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World J Gastroenterol. Apr 14, 2017; 23(14): 2483-2492
Published online Apr 14, 2017. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v23.i14.2483
Potential role of nutraceutical compounds in inflammatory bowel disease
Tiziana Larussa, Maria Imeneo, Francesco Luzza
Tiziana Larussa, Maria Imeneo, Francesco Luzza, Department of Health Sciences, University of Catanzaro “Magna Graecia”, Viale Europa, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
Author contributions: Larussa T performed the majority of the writing, prepared the figures and tables; Imeneo M critically discussed the data and writing; and Luzza F designed the outline and coordinated the writing of the paper.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Authors declare no conflict of interest related to this publication.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Francesco Luzza, MD, Professor, Department of Health Sciences, University of Catanzaro “Magna Graecia”, Viale Europa, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy. luzza@unicz.it
Telephone: +39-961-3697113 Fax: +39-961-3697164
Received: February 6, 2017
Peer-review started: February 7, 2017
First decision: February 23, 2017
Revised: March 8, 2017
Accepted: March 20, 2017
Article in press: March 20, 2017
Published online: April 14, 2017
Processing time: 66 Days and 21.9 Hours
Abstract

Conventional therapies for inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) involve combinations of pharmacologic agents such as aminosalicylates, azathioprine, and corticosteroids. Recently, the therapeutic scenario has been heavily increased by the introduction of agents including monoclonal antibodies targeted to specific proinflammatory cytokines, to adhesion molecules, and the induction of anti-inflammatory cytokines and T-cell activation. However, the use of these drugs is accompanied by a certain number of side effects, with some of them being quite severe, rising concerns about the safety profile. Furthermore, the cost of these emerging therapeutic strategies is significant , considering the increasing incidence and the chronic trend of IBD. Nutraceuticals is a broad term used to describe any product derived from food sources claiming extra health benefits beyond the intrinsic nutritional value found in foods. The beneficial effects of nutraceutical compounds in human health have been emerging in the last decades. Although few clinical trials have been performed in IBD patients, nutraceuticals, such as herbal products or vitamins, are generally accepted as safer alternative/supplementation to conventional therapy. In vitro and IBD-animal models studies have shown their involvement in several biological processes, including antioxidant defenses, cell proliferation, gene expression, which could account for a role in the maintenance of the mucosal barrier integrity, the control of the inflammatory pathways and the modulation of the immune response. These data suggest a wide spectrum of positive effects exerted by nutraceuticals, with a high potential for a therapeutic use in humans. In the present review, the beneficial effects of the most investigated nutraceutical compounds in the setting of human IBD are discussed.

Keywords: Inflammatory bowel disease; Ulcerative colitis; Crohn’s disease; Nutraceuticals; Probiotics; Phytochemicals; Herbals; Functional foods

Core tip: Current therapies for inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) include aminosalicylates, azathioprine, corticosteroids and recently clinical management with biologic agents has been implemented. However, safety issue are emerging along with concern about the high cost of these new drugs. Nutraceuticals is a broad term used to describe any product derived from food sources, such as herbal products or vitamins, with extra health benefits beyond the basic nutritional value. Despite few clinical trials in IBD patients, nutraceuticals are generally accepted as safer alternative/supplementation to conventional therapy and the available data support their high potential for therapeutic use in human IBD.