Background: Fatty liver is a common and generally benign condition characterized by significant lipid deposition in liver cells. It is commonly associated with alcohol or metabolic syndromes. Despite the incredible advancement in modern pharmacotherapy, there is dearth of liver centric drugs in terms of safety, efficacy, remission of disease, and adverse effects which grossly suggest the constraint in its management. Many single Unani drugs are claimed to be effective in the management of Tashshahmul Kabid which closely resembles fatty liver. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Afsanteen in Fatty liver cases on scientific parameters.
Material and methods: A prospective parallel randomized single blind controlled trial was conducted in 36 diagnosed cases of fatty liver which were randomly assigned after obtaining voluntary informed consent into two groups; 24 cases in test and 12 in placebo control group (Cases analyzed: 20 and 10 respectively). Test drug containing 4.5 g Afsanteen was administered in capsule form twice daily for a period of 45 days, while in control group, placebo was given in similar dosage form and duration. All the cases were followed up every 15th day for subjective assessment and objective parameters at baseline and at the end of trial.
Results: The test formulation used exhibited statistically significant reduction (P < 0.05) at 45th day with respect to 0 day in the test group, while between group comparisons revealed insignificant differences (P > 0.05).
Conclusion: The study had revealed that the test drug Afsanteen has the potential to relieve some subjective and objective symptoms of Fatty liver with no adverse effects.
Keywords: Su’ Mizaj Kabid; Tashshamul Kabid; Fatty liver; Afsanteen; Unani medicine.