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Non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is recognized as the most common type of chronic liver disease in Western countries and the leading cause of cryptogenic cirrhosis. Insulin resistance (IR) is a key factor in the pathogenesis of NAFLD, the latter being considered as the hepatic component of IR or metabolic syndrome (MetS). Although the pathogenesis of NAFLD is not fully elucidated, a complex interaction between adipokines and cytokines produced by adipocytes and/or inflammatory cells infiltrating adipose tissue appears to play a crucial role in MetS and NAFLD.

Adiponectin is the most abundant and adipose‐specific adipokine. In the liver, adiponectin acts through the activation of 5‐AMP‐activated protein kinase and peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor‐α pathways and inhibition of toll‐like receptor‐4 mediated signalling. There is an evidence that adiponectin decreases hepatic and systematic IR …