Fatty liver disease is a serious health condition involving fat buildup in a person’s liver (the human body’s largest organ). Fatty liver disease is divided into two categories: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and alcoholic fatty liver disease, which is sometimes also called alcoholic steatohepatitis.

The latter is caused by heavy alcohol consumption, which disrupts the liver’s ability to process fats, causing an excessive accumulation of triglycerides within the person’s liver cells. Non-alcoholic liver disease can be caused by different contributing factors, including but not limited to diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, pharmaceutical drug consumption, and infections.

According to a 2024 study, the global prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease was estimated to be 30.2%. South America had the highest rate of prevalence, followed by (in order) Asia, Europe, and North America. Conversely, the prevalence of alcoholic fatty liver disease is estimated to be 4.8% globally.

A team of researchers affiliated with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem recently conducted a study focusing on cannabidiol (CBD), cannabigerol (CBG), and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) in non-humans. The results of the study were published in the British Journal of Pharmacology.

“Male C57Bl/6 mice fed on a high-fat diet for 14 weeks were treated for 4 weeks with daily intraperitoneal CBD, CBG or vehicle. Assessments included body composition, indirect calorimetry, glucose tolerance, serum biochemistry and VLDL-triglyceride profiling. Hepatic mechanisms were examined by metabolomics, lipidomics, creatine kinase activity, cathepsin activity-based probes and gene/protein expression, with a choline-deficient diet cohort to test phospholipid-dependence of CBG.” the researchers wrote about their investigation.

“CBD or CBG treatment improved glycaemic control, reduced hepatic triglycerides and normalised serum lipids, without affecting energy expenditure. Metabolomics revealed increased hepatic phosphocreatine and creatine with enhanced creatine kinase activity, indicating phosphocreatine-based energy buffering independent of fatty acid oxidation changes. Lipidomics showed reduced triglycerides and ceramides, with increased phospholipids and lysobisphosphatidic acids, correlating with restored hepatic cathepsin activity and improved lysosomal lipid degradation.” the researchers found.

“These findings identify a novel, endocannabinoid system-independent mechanism by which CBD and CBG enhance hepatic energy buffering and lysosomal function, contributing to improved liver lipid handling and supporting phytocannabinoids as promising MASLD therapeutics.” the researchers concluded.

As with all cannabis research that does not directly involve human subjects, the results of this study need to be kept in proper context. Still, the results provide promise for research involving cannabinoids and fatty liver disease, and hopefully they inspire further investigation.