A new article published in Digestive Diseases reported that L-ornithine L-aspartate (LOLA) has hepatoprotective properties in patients with fatty liver of diverse etiology.

Here, the authors elaborated on the results of a multicenter randomized clinical trial which showed that a 12-week treatment with oral LOLA (6-9 g/day can confer a dose-related reduction in activities of liver enzymes and triglycerides along with significant improvements of liver/spleen computed tomography ratios. Additionally, a preliminary report described improvements in hepatic microcirculation among patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), following treatment with LOLA. It was further discussed that mechanisms of beneficial effects of LOLA in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and NASH include its established ammonia-lowering effect and metabolic transformations of the LOLA-constituent amino acids L-ornithine and L-aspartate into L-glutamine, L-arginine, and glutathione. It was stated that metabolites of LOLA have well-established actions in the prevention of lipid peroxidation, improvement of hepatic microcirculation, as well as anti-inflammatory, and anti-oxidant properties.

Hence, it was inferred that LOLA is effective for the treatment of NAFLD and NASH.