{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,8]],"date-time":"2026-07-08T16:38:55Z","timestamp":1783528735330,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":64,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,1,27]],"date-time":"2023-01-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1674777600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100009465","name":"\u201cCorporaci\u00f3n de Fomento de la Producci\u00f3n\u201d (CORFO)","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["12CTI-16838"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["12CTI-16838"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100009465","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: No pharmacological treatment is yet approved for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Plant sterols have shown healthy properties beyond lowering LDL-cholesterol, including lowering triglycerides and lipoprotein plasma levels. Despite pre-clinical data suggesting their involvement in liver fat control, no clinical study has yet been successful. Aims: Testing a sub-micron, free, phytosterol dispersion efficacy on NAFLD. Methods: A prospective, uncontrolled pilot study was carried out on 26 patients with \u226517.4% liver steatosis quantified by magnetic resonance imaging. Subjects consumed daily a sub-micron dispersion providing 2 g of phytosterols. Liver fat, plasma lipids, lipoproteins, liver enzymes, glycemia, insulinemia, phytosterols, liposoluble vitamins and C-reactive protein were assessed at baseline and after one year of treatment. Results: Liver steatosis relative change was \u221219%, and 27% of patients reduced liver fat by more than 30%. Statistically and clinically significant improvements in plasma triglycerides, HDL-C, VLDL and HDL particle number and C-reactive protein were obtained, despite the rise of aspartate aminotransferase, glycemia and insulinemia. Though phytosterol plasma levels were raised by &gt;30%, no adverse effects were presented, and even vitamin D increased by 23%. Conclusions: Our results are the first evidence in humans of the efficacy of submicron dispersible phytosterols for the treatment of liver steatosis, dyslipidemia and inflammatory status in NAFLD.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm12030979","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,1,30]],"date-time":"2023-01-30T11:19:53Z","timestamp":1675077593000},"page":"979","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Efficacy of Submicron Dispersible Free Phytosterols on Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Pilot Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Mar\u00eda C.","family":"Bra\u00f1es","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Naturalis Research Consortium, Santiago 8700548, Chile"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Raimundo","family":"Gillet","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Naturalis Research Consortium, Santiago 8700548, Chile"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9298-6142","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rodrigo","family":"Valenzuela","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago 8380000, Chile"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,1,27]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2212","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(20)32511-3","article-title":"Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease","volume":"397","author":"Powell","year":"2021","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Valenzuela, R., and Videla, L.A. 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