Could a daily dose of citrus fiber tame fatty liver inflammation?
NCT ID NCT07093346
First seen Jul 29, 2026 · Last updated Jul 30, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This trial tests whether a daily supplement of pectin — a fiber found in citrus peels — can reduce inflammation and improve gut bacteria in adults with Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD), a common form of fatty liver. For six weeks, participants take either pectin mixed with cocoa powder or a placebo (cocoa powder alone). Researchers measure changes in blood markers of inflammation, gut microbiome composition, and metabolic health indicators like BMI and blood sugar.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- a dietary supplement called pectin, a fiber from citrus peels, taken daily for 6 weeks
- What this could lead to
- If pectin reduces inflammation and improves gut bacteria, it could point toward a simple dietary approach to help manage fatty liver disease.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage trial with only 45 participants. Pectin is a common food ingredient, so major risks are low, but its effects on liver inflammation are unproven.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 45 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jun 2025
- Expected to finish
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Mar 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: Inclusion criteria for the main study: * Patients with clinical diagnosis of MASLD (formerly termed non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)), having assessment suggesting that liver fat \> 5% (e.g. histological evidence or/ and Transient Elastography using Controlled Attenuation Parameter (CAP)- FibroScan™ in the past month and/or liver imaging (such as ultrasound, computerized tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)). * Participants willing and able to give informed consent for participation in the study. * Participants aged ≥18 years who have a body mass index (BMI) between 18.5 and 39.9 kg/m2 and stable weight (weight gain or loss ≤ 3kg) for the past 3 months. * For diabetic participants: controlled blood glucose levels Haemoglobin A1C (HbA1c) \<7.0% (\<53 mmol/mol) \[1\]. * Able to undergo CAP-FibroScan™. Inclusion criteria for healthy participants who will have MRI scans: * Participants willing and able to give informed consent for participation in the study. * Participants aged ≥18 years. * participants with CAP\<250 kpa\<8kP by a FibroScan™ within the past 6 months. Exclusion Criteria: Exclusion criteria for the main study: * Have allergy toward soya, milk or chocolate. * Have allergy toward pectin. * Participants on vegan diet. * Have eating disorders or difficulties or gastrointestinal conditions e.g. malabsorptive conditions such as coeliac, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) or Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) or gastroparesis. * Have chronic malnutrition condition. * History of major surgery which potentially limits participation or completion of the study. * History of previous intestinal surgery known to affect food intake or digestive function, including bariatric surgery. * Use of antibiotics, antifungal medications, probiotics or prebiotics 90 days before the start of the study. * Are taking the following medications: immunosuppressants, amiodarone and/or perhexiline. * Are currently following or anticipated to commence a specialised commercially available weight loss diet and/or program or concomitant use of any weight loss medication or herbal weight loss products. * History of side effects towards probiotics or prebiotics. * History or current psychiatric illness. * History or current neurological condition (e.g. epilepsy). * Participants with other liver abnormalities. * Evidence of monogenic metabolism diseases such as Lysosomal acid lipase deficiency (LALD), Wilson disease, Hypobetalipoproteinemia, or inborn errors of metabolism. * Have had a weight change exceeding 3 kg within 3 months. * Uncontrolled diabetes, active malignancy, or chronic infections. * Having symptoms of active infection. * Excessive alcohol intake defined as self-reported intakes greater than 21 units per week in men, and 14 units per week in women. * Participants who are pregnant, breast feeding or actively planning pregnancy will be excluded from the study. * Participation in any other trial in the last 3 months. Exclusion criteria for healthy volunteers MRI scans and patients optional MRI scans: * Contraindications for MRI scanning: having pacemakers, defibrillators, neurostimulators, prohibited medical implants, and foreign bodies (e.g. bullets, shrapnel, metal slivers), history of metallic foreign body in eye(s) and penetrating eye injury that could present a risk during an MRI scan. * Difficulty breathing or inability to lie flat, as well as conditions that could worsen under stress (such as anxiety or panic disorders, claustrophobia, uncontrolled hypertension, or seizure disorders) severe enough to prevent undergoing an MRI.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
3 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Nottingham Clinical Research Facility at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
RECRUITINGNottingham, NG7 2UH, United Kingdom
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Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre, University of Nottingham
RECRUITINGNottingham, NG7 2QX, United Kingdom
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University of Nottingham
RECRUITINGNottingham, United Kingdom, NG7 2UH, United Kingdom
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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