Nutrigenetic Interactions Might Modulate the Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Status in Mastiha-Supplemented Patients With NAFLD

Study answer

What this study found

Mastiha supplementation increased total antioxidant status (TAS) in NAFLD patients with severe obesity (BMI > 35 kg/m2) after 6 months vs placebo (P = 0.008; beta = 0.626). No other significant post-treatment changes in measured antioxidant or inflammatory biomarkers were observed in the overall cohort. Genome-wide gene-by-Mastiha interactions identified associations influencing post-treatment levels of Gpx, HB, IL-6, TNF-a, and IL-10, including signals at MLLT3, LSS, GNG5P1, SPOCK3, MIR129-1/LEP, ESR1, TRPC7, CD82, ARHGAP15, and GZMB (genome-wide significance, P ≤ 5×10^-8). These results…

Study & population

Three-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (NCT03135873) with 98 adults (BMI ≥30 kg/m2) and NAFLD; men and women, aged 18–67; 87 completed; participants were assigned to Mastiha or placebo for 6 months; NAFLD diagnosed by LiverMultiScan MRI; genetic data collected for nutrigenetic analyses.

Intervention

Mastiha supplementation: 2.1 g/day total, delivered via capsules in 3 equal daily doses for 6 months; placebo capsules contained corn starch and were identical in appearance.

Key limitation

Small sample size with 87 completers; significant TAS improvement confined to BMI >35 kg/m2 subgroup; limited power for genotype-stratified analyses; potential confounding from concomitant medications; biomarker endpoints may not translate to clinical outcomes; limited generalizability beyond severely obese NAFLD.

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Original abstract