School of Health Sciences, University of Tasmania, Launceston, TAS 7250, Australia.
First Point Healthcare, Launceston, TAS 7250, Australia.
Nutrients. 2020 Jun 18;12(6):1813. doi: 10.3390/nu12061813.
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) affects approximately 20% of Australians. Patients suffer a burning sensation known as heartburn due to the movement of acidic stomach content into the esophagus. There is anecdotal evidence of the effectiveness of prebiotic sugarcane flour in controlling symptoms of GERD. This pilot study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a prebiotic sugarcane flour in alleviating symptoms in medically-diagnosed GERD patients. This pilot study was a single center, double-blinded, placebo-controlled randomized trial conducted on 43 eligible participants. The intervention group ( = 22) were randomized to receive 3 g of sugarcane flour per day, and the control group ( = 21) received 3 g of cellulose placebo per day. Symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease were assessed before and after three weeks treatment using the validated Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease-Health Related Quality of Life questionnaire (GERD-HRQL). After three weeks there were significant differences in symptoms for heartburn, regurgitation, and total symptoms scores ( < 0.05) between the sugarcane flour and placebo. Mean GERD-HRQL scores increased in the placebo group for regurgitation (mean increase 1.7; 95% CI 0.23 to 3.2; = 0.015) and total symptom scores (2.9; 95% CI 0.26 to 5.7; = 0.033). In contrast, there were significant reductions in heartburn (mean decrease -2.2; 95% CI -4.2 to -0.14; = 0.037) and total symptom scores (-3.7; 95% CI -7.2 to -0.11; = 0.044) in the intervention group. This pilot study has shown significant positive effects of sugarcane flour in the reduction of GERD symptoms, and a larger randomized controlled trial is warranted.
胃食管反流病（GERD）影响了大约 20%的澳大利亚人。由于胃酸反流进入食管，患者会感到一种烧灼感，即烧心。有一些轶事证据表明，食用益生元甘蔗粉可以控制 GERD 症状。本项初步研究旨在调查益生元甘蔗粉对缓解医学诊断为 GERD 的患者症状的有效性。这是一项单中心、双盲、安慰剂对照的随机试验，在 43 名符合条件的参与者中进行。干预组（n = 22）随机每天接受 3 克甘蔗粉，对照组（n = 21）每天接受 3 克纤维素安慰剂。使用经过验证的胃食管反流病健康相关生活质量问卷（GERD-HRQL）在治疗前和治疗后 3 周评估胃食管反流病症状。治疗 3 周后，甘蔗粉组和安慰剂组的烧心、反流和总症状评分有显著差异（< 0.05）。安慰剂组的反流（平均增加 1.7；95%CI 0.23 至 3.2；= 0.015）和总症状评分（2.9；95%CI 0.26 至 5.7；= 0.033）均有显著增加。相比之下，干预组的烧心（平均减少-2.2；95%CI-4.2 至-0.14；= 0.037）和总症状评分（-3.7；95%CI-7.2 至-0.11；= 0.044）均有显著降低。本初步研究表明，甘蔗粉对 GERD 症状的缓解有显著的积极作用，需要进行更大规模的随机对照试验。
