*4.2.1 Coffee consumption and NAFLD*

Coffee and other caffeinated beverages enhance intestinal barrier performance, promote hepatic autophagy, and prevent the activation of HSCs. Due to the antioxidant and antifibrotic properties of several physiologically active chemicals it possesses, coffee appears to be protective against many hepatic conditions, including liver fibrosis and cirrhosis. Coffee is also protective in people with NAFLD; due to the number of antioxidants as well as the caffeine itself, which has anti-inflammatory characteristics [6, 13]. The beneficial effect of decaffeinated coffee on the development of NASH was mediated through attenuating intestinal nitric oxide synthase (NOS) protein and restoration of intestinal barrier functioning, whereas the antifibrotic effect of coffee was exerted by caffeine-mediated antagonism of adenosine receptor which further leads to hepatic stellate cells inactivation. Chlorogenic acid, a key component of regular coffee, lowers the frequency of NAFLD perhaps by facilitating hepatic autophagy, enhancing gut barrier function, and reducing hepatic inflammation through the TLR4 pathway [22].

*Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: Pathogenesis and the Significance of High-Density… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108199*
