New nutritional approach to inflammatory bowel disease: the nutraceuticals

Article type: Review Article

Authors: Taus, Marina^a | Busni, Debora^a | Petrelli, Massimiliano D.^a | Nicolai, Albano^a

Affiliations: [a] SOD di Dietetica e Nutrizione Clinica, AOU Ospedali Riuniti Ancona, Ancona, Italy. e-mail: s.dietetica@ospedaliriuniti.marche.it

Abstract: The clinical course of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is characterised by periods of quiescent disease interspersed with episodes of active inflammation; consequently, malabsorption and malnutrition are the most important problems in IBD patients. It has been widely demonstrated that nutritional support allows more tolerability both to drugs and surgery therapy increases the duration of remission. Among enteral formula enriched in specific nutraceuticals like glutamine or transforming growth factor β2 used in IBD, we tested those enriched with omega 3, soluble fibre and arginine. We observed a high compliance and a statistically significant improvement of symptoms, nutritional status, inflammatory index and Crohn's disease activity index. A specific nutritional intervention, in particular specific enteral nutrition formula, is essential in the prevention and treatment of malnutrition caused by IBD.

Keywords: Inflammatory bowel disease, Enteral nutrition, Nutraceuticals, Artificial nutrition

DOI: 10.3233/s12349-008-0022-3

Journal: Mediterranean Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 145-148, 2009