in vivo HepG2 cells, C57BL/6 mice 20 μ M for cells Reducing the expression of FAS and SREBP-1c genes Inhibiting methylation of Nrf2 promoter [81 ] Rutin In vitro , in vivo HepG2 cells, RAW 246.7 cells, C57BL/6 mice 10, 20, 40 μ M Inhibiting lipogenesis, oxidative injuries, and autophagy Activating the PPAR-α pathway [82 ] Sweet cherry Anthocyanins In vitro HepG2 cells 100, 200, 300 μ g/mL Inducing autophagy Activating AMPK and inhibiting mTOR and Akt pathways [83 ] Grape Polymerized anthocyanin In vivo C57BL/6J mice 400 mg/kg Improving liver function, dyslipidemia, and hepatic steatosis Activating Nrf2 and SIRT1 and inhibiting PPAR-γ pathways [84 ] Tomato In vivo SD rats Freely drink Alleviating gut dysbiosis Increasing Lactobacillus abundance and diminishing the acetate/propionate ratio [85 ] Lycopene In vivo SD rats 5, 10, 20 mg/kg Alleviating liver injury, lipid accumulation, fat infiltration, and oxidative stress Reverting activities of SOD, GSH, and CAT and decreasing TNF-α and CYP2E1 levels [86 –88 ] Acerola cherry Polysaccharide In vivo C57BL/6 mice 200, 400, 800 mg/kg/day Improving mitochondrial function, lipogenesis, oxidative stress, and inflammation Inhibiting SREBP-1c and activating PGC-1α and Nrf2 pathways [89 ] Mulberry In vivo SD rats 100, 200 mg/kg Alleviating liver damage, dyslipidemia, and oxidative stress Improving mitochondrial function [90 ] Açai In vivo Fischer rats 20 g/kg Alleviating steatosis and inflammation Reducing liver enzymes and increasing GSH/GSSG [91 ] Fruits—AFLD Resveratrol In vitro HepG2 cell 5, 15, 45, 135 μ M Reducing lipid accumulation Activating the AMPK-lipin1 pathway [92 ] Myricitrin In vitro AML12 cells 5, 10, 20, 40 μ Mμ M Alleviating steatosis, oxidative stress, and inflammation Activating the AMPK pathway [93 , 94 ] Lemon In vivo C57BL/6 mice 10 mL/kg Alleviating lipid accumulation and lipid peroxidation Decreasing the levels of SOD and CAT [95 ] Blueberry Polyphenols In vivo C57BL/6J mice 1.5 mL/100 g Inhibiting apoptosis and promoting autophagy Activating SIRT1 and inhibiting FOXO1 pathways [96 , 97 ] Lychee Phenols In vivo C57BL/6 mice 150, 300 mg/kg Alleviating steatosis, oxidative stress, and gut dysbiosis Activating the Nrf2 pathway, decreasing cytochrome c, caspase-3 activities, and Bax/Bcl-2 ratio [98 , 99 ] Mulberry In vivo SD rats 0.3 g/kg Improving steatosis, gut dysbiosis, and glucose metabolism Accelerating ethanol degradation, decreasing ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes [100 ] Açai In vivo Wistar rats 1 mL/100 g Alleviating oxidative stress and inflammation Inhibiting the NF-κ B pathway [101 ] Spices—NAFLD Curcumin In vitro In vivo Primary liver cells 10 μ M Regulating bile acids and exogenous xenobiotic metabolism Increasing Nrf2 and FXR and decreasing LXRα levels [102 ] Curcumin In vitro In vivo PBM cells 30 μ M for cells Preventing intrahepatic CD4+ cell accumulation, oxidative stress, and inflammation Inhibiting the production of ROS, TNF-α , and IFN-γ [103 ] Curcumin In vitro In vivo AML12 cells 0.3, 3 μ M Alleviating lipid accumulation, oxidative stress, and inflammation Inhibiting O-GlcNAcylation of NF-κ B and upregulating the SIRT1-AMPK-ACC pathway [104 ] Onion In vivo SD rats 7% Alleviating steatosis, ballooning, and lobular and portal inflammation Decreasing levels of TNF-α , ALT, AST, TG, insulin, and glucose [105 , 106 ] Spices—AFLD Garlic Allicin In vivo C57BL/6 mice 5, 20 mg/kg/day Alleviating oxidative stress and inflammation Reducing the levels of SERBP-1c, CYP2E1, TNF-α , IL-1β , and IL-6, increasing the levels of GSH, CAT, and the activity of ADH [107 ] Garlic Allicin In vivo C57BL/6 mice 5, 20 mg/kg/day Alleviating steatosis, inflammation, and gut dysbiosis Inhibiting the LPS-TLR4 pathway [62 ] Ginger In vivo Wistar rats 50 mg/kg Alleviating lipid accumulation and liver enzyme changes Increasing the expression of HNF4A and decreasing the expression of the PTP1B gene [108 ] Curcumin In vivo Kunming mice 60 mg/kg Suppressing fatty acid biosynthesis and pentose glucuronate pathway Inhibiting the metabolisms of glyoxylate, dicarboxylate, and pyruvate [109 ] Tea—NAFLD Green tea Catechins In vitro In vivo HepG2 cells 2 μ M and 0.19% Alleviating lipid accumulation, increasing gene expression related to catabolism of TG and fatty acid Downregulating miR-34a and upregulating miR-194 [110 ] Raw bowl dark tea Polyphenol In vitro In vivo 3T3-L1 preadipocytes 200 μ g/mL Alleviating lipid accumulation, oxidative stress, and inflammation and improving the intestinal environment Increasing the levels of occludin, ZO-1, Bacteroides , and Akkermansia and reducing the level of Firmicutes [111 ] Hao Ling tea Polyphenol In vitro In vivo Primary liver cells 100, 250, 500 μ g/mL Alleviating hepatic steatosis and oxidative stress Inhibiting the production of mitochondrial ROS [112 ] Green tea Phenols In vivo Wistar rats 300 mg/kg Improving hyperlipidemia and oxidative stress Increasing the activity of SOD [113 ] Green tea Polyphenol In vivo Zucker rats 200 mg/kg Decreasing lipogenesis, levels of insulin, glucose, liver enzymes, TNF-α , and IL-6 Upregulating the AMPK pathway [114 ] Ning Hong black tea In vivo SD rats 2% in the chow Decreasing the body fat ratio and the number of lipid droplets in the liver Upregulating expression of PPAR-α and MTP, promoting fatty acid β -oxidation and VLDL synthesis [115 ] Tea—AFLD Green tea In vivo Kunming mice 10 mL/kg Improving ethanol metabolism and liver function Increasing the activities of ADH and ALDH [116 ] Green tea Catechins In vivo Wistar rats 20 mL/kg/day Alleviating lipogenesis and oxidative injury Reducing levels of SREBP-1c, FAS, CYP2E1, and NADPH oxidase p47phox protein [117 ] Green tea EGCG In vivo Wistar rats 300 mg/kg/day Alleviating oxidative stress and necrosis Decreasing levels of TNF-α and 4-hydroxynonenal [118 ] Green tea EGCG In vivo Wistar rats 3 g/L Improving fatty liver and the levels of ALT and AST Increasing the phosphorylation of ACC and the level of CPT-1 [119 ] Green tea Catechin In vivo Wistar rats 50 mg/kg/day Alleviating fatty changes, liver dysfunction, and oxidative stress Inhibiting the NF-κ B pathway [120 ] Coffee—NAFLD Caffeic acid In vitro In vivo AML 12 12.5, 25, 50, 100, 200 μ M Alleviating steatosis endoplasmic reticulum stress and increasing autophagy Activating the Akt pathway [121 ] Trigonelline In vitro In vivo AML 12 50, 200 μ M Alleviating steatosis and lipotoxicity and promoting autophagy Deceasing the phosphorylation of mTOR and the expression of PPAR-γ , SREBP-1, perilipin, and CD36 [122 ] Coffee Caffeine In vitro In vivo HepG2 cells 2 mM Alleviating steatosis Activating the SIRT3-AMPK-ACC pathway [123 ] Coffee Caffeine In vivo Tsumura Suzuki nonobese mice 1 g/L, freely drink Inhibiting pancreatic-β cell damage and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis Not mentioned [124 ] Coffee In vivo Wistar rats 1000 mg/kg Alleviating steatosis, insulin resistance, and oxidative stress Upregulating the expression of PPAR-α [125 ] Coffee In vivo C57BL/6J mice 4:1, Improving liver fat oxidation, intestinal cholesterol efflux, energy metabolism, and gut permeability Upregulating the expression of PPAR-α , acyl-CoA oxidase-1, ABCA1, ABCG1, zonulin-1, claudin, and peptide YY, as well as increasing the abundance of Alcaligenaceae [126 ] Trigonelline In vivo SD rats 40 mg/kg/day Alleviating steatosis and the damage degree of the liver Increasing the level of SOD and the expression of Bcl-2 [127 ] Coffee Caffeine In vivo C57BL/6J mice 0.5 mg/mL, freely drink Alleviating steatosis Activating STAT3 in the liver and increasing IL-6 in circulation [128 ] Coffee Caffeine In vivo SD rats 8 g/180 mL in drinking water, 0.18 g/kg in diet Alleviating steatosis Decreasing the phosphorylation of mTOR and increasing the level of nuclear lipin1 [129 , 130 ] Coffee In vivo Wistar rats 6 g/kg Improving the gut permeability and intestinal barrier function Increasing the expression of occludin and ZO-1, decreasing the expression of TLR4 [131 ] Coffee Caffeine In vivo Wistar rats 30, 60, 120 mg/kg/day Increasing the susceptibility of NAFLD in offspring Inhibiting the expression of SIRT1 [132 ] Coffee—AFLD Coffee Caffeine In vivo Kunming mice 5, 10, 20 mg/kg Alleviating hepatic cell damage, steatosis, and inflammatory response Decreasing the expression of SERBP-1c, Fas, ACC, SCD 1, and the levels of TNF-α , IL-1β /6, IFN-γ , and MCP-1 [133 ] Coffee Caffeine In vivo SD rats 5, 10, and 20 mg/kg/day Inhibiting the activation of hepatic stellate cell Inhibiting the PKA pathway [134 ] Coffee Caffeic acid In vivo Wistar rats 12 mg/kg/day Decreasing the levels of TG, TC, free fatty acids, and phospholipids in the circulation and liver [135 ] Other plants—NAFLD Heshouwu (Fallopia multiflora ) Stilbenes anthraquinones In vitro In vivo L02 cell 3.75, 7.5, 15, 30, 60 μ g/mL Improving mitochondrial β oxidation and dyslipidemia Increasing the expression of CPT-1α [136 ] Hongjingtian (Rhodiola rosea ) Salidroside In vitro L02 cell 75, 150, 300 μ g/mL Alleviating steatosis, inflammation, and activating autophagy Inhibiting the TRPM2-Ca2+-CaMKII pathway [137 ] Silybin In vitro FaO cells 50 μ M Alleviating fat accumulation and mitochondrial damage Increasing the expression of PPAR-α /δ and decreasing the expression of PPAR-γ [138 ] Silybin In vivo C57BL/6J mice 50, 100 mg/kg/day Regulating lipid metabolism and global metabolic pathways Modulating the metabolisms of lipid, polyol, amino acid, urea cycle, and TCA cycle [139 ] Curcumin and salidroside In vivo SD rats 21.76 mg/kg/d and 5.77 mg/kg/d Alleviating insulin resistance and lipid peroxidation Activating the AMPK pathway [140 ] Cassia (Cassia obtusifolia ) In vivo Wistar rats 0.5, 1, 2 g/kg Alleviating histopathological changes, dyslipidemia, and lipid peroxidation in the liver Increasing the activities of SOD and GSH [141 ] Jishiteng (Paederia scandens ) In vivo Ross 305 chicks 2 mg/kg Alleviating oxidative stress Decreasing the level of HSP7C [142 ] Heshouwu (Fallopia multiflora ) In vivo Zebrafish 0.5, 1 mg/mLμ g/mL Reducing lipogenesis and insulin resistance Activating the PI3K-Akt2 -AMPK-PPAR-α pathway [143 ] Other plants—AFLD Ginseng (Panax ginseng ) Ginsenosides In vitro L02 cells 25, 50, 100 μ g/mL Alleviating steatosis, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction Increasing the expression of PPAR-α and decreasing the expression of CYP2E1 [144 ] White flower dandelion (Taraxacum coreanum ) In vivo SD rats 1 g/kg/day Improving body composition, glucose metabolism, ethanol degradation, and gut dysbiosis Decreasing the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes [100 ] Zhijuzi (Hovenia dulcis ) In vivo SD rats 300, 500 mg/kg Alleviating steatosis and inflammation Increasing PPAR-α , PPAR-γ C1α , CPT-1α , and Acsl1 gene expression, decreasing Myd88, TNF-α , and CRP gene expression [145 ] Platycodon grandiflorum Platycodin D In vivo SD rats 10, 20, 30 mg/kg/day Inhibiting inflammation and endotoxic process Inhibiting the TLR4-MyD88-NF-κ B pathway [146 ] Ecklonia stolonifera Phlorotannins In vivo SD rats 50, 100, 200 mg/kg/day Improving liver function and lipid profiles Increasing the expression of PPAR-α and CPT-1 and decreasing the expression of SREBP-1c [147 ]
