Mice fed high-fat diet and supplement rich in calcium, magnesium didn’t develop liver cancer.
A preclinical study adds to the growing body of evidence suggesting a multi-mineral dietary supplement called Aquamin might be a simple and effective method to prevent the long-term health effects of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Aquamin is a calcium, magnesium, and 72 other minerals and trace elements-rich supplement made from calcified red sea algae.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which is defined as an excess of fat accumulated in the liver, affects around 25% of adults in the United States. Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a more severe type of this illness in which the liver becomes inflamed. This may lead to fibrosis, advanced scarring known as cirrhosis, liver failure, and cancer.
“Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is a growing public health challenge that is currently being addressed through an emphasis on lifestyle changes, especially diet, to prevent fat build-up in the liver,” said Muhammad Nadeem Aslam, MD, of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, who led the study team. “New approaches are needed because this doesn’t work for everyone.”
The new discovery was presented at the American Society for Investigative Pathology annual conference, which was held April 2–5, 2022 in Philadelphia, by Isabelle Harber, an undergraduate researcher on Aslam’s team.
“Most people living in Western society do not meet the USDA daily intake guidelines for the intake of calcium and magnesium and, presumably, other minerals nutritionally associated with these minerals,” said Harber. “We are working to find out if a mineral supplement could provide a low-cost, low- to no-toxicity approach to mitigating the devastated consequences of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.”
Aquamin’s Effects in Mice
In preliminary studies, the researchers fed mice a high-fat diet to induce the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and NASH. They studied these mice for 15 to 18 months to observe the full spectrum of liver disease, including advanced fibrotic changes and liver cancer.
These studies revealed a dramatic reduction in late-stage consequences of NASH in the animals that were fed the high-fat diet and received the multi-mineral supplement, compared to those that didn’t receive the supplement. In short-term studies lasting about 24 weeks, the researchers identified protein changes associated with the NASH and reduced tumor formation in the longer studies.
“In the long-term studies, we observed that most of the mice on the high-fat diet had large liver tumors while the mice on the same diet had no tumors when they received the mineral supplement,” said Aslam. “These results confirmed our earlier findings that minerals may have the potential to reduce the downstream consequences of fatty liver disease.”
Because the short- and long-term studies were performed using different types of mice, the researchers next plan to perform both sets of studies in the same animals. This will allow them to identify early protein changes in individual animals that may predict later consequences or be associated with protection from such consequences.
They recently completed a 90-day pilot phase trial in 30 healthy patients at risk for colorectal cancer who were randomized to receive Aquamin or a placebo. The trial showed that the mineral supplement didn’t pose any safety or tolerability issues, including any potential liver damage. They are also starting to conduct pilot clinical studies to assess Aquamin for safety and tolerability for 180 days. Liver injury and inflammation markers will be part of the study endpoints.
Isabelle Harber will present this research from 11:45 a.m.–12:45 p.m., Sunday, April 3, in Exhibit/Poster Hall A-B, Pennsylvania Convention Center (Poster Board Number D20) (abstract) and 6 p.m., April 3, in Terrace 2/3 (abstract). Contact the media team for more information or to obtain a free press pass to attend the meeting.
Meeting: Experimental Biology 2022
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6 Comments
Fatty liver is not caused by high fat diet – its from storing excess glucose from more or less continuous supply of carbohydrates.
There’s a lot more then one way to develop fatty liver.
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Ok, so where can people get this Aquaphin at? Is it not FDA cleared for humans yet?
Aquamin – auto correct sorry!
So where can people buy this supplement? Has it not been FDA cleared for humans ?