Healing Effects of OM-X Extract on the Liver

Alcohol is a well-known factor in liver disease. The main cause of this alcoholic liver disease is the direct liver damage caused by acetaldehyde, but fatty liver and non- alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in people who do not consume alcohol is increasing worldwide.

NAFLD is a disease that progresses gradually from simple nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and cirrhosis. It is expected to become a major cause of hepatocellular carcinoma in the future. The number of NAFLD patients in Japan is estimated to be 20 million and 10-20% of these patients will progress to NASH. Therefore, taking countermeasures and prevention are important issues. Similarly, the number of NAFLD patients is steadily increasing worldwide.

It is clear that the initial cause of NASH is a state of excess calories, originating from overeating, obesity, and lack of exercise. Recent studies have discovered that the reason why chronic inflammation is induced by the liver is due to abnormalities in the intestinal microbiota. In addition, leaky gut syndrome has received increased attention. Leaky gut syndrome is a condition in which intestinal permeability is enhanced by the destruction of intestinal cells by factors such as diet, environmental factors, drugs, and an increase in harmful bacteria. Studies have indicated that this increased intestinal permeability causes endotoxins derived from intestinal bacteria to adversely affect the liver via the portal vein.

Recent studies have shown that oral bacteria increased in the intestines of patients with NASH. A Taiwanese study has analyzed the fecal gut microbiota of 25 healthy subjects, 25 NAFL subjects, and 25 NASH subjects, and showed that fermentative bacteria involved in the production of short-chain fatty acid, such as Bifidobacterium, Ruminococcus, and Faecalibacterium, decreased and Klebsiella, which belong to oral bacteria, increased in NASH patients. Other studies have shown that high-ethanol- producing strains are present in Klebsiella pneumoniae, their detection rate is high in NAFLD patients, and that transplantation of high-ethanol-producing strains into mice, induces fatty liver. This high-ethanol-producing strains requires glucose as a substrate to produce ethanol. This suggests that excessive glucose and carbohydrate intake from the diet may be a risk factor for NAFLD.

The other study has also shown that not only ethanol-producing strains, but also Porphyromonas gingivalis, the causative bacteria of periodontal disease, alter bacterial metabolites in the intestines and impairs the intestinal barrier function which in turn induces endotoxemia, As a result, the liver function is adversely affected. Thus, it is clear that the risk of inducing liver disease is intertwined with various factors such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and even periodontal disease.

The Biobank studies have demonstrated that OM-X extract modulates metabolic enzymes in the liver and significantly reduces triglyceride levels in blood and liver among the mice in a fatigue model. Furthermore, the study has shown that OM-X extract improves muscle endurance by increasing the mRNA expression levels of carbamoyl phosphate synthetase 1 (Cps1) and arginase 1 (Arg1) in the urea cycle.

In a recent study conducted by Biobank, when OM-X extract was administered to mice (SMP30/GNL knockout mice) that are unable to synthesize vitamin C, which is essential for antioxidant activity in their body, their intravital antioxidant capacity was improved and transaminase (AST, ALT) values, which indicate deterioration of liver function, were significantly improved. Although these studies are at the cellular and animal level, they show that OM-X has protective and even healing properties to the liver (these studies do not indicate any pharmaceutical efficacy in humans). Since improvement of the intestinal environment is essential for the maintenance and control of liver and overall health, we encourage to continuously take OM-X.