A bio-fortified whole tomato food supplement as potential dietary tool for the management of Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD).

BACKGROUND

Western diets, rich in refined fats and carbohydrates, are recognized as a major player in hepatic lipid accumulation in adults and youngsters, leading to the growing prevalence of Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD), formerly known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, the gate to cirrhosis and cancer. Due to the lack of approved therapies, antioxidant-rich dietary regimens targeting MASLD relevant pathologic pathways may be of more immediate translational impact. As tomatoes are a major globally accessible source of antioxidant/inflammatory nutrients, we have investigated whether a novel whole tomato-based food supplement (WTFS), possessing an effective antioxidant activity and hindering multiple metabolic pathways, can interfere with mechanisms fostering MASLD progression.

METHODS

Lipidomic and proteomic analyses were performed in the HepG2 liver human cell line treated with WTSF.

RESULTS

WTFS induces a marked reduction in triglycerides and cholesterol ester content, a decrease in the relative levels of diacylglycerols, lysophosphatidylcholine, lysophosphatidylethanolamines, phosphatidylethanolamines, and lower expression of transforming growth factor-α, tumor necrosis factor-like weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK), and Fms-related tyrosine kinase 3 ligand (FLT3LG), signaling relevant to MASLD progression.

CONCLUSIONS

WTFS may represent a potential candidate for clinical trials in supplementing antioxidant-rich dietary regimens such as the healthy but hard-to-follow Mediterranean diet, the presently first-line preventive and therapeutic nutritional regimen for MASLD.