Enhancing Oral 5-ASA Effectiveness in Mild-to-Moderate Ulcerative Colitis through an <i>H. erinaceus</i>-Based Nutraceutical Add-on Multi-Compound: The “HERICIUM-UC” Two-Arm Multicentre Retrospective Study

oleh: Antonio Tursi, Alessandro D’Avino, Giovanni Brandimarte, Giammarco Mocci, Raffaele Pellegrino, Edoardo Vincenzo Savarino, Antonietta Gerarda Gravina, the HERICIUM-UC Study Group

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2024-08-01

Deskripsi

Mild-to-moderate ulcerative colitis (UC) management is centred on 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) derivatives. Whether supplementing 5-ASA with nutraceuticals can provide real advantages in UC-relevant outcomes is unclear. This retrospective multicentre study compared clinical remission, response rates, and faecal calprotectin levels in a two-arm design, including patients treated with 5-ASA alone and those with additional <i>H. erinaceus</i>-based multi-compound supplementation. In the 5-ASA alone group, clinical response rates were 41% at three months (T<sub>1</sub>) and 60.2% at six months (T<sub>2</sub>), while corresponding clinical remission rates were 16.9% and 36.1%. In the nutraceutical supplementation group, clinical response rates were 49.6% (T<sub>1</sub>) and 70.4% (T<sub>2</sub>), with clinical remission rates of 30.4% (T<sub>1</sub>) and 50.9% (T<sub>2</sub>). No significant differences in clinical response rates between the groups at T<sub>1</sub> (<i>p</i> = 0.231) and T<sub>2</sub> (<i>p</i> = 0.143) emerged. Clinical remission rates differed significantly at both time points (<i>p</i> = 0.029 and <i>p</i> = 0.042, respectively). Faecal calprotectin levels decreased significantly in both groups during the retrospective follow-up (<i>p</i> < 0.05), and this was more pronounced in nutraceutical supplementation patients at both T<sub>1</sub> (<i>p</i> = 0.005) and T<sub>2</sub> (<i>p</i> = 0.01). No adverse events were reported. This multi-component nutraceutical supplementation offers real-world potential in controlling disease activity in patients with mild-to-moderate UC.