Di Pierro Francesco, Giovannone Maurizio, Saponara Mariella, Ivaldi Leandro
Velleja Research, Milan, Italy -
Unit of Gastroenterology, San Camillo de Lellis Hospital, Rieti, Italy.
Minerva Gastroenterol Dietol. 2020 Mar;66(1):35-40. doi: 10.23736/S1121-421X.19.02650-3.
In Western countries functional dyspepsia (FD) has a prevalence of 10-20% among adults and although many drugs are currently available for use within clinical practice, FD remains an important challenge for physicians. Recently, food supplements that are ginger-based, along with other botanicals, have been proposed to be a possible natural alternative to pharmaceutical drugs to empirically counteract the symptoms of FD.
We have therefore retrospectively analyzed the efficacy and safety profiles of a nutraceutical containing, in addition to a highly standardized ginger root extract, a multi-fractionated botanical obtained from Perilla frutescens leaf containing an innovative bouquet of compounds, including hydrophilic polyphenols and the lipophilic terpenoid perilla ketone.
The results of our single-group study, obtained from patients with a diagnosis of FD who were treated with the perilla/ginger nutraceutical, demonstrated a good efficacy profile, with a significant reduction observed in nearly all evaluated symptoms (epigastric pain, heartburn, gastric reflux, nausea, borborygmi, early satiety, diarrhea/constipation) starting from the first week of treatment that was further improved after 2 weeks. The treatment was well tolerated with very mild side effects (flatulence, meteorism, gastric burning, difficulty in falling asleep) lasting 3-4 days, which disappeared without stopping the treatment.
Despite all the limitations of our pragmatic study, we believe that the perilla and ginger supplement we have used can be considered a valid tool for an empirical approach to treating patients with FD, especially when a non-conventional drug treatment is preferable to the patient and considered suitable by the physician.
在西方国家，功能性消化不良（FD）在成年人中的患病率为10%-20%。尽管目前临床实践中有许多药物可供使用，但FD对医生来说仍然是一项重大挑战。最近，以生姜为基础的食品补充剂以及其他植物药被认为可能是一种天然替代品，可凭经验对抗FD症状。
因此，我们回顾性分析了一种营养保健品的疗效和安全性，该营养保健品除了含有高度标准化的生姜根提取物外，还含有一种从紫苏叶中提取的多组分植物药，其中含有一系列创新化合物，包括亲水性多酚和脂溶性萜类紫苏酮。
我们的单组研究结果来自诊断为FD并接受紫苏/生姜营养保健品治疗的患者，显示出良好的疗效，从治疗第一周开始，几乎所有评估症状（上腹痛、烧心、胃反流、恶心、肠鸣音、早饱、腹泻/便秘）均显著减轻，2周后进一步改善。该治疗耐受性良好，副作用非常轻微（肠胃胀气、腹胀、胃灼热、入睡困难），持续3-4天，无需停药即可消失。
尽管我们的实用研究存在所有局限性，但我们认为，我们使用的紫苏和生姜补充剂可被视为凭经验治疗FD患者的有效工具，尤其是当患者更喜欢非传统药物治疗且医生认为合适时。
