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Effects of Spirulina Supplementation in Patients With Ulcerative Colitis: A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Randomized Trial Publisher Pubmed



Moradi S1 ; Bagheri R2 ; Amirian P3 ; Zarpoosh M3 ; Cheraghloo N4 ; Wong A5 ; Zobeiri M6 ; Entezari MH7
Authors
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Authors Affiliations
  1. 1. Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Research Center for Evidence-Based Health Management, Maragheh University of Medical Sciences, Maragheh, Iran
  2. 2. Department of Exercise Physiology, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, 8174673441, Iran
  3. 3. General Practitioner, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (KUMS), Kermanshah, Iran
  4. 4. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, 1417613151, Iran
  5. 5. Department of Health and Human Performance, Marymount University, Arlington, VA, United States
  6. 6. Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran
  7. 7. Department of Clinical Nutrition, School of Nutrition and Food Science, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

Source: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies Published:2024


Abstract

Aim: We conducted a randomized placebo-controlled trial to assess the efficacy of Spirulina (SP) supplementation on disease activity, health-related quality of life, antioxidant status, and serum pentraxin 3 (PTX-3) levels in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). Methods: Eighty patients with UC were randomly assigned to consume either 1 g/day (two 500 mg capsules/day) of SP (n = 40) or control (n = 40) for 8 weeks. Dietary intakes, physical activity, disease activity, health-related quality of life, antioxidant status, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and serum PTX-3 levels were assessed and compared between groups at baseline and post-intervention. Results: Seventy-three patients (91.3%) completed the trial. We observed increases in serum total antioxidant capacity levels in the SP supplementation group compared to the control group after 8 weeks of intervention (p ≤ 0.001). A within-group comparison indicated a trend towards a higher health-related quality of life score after 8 weeks of taking two different supplements, SP (p < 0.001) and PL (p = 0.012), respectively. However, there were no significant changes in participant’s disease activity score in response to SP administration (p > 0.05). Similarly, changes in ESR and PTX-3 levels were comparable between groups post-intervention (p > 0.05). Conclusions: SP improved antioxidant capacity status and health-related quality of life in patients with UC. Our findings suggest that SP supplementation may be effective as an adjuvant treatment for managing patients with UC. Larger trials with longer interventions periods are required to confirm our findings. © The Author(s) 2024.
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