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Clinical nutrition

The effects of extra virgin olive oil and canola oil on inflammatory markers and gastrointestinal symptoms in patients with ulcerative colitis

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 74, pages 891–899 (2020)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background/objectives

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an immune-mediated disease that causes inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract. Diet has an important role in the treatment of UC. This study aimed to compare the effects of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), as a functional food, with canola oil in the treatment of UC.

Subjects/methods

Forty patients were participating in this crossover clinical trial. Thirty two patients completed two intervention rounds. Blood samples were taken before and after 20 days intervention. Disease activity score and gastrointestinal symptoms were evaluated using the Mayo score and gastrointestinal symptom rating scale (GSRS) respectively.

Results

Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (p = 0.03) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (p < 0.001) were decreased significantly after EVOO consumption. Bloating, constipation, fecal urgency, incomplete defecation, and final GSRS were reduced significantly after EVOO consumption (p < 0.05).

Conclusions

Intake of EVOO decreased the inflammatory markers and improved gastrointestinal symptoms in UC patients. It seems this functional food can be beneficial in the treatment of UC as a complementary medicine.

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Fig. 1
Fig. 2: Changes in gastrointestinal symptoms after EVOO and CO consumption in the crossover study.
Fig. 3: Changes in final score of gastrointestinal symptom rating scale after EVOO and CO consumption in the crossover study.

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Acknowledgements

This paper is a part of the master thesis of Mehrnaz Morvaridi. Authors special thanks go to all patients participated in this study.

Funding

Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences was financially supported this clinical trial and was registered in Nutrition and Metabolic Diseases Research Center of this university (ID: NRC-9619).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Diabetes Research Center, Health Research Institute, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran

    Mehrnaz Morvaridi

  2. Nutrition and Metabolic Diseases Research Center, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran

    Sima Jafarirad

  3. Department of Nutrition, School of Para-medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran

    Sima Jafarirad

  4. Alimentary Tract Research Center, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran

    Seyed Saeed Seyedian & Pezhman Alavinejad

  5. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran

    Bahman Cheraghian

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  3. Seyed Saeed Seyedian
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Contributions

MM, data collection and drafting the work; SJ, supervising project performance and substantial contributions to the conception of the work; SSS and PA, contributions to the conception of the work; BC, analysis and interpretation of results. All authors approved the final version to be published.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sima Jafarirad.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethics approval

This clinical trial was approved by the Ethics Committee of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences (IR.AJUMS.REC.1396.624) according to the Declaration of Helsinki, and confirmed in the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT20170730035381N1). All patients filled and signed a formal consent form and their information were kept secret in all stages of the study.

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Morvaridi, M., Jafarirad, S., Seyedian, S.S. et al. The effects of extra virgin olive oil and canola oil on inflammatory markers and gastrointestinal symptoms in patients with ulcerative colitis. Eur J Clin Nutr 74, 891–899 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-019-0549-z

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