Dietary deep seawater and hepatic steatosis.

Fatty liver disease is a growing health concern in western and other developed countries. The cause of fatty liver can be broken down into two categories: (1) alcoholic fatty liver disease and (2) nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The abnormal retention of fat as vacuole in hepatocytes is more commonly known as steatosis and can progress further to steatohepatitis, possibly resulting in hepatocytic damage. According to the latest practice guidelines for the diagnosis and management of NAFLD, a patient with NAFLD typically has histological or imaging evidence of hepatic steatosis, with no history of significant alcohol consumption or steatogenic drug use. NAFLD is often linked with risk factors such as obesity, diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia. Worldwide, its estimated prevalence ranges from 6.3% to 33%, with a median of 20% in the general population. Hepatic steatosis is an important change that is related to chronic inflammation of the liver. It has been reported that alcohol intake stimulates the production of proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-12 (IL-12), leading to an increased serum level of IL-12 in patients with alcoholic liver disease. However, the IL-12 level in the hepatic steatosis group was similar to that in the control group after the patients stopped using alcohol for 9 months, suggesting that hepatic steatosis is reversible. By contrast, it was reported that 52% of Chinese patients with chronic hepatitis C had hepatic steatosis. This correlation is observed frequently in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection and also presents an increased risk factor for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma. Recently, it was reported that mice lacking miR-122a (Mir122a) might develop steatohepatitis, fibrosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Steatosis was the result of an impaired expression of microsomal triglyceride transfer protein. However, the detailed mechanism underlying the development for hepatic steatosis in relation to changes in intracellular signaling pathways and extracellular microenvironment still requires further investigation. Eicosanoids are lipid signaling molecules that play important roles in the regulation of inflammation in the body. The eicosanoids derived from omega-6 (n-6) polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-6 PUFA) and omega-3 PUFA (n-3 PUFA) are proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory functional molecules, respectively. The ratio of n-6 PUFA to n-3 PUFA has increased significantly in recent years, which has corresponded well with the observed increases in obesity, cardiovascular disease, and