Giannitrapani L, Ferraro M, Seidita A, Licata A, Soresi M. Interplay between intestinal permeability and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: Could there be a role for extra virgin olive oil consumption? World J Hepatol 2025; 17(12): 110076 [DOI: 10.4254/wjh.v17.i12.110076]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Maurizio Soresi, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Health Promotion Sciences, Maternal and Infant Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, University of Palermo, Via del Vespro 141, Palermo 90127, Sicilia, Italy. maurizio.soresi@unipa.it
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Medicine, General & Internal
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Review
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This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Dec 27, 2025 (publication date) through Dec 29, 2025
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World Journal of Hepatology
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1948-5182
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Giannitrapani L, Ferraro M, Seidita A, Licata A, Soresi M. Interplay between intestinal permeability and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: Could there be a role for extra virgin olive oil consumption? World J Hepatol 2025; 17(12): 110076 [DOI: 10.4254/wjh.v17.i12.110076]
World J Hepatol. Dec 27, 2025; 17(12): 110076 Published online Dec 27, 2025. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v17.i12.110076
Interplay between intestinal permeability and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: Could there be a role for extra virgin olive oil consumption?
Lydia Giannitrapani, Marinella Ferraro, Aurelio Seidita, Anna Licata, Maurizio Soresi
Lydia Giannitrapani, Marinella Ferraro, Aurelio Seidita, Anna Licata, Maurizio Soresi, Department of Health Promotion Sciences, Maternal and Infant Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, University of Palermo, Palermo 90127, Sicilia, Italy
Lydia Giannitrapani, Institute for Biomedical Research and Innovation, National Research Council, Palermo 90146, Sicilia, Italy
Author contributions: Giannitrapani L and Soresi M conceptualised the study, created the artwork, supervised, and made critical revisions; Seidita A and Licata A performed the data analysis and interpretation; Ferraro M conducted the literature review and drafted the original manuscript; all authors prepared the draft and approved the submitted version.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Maurizio Soresi, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Health Promotion Sciences, Maternal and Infant Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, University of Palermo, Via del Vespro 141, Palermo 90127, Sicilia, Italy. maurizio.soresi@unipa.it
Received: May 28, 2025 Revised: July 23, 2025 Accepted: November 24, 2025 Published online: December 27, 2025 Processing time: 212 Days and 0.5 Hours
Abstract
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease is a multifaceted disease associated with obesity, insulin resistance (IR), type 2 diabetes mellitus - in a word, metabolic syndrome - which has been extensively studied because it is related to an alteration of the normal metabolism of glucose and lipids, ultimately leading to triglyceride accumulation within hepatocytes. This lipid overload triggers an inflammatory status, also influenced by gut-liver axis dysfunction, with gut dysbiosis, which alters intestinal permeability, causing inflammation and IR in a vicious circle. Several approaches have been attempted to treat this condition and stop its possible evolution towards increasingly serious stages, but the first step is always lifestyle modification. The Mediterranean diet seems to be the most reliable for affecting liver steatosis, probably thanks to extra virgin olive oil, a healthy food with a high content of monounsaturated fatty acids and variable concentrations of phenols (oleocanthal) and phenolic alcohols, such as hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol. This review investigates the mechanisms underlying the bidirectional and synergistic relationships among metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease, IR, and the gut-liver axis, specifically focusing on the role of extra virgin olive oil as one of the main antioxidant components of the Mediterranean diet.
Core Tip: Several studies have proven the close relationship between eating behaviour, intestinal permeability, and its influence on the “leaky gut” and the development of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease. This review aims to focus on the possible role of extra virgin olive oil consumption, as a fundamental component of the Mediterranean diet, on the gut-liver axis, with particular attention to its role as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory functional food.
