A Review of Research Trends in Traditional Korean Medicine for Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the trends in research on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) using Korean traditional medicine.Methods: This review included studies related to the treatment of NAFLD, irrespective of the year of publication. The search terms were “nonalcoholic fatty liver disease”, “non-alcoholic fatty liver”, “nonalcoholic hepatitis”, “herb”, “herbal medicine”, “acupuncture”, and “traditional medicine”. The studies were analyzed according to the type of research.Results: After screening, 179 studies were selected from the 592 identified by the search. The types of studies were 151 in vivo or in vitro studies, 5 randomized controlled trials, 12 case reports, 2 unspecified clinical studies, 8 review articles, and 1 article that was difficult to classify.Conclusion: Analysis of the trends in Korean traditional medicine treatment by reviewing the studies on NAFLD revealed a focus on experimental studies rather than clinical studies. Therefore, multifaceted and well-designed studies are needed.