Molecular Chaperones – A Newer Molecular Target & Potential Herbal Remedies For Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Review

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the term used to describe the alcohol-like liver injury that occurs in the absence of alcohol abuse. It involves a range of histological abnormalities including simple steatosis or fatty liver, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and NAFLD induced cirrhosis. The predominant risk factor for NAFLD appears to be insulin resistance. Simple steatosis and NASH are generally asymptomatic and it is only the development of cirrhosis that gives rise to clinical consequences. At present, treatment for NAFLD concentrates on managing risk factors. However, in the future newer molecular targets like Molecular Chaperones and potential herbal therapies will play a key role in management of NAFLD. Molecular chaperones such as heat-shock proteins are a class of functionally related proteins whose expression is increased when cells are exposed to stress and are thought to play a critical role in protecting the liver against