Probiotics in treating with alcoholic liver disease and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are both serious chronic liver diseases worldwide. The cause of ALD is chronic alcoholism. NAFLD is a metabolic syndrome caused by excessive accumulation of triglycerides in liver cells without consumption of alcohol. Although the pathogeneses of these two liver diseases are different, the traditional treatments for these two liver diseases are mainly drug treatment. Drug treatment works quickly, but long-term use may produce side effects. Studies demonstrated that probiotics as a natural substance played a unique role in improving liver and intestinal health. This review overviews the pathogenesis of ALD and NAFLD, summarizes the health effects of probiotics in the treatment of ALD and NAFLD, and discusses the treating mechanisms of probiotics in order to provide a theoretical basis for future research.