Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) can be considered one of the clinical manifestations of metabolic syndrome, which is currently considered one of the common problems of human societies. According to traditional medicine texts and recent studies, Afsanteen (Artemisia absinthium) has a very useful therapeutic effect in protecting and normalizing abnormal liver conditions. Considering that the effects of Afsanteen plant extract in patients with NAFLD have been investigated in very limited studies. The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of Afsanteen plant extract on the functional indicators of the liver in patients with NAFLD.

In this randomized double-blind clinical trial study, 56 patients with a history of NAFLD were randomly divided into intervention and control groups. The intervention group was given 1200 mg Afsanteen capsules daily twice a day for three months. The control group was also given placebo twice a day in the same way and at the same time. Demographic data of patients were recorded. After three months, changes in functional liver enzymes such as alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total and direct bilirubin, and gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT), liver ultrasound findings, fasting blood sugar, body mass index (BMI), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and C-reactive protein compared to the baseline were evaluated. Then the findings were analyzed using SPSS version 25.

Based on the results obtained from the analyzed data of 56 patients, it was shown that the demographic data such as age, sex, education, place of residence, level of education, and blood type in both groups of patients do not have statistically significant differences (P>0.05). Also, according to the obtained results, in the group receiving Afsanteen, ALT, ALP, and fatty liver grade (reduced to 2 and less than 2) decreased in a statistically significant way (P<0.05), while this decrease was not observed in the control group (P>0.05). On the other hand, the amount of AST, total and direct bilirubin also decreased more in the Afsanteen group than in the placebo group, but compared to the baseline, these changes were not significant (P>0.05). BMI, ESR, as well as C-reactive protein were not statistically significant in the two groups before and after the intervention (P>0.05).

According to the results obtained in this study, it was shown that the administration of Afsanteen in patients with NAFLD has a decreasing effect on the liver enzymes of ALT, ALP and also AST. Additionally, the effects of this medication were observed in reducing the grade of fatty liver in patients to grade 2 and grade 1.