Insights & Discussion
Probiotics combined with traditional Chinese medicine have shown higher rates of efficiency in the treatment of ulcerative colitis than when each is used individually.
For the methodology, the researchers utilized a comprehensive search of multiple databases such as Pubmed, EMBASE, Cochrane library, China Academic Journals, Wan-fang database, Chinese biomedical literature service system, and Chinese Science and Technology Journals. They designed subgroup analysis in alignment with distinct control drugs, treatment lengths, and types of probiotics, using Review Manager software for statistical analysis.
In discussing the results, the study analyzed fourteen original studies containing over a thousand patients. It concluded that the combination of probiotics with traditional Chinese medicine was more effective than 5-aminosalicylic acid, probiotics, or traditional Chinese medicine used individually. Further, this combination was found to suppress intestinal inflammation, diminish the frequency of recurrence, and lower the occurrence of adverse events. The results indicated that a mixture of different probiotics was more effective than a single strain.
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Acupuncture combined with moxibustion has shown significant benefits in the treatment of mild to moderate Crohn's disease.
2023 Journal of Pharmacopuncture The Effects of Acupuncture on Crohn’s Disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis Bae JH, Kang SY, You SE, Jeong HI, Jang S, Kim KH
Meta-Analysis Acupuncture Crohn's Disease
In this systematic review, the researchers conducted a comprehensive search of 12 databases for randomized controlled trials on the impact of acupuncture on Crohn's disease. Three independent reviewers assessed the risk of bias for each study. The level of evidence from meta-analyses was evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation methodology.
The review included a total of 12 studies. Findings suggest that acupuncture combined with moxibustion, a traditional East Asian treatment involving burning a small bunch of herbs on particular points on the body, had an effect on the treatment outcomes for patients with mild to moderate Crohn's disease when compared to a group given sham acupuncture and sham moxibustion treatments. Notably, findings on the effectiveness of acupuncture treatment only, without the addition of moxibustion, were less clear. It is also important to emphasize that this review was firmly focused on the benefits of the treatment on patients with mild to moderate symptoms of Crohn's disease.
Acupuncture demonstrates a positive therapeutic effect on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) by effectively regulating associated inflammatory factors.
2023 Complementary Therapies in Medicine Assessment of anti-inflammatory efficacy of acupuncture in patients with inflammatory bowel disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis Yang X, He M, Tang Q, Wang Z, Jin D, Wu X, et al.
Meta-Analysis Acupuncture Crohn's Disease
Eight electronic databases were utilized in a systematic search for studies that satisfied the pre-defined inclusion parameters. Two impartial reviewers evaluated the quality of the resultant studies and a meta-analysis was then performed to assess the efficacy of acupuncture on IBD and its related inflammatory factors which include TNF-α, IL-1, IL-8, and IL-10.
The analysis comprised of four randomized controlled trials that involved a total of 228 patients. The beneficial effects of acupuncture on IBD patients were thoroughly inspected, as well as its ability to regulate levels of specified inflammatory factors. The P values, which refer to the probability that any observed result occurred by chance, were critically assessed for every inflammatory factor - significance was found in the values of TNF-α, IL-8, and IL-10, but not for IL-1.
The conclusion drawn was that acupuncture has a positive therapeutic impact on individuals suffering from IBD, and quite importantly, can regulate inflammatory factors in these patients. As a result of these findings, it is suggested that TNF-α, IL-8, and IL-10 are the ideal inflammatory indicators for evaluating the anti-inflammatory response in this patient category.
Acupuncture effectively induced and sustained remission in active Crohn's disease patients, linked to an increase in anti-inflammatory gut bacteria and improved intestinal barrier.
2022 EClinicalMedicine Acupuncture improves the symptoms, intestinal microbiota, and inflammation of patients with mild to moderate Crohn's disease: A randomized controlled trial Bao C, Wu L, Wang D, Chen L, Jin X, Shi Y, et al.
Randomised Controlled Trial Acupuncture Crohn's Disease
In a 48-week randomized, sham controlled, parallel-group clinical trial conducted at a Chinese tertiary outpatient clinic, 66 drug-resistant, mild to moderately active Crohn's disease patients were randomly assigned equally to a control or acupuncture plus moxibustion treatment group. Three treatment sessions were provided weekly for 12 weeks, followed by 36 weeks of follow-up.
The acupuncture treatment was significantly more effective than the sham treatment in terms of clinical remission and response rates by week 12, results which were maintained at week 48. The acupuncture group also displayed lower Crohn's disease activity indices and C-reactive protein levels and a decreased recurrence rate. Post-treatment, this group demonstrated an increase in the diversity and relative abundance of intestinal microbiota, particularly anti-inflammatory bacteria, as well as reduced plasma levels of diamine oxidase, lipopolysaccharide, and Th1/Th17 related cytokines.
Consuming soymilk-honey fermented with a specific type of probiotic significantly reduces osteocalcin levels, which may impact bone health in postmenopausal women.
2021 Nutrients Effect of Fermented Soymilk-Honey from Different Probiotics on Osteocalcin Level in Menopausal Women Desfita S, Sari W, Yusmarini Y, Pato U, Zakłos-Szyda M, Budryn G
Clinical Study Menopause Osteoporosis Probiotic
The researchers conducted a 90-day pre-post quasi-experimental study with control design on 54 postmenopausal women who were divided into three groups. The first group consumed regular soymilk, the second group consumed soymilk-honey fermented with a specific sub species of probiotics, and the third group consumed soymilk-honey fermented with a different type of probiotics. Each participant consumed 100 mL of their respective drink per day for 90 days. Measurements of blood serum osteocalcin were taken at the start and end of the study, alongside assessments of each participant's overall health status, including total cholesterol, blood glucose, and uric acid levels.
In terms of results, it was observed that the group consuming the soymilk-honey fermented with the particular probiotic showed a significant decrease in their osteocalcin levels after the 90-day period. This indicates that this specific fermented soymilk-honey beverage might have a positive impact on bone health in postmenopausal women.
Ripened Pu-erh tea extract demonstrates a stronger anti-diabetic impact than raw Pu-erh tea extract, potentially due to the fermentation process and its probiotic benefits to certain gut bacteria.
2019 RSC Advances Comparison of hypoglycemic effects of ripened pu-erh tea and raw pu-erh tea in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats Qianzhi Ding, Wei Zheng, Bowei Zhang, Xiaojuan Chen, Jie Zhang, Xu Pang, et al.
Animal Study Blood Sugar Probiotic Type 2 Diabetes
The methods of the study involved the processing and analysis of Pu-erh tea leaves, specifically the raw variety and the ripened type which goes through pile-fermentation. To identify differences in the anti-diabetic effects of both types, the researchers subjected their extracts to ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography paired with quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-TOF/MS) and UHPLC coupled with photodiode array (PDA) analyses. These techniques helped in identifying new compounds formed and those that increased due to the fermentation.
The research also performed a study observing the effects of Ripened Pu-erh Tea on beneficial gut bacteria, namely Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Akkermansia, and Roseburia.
In their discussion, the researchers noted that the ripened Pu-erh tea extract exhibited more potent anti-diabetic effects on two key indicators of diabetes: two-hour postprandial blood glucose and fasting blood glucose. This superiority over the raw Pu-erh tea extract was attributed to 17 newly formed components and those that increase after fermentation such as quinic acid, gallic acid, caffeine, and puerin I. Furthermore, ripened Pu-erh tea showed to have a probiotic role on certain beneficial gut bacteria, implying an extra potential avenue for its anti-diabetic effects.
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