Advances in integrative medicine最新文献

{"title":"The importance of constructing an osteopathic profession around modern common academic values and avoiding pseudoscience: The Spanish experience","authors":"Antonio Ciardo ,&nbsp;Mar García Sánchez ,&nbsp;Moisés Cobo Fernández","doi":"10.1016/j.aimed.2023.09.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.aimed.2023.09.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><div>The global health and wellness industry has an estimated value of $4 trillion USD, of which traditional and complementary medicine<span><span> (osteopathy included) represent $359.7 billion USD (almost 9 %). While some European countries are gradually recognizing osteopathy as an independent health </span>profession and regulating it in a timely manner, in Spain, osteopathy characterized by a lack of consensus within the professional community itself and the lack of regulation. In February 2019, the Government of Spain launched a campaign (#coNprueba) that was part of the \"Plan against pseudotherapies and pseudosciences\". In Spain, there is a serious possibility that it will be banned or that osteopathy will be classified as a subspecialization of other health professions (despite this contravening existing national laws). This could set a dangerous precedent for those countries where osteopathy is in the process of being recognized, as it could paralyze such implementation.</span></div></div><div><h3>Aim</h3><div>The aim is to understand how it might be possible to change this trend to promote the education of new osteopaths, foster a culture of research, and obtain regulated status. A narrative report based on the literature addresses current issues, including sources of debate and controversy.</div></div><div><h3>Discussion/conclusion</h3><div>The hand of osteopathy is outstretched to define a collaborative strategy in defence of a freely accessed, plural, safe, and regulated profession in Spain. Spain's own efforts could help the international osteopathy community define its niche and identity and determine the most flexible way to combine tradition and modernity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7343,"journal":{"name":"Advances in integrative medicine","volume":"10 3","pages":"Pages 139-144"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135248756","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Use of Bach flower remedies in children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: Systematic review and meta-analysis","authors":"Fernanda Nascimento de Oliveira ,&nbsp;Cristina Eunice Okuyama ,&nbsp;Audrey de Souza Marquez ,&nbsp;Karen Barros Parron Fernandes ,&nbsp;Paulo Victor Carpaneze Dalaqua ,&nbsp;Andréia Cristina Feitosa do Carmo ,&nbsp;Fátima Cristina Alves Branco-Barreiro","doi":"10.1016/j.aimed.2023.07.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.aimed.2023.07.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><div><span>To systematically review the available evidence of the effect of Bach flower remedies (BFR) on the improvement of symptoms and behavior in children and adolescents </span>with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>This systematic review<span> with meta-analysis was developed following PRISMA recommendations and the protocol was registered in PROSPERO. The search for controlled trials was performed in Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials<span>, Embase, PubMed and LILACS and in grey literature from their inceptions until March, 2023. The population was children and adolescents diagnosed with ADHD. The intervention included the use BFR and the control included placebo or conventional therapies group. The outcome included improvement of symptoms and behavior. RoB 2.0 was used to assess the risk of bias, while GRADE was used to assess the quality of evidence. Stata version 16.0 was used to perform the meta-analysis.</span></span></div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div><span>Of the 457 studies identified, only 4 studies that met the inclusion criteria remained and were included in the data analysis. The agreement between the reviewers for risk of bias assessment, based on the kappa statistic, was 0.91. Three studies reported improvement in ADHD symptoms with BFR. The studies presented some concerns regarding the risk of bias and the quality of evidence was “low”. The meta-analysis showed a positive effect favoring BFR (z = 2.57, p = 0.01) </span><em>versus</em><span> control with an effect size of 0.80 (0.19–1.42:95 %CI). I</span>² test value was 35.96 %, indicating moderate heterogeneity among the studies.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>BFR can have some effect on ADHD. However, further studies with higher methodological quality and long-term follow-up period are needed to reinforce these findings.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7343,"journal":{"name":"Advances in integrative medicine","volume":"10 3","pages":"Pages 93-100"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74159017","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Benefits from a plant-based diet, intermittent fasting and aspects of ayurvedic nutrition in rheumatoid arthritis – A case report","authors":"Anika Rajput Khokhar ,&nbsp;Kirsten Karberg ,&nbsp;Christian S. Kessler","doi":"10.1016/j.aimed.2023.07.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.aimed.2023.07.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Rheumatoid arthritis<span> (RA) is one of the most common rheumatologic diseases worldwide causing high morbidity and mortality as well as a high socioeconomic burden. Current medications offer several therapeutic options. Additionally, increasing evidence endorses the beneficial influence of certain diets on the disease activity in RA.</span></div></div><div><h3>Case presentation</h3><div>Here we present a case of a female patient with a history of 3 years of active seronegative RA under current medication with prednisolone<span> and methotrexate<span>. Additionally, she received dietary counselling and started a plant-based diet with RA-specific dietary recommendations from Traditional Indian Medicine and intermittent fasting<span>. This dietary regimen included meatless vegetable-based main meals, a high amount of whole food products, home-made food from fresh, organic products, and warm servings. While implementing the dietary recommendations for three years, inflammatory parameters decreased. At a 3-years-follow-up, she was able to cease her pharmacotherapy due to a complete clinical remission of RA disease activity.</span></span></span></div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>This case highlights the value of additional nutritional therapy in RA as well as the potential role of the gut microbiota<span> in the pathogenesis of RA. Well-planned prospective clinical trials are warranted in this promising field of medicine.</span></div></div>","PeriodicalId":7343,"journal":{"name":"Advances in integrative medicine","volume":"10 3","pages":"Pages 107-112"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"72380805","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Impacts of touch massage on the experience of patients with chronic pain: A non-randomized cluster clinical trial","authors":"Gora Da Rocha Rodrigues ,&nbsp;Catherine Bollondi Pauly ,&nbsp;Monique Boegli ,&nbsp;François Curtin ,&nbsp;Adrien Anex ,&nbsp;Sezen Cekic ,&nbsp;Christophe Luthy ,&nbsp;Jules Desmeules ,&nbsp;Christine Cedraschi","doi":"10.1016/j.aimed.2023.09.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.aimed.2023.09.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Chronic pain is a major public health problem. Non-pharmacological interventions are increasingly being used as a complement to chronic pain treatment and are strongly recommended. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of Touch massage (TM) on the experience of patients with chronic pain hospitalized in a rehabilitation ward.</div></div><div><h3>Method</h3><div>A non-randomized cluster clinical trial was conducted. Eighty-two participants were included in this study, 39 in the intervention group and 43 in the control group. Participants in both groups received 4 sessions of massage (TM or via a machine) over the course of 2 weeks. For both groups, Patients’ Global Impression of Change (PGIC) in the perception of pain and secondary outcomes (pain intensity, anxiety/depression, patient- provider relationship) were measured at baseline and after the intervention.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>There was a small effect (Cohen’s d = 0.42) of the intervention type on the score of the PGIC. Patients who received TM tended to perceive more change than participants who received machine massage. The type of intervention had no effect on the other key variables (pain intensity, anxiety/depression, or patient- provider relationship).</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>This study shows with a rigorous and pragmatic methodology that TM has a positive impact on the perception of pain relief in patients suffering from chronic pain. TM appears as a useful and well manageable therapy for these difficult to treat patients and somewhat better than machine delivered foot massage.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7343,"journal":{"name":"Advances in integrative medicine","volume":"10 3","pages":"Pages 145-151"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135389874","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effect of Hatha Yoga and meditation on academic stress in medical students—Clinical trial","authors":"Sandra Moreno ,&nbsp;Lina Becerra ,&nbsp;Guillermo Ortega ,&nbsp;Milton Fabian Suarez-Ortegón ,&nbsp;Freddy Moreno","doi":"10.1016/j.aimed.2023.09.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.aimed.2023.09.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><div>Medical students use to deal with high levels of academic stress. Hatha yoga and meditation have been found to reduce variables associated with stress. Objective: To evaluate and compare the effect of Hatha yoga and meditation on academic stress in medical students at a private university in Cali, Colombia.</div></div><div><h3>Methods and materials</h3><div>A total of 27 volunteers were randomly divided into two groups: Hatha Yoga(n = 13) and Meditation (n = 14). Each group undertook two weekly one-hour sessions for 14 weeks. Study outcomes were salivary cortisol and perceived academic stress. Anthropometric and clinical variables were additionally measured as characteristics of the study sample. Perceived academic stress was estimated via a structured questionnaire. An intra-group analysis was also conducted to compare the outcomes at baseline and post-intervention within the groups.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>At baseline demographic, clinical, and anthropometric variables were similar between the intervention groups. After the intervention, no differences were found between meditation and hatha yoga groups in salivary cortisol measures (time 0, 15, 30, 45 min, and mean of the 4 measures) and perceived academic stress. However, the intra-group analysis showed that only in Hatha yoga there was a significant increase in cortisol measures and improvement in the scale of perceived academic stress.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Based on the intra-group but not between-group comparisons of outcomes at baseline and post-intervention, Hatha yoga reduced perceived academic stress despite a concomitant significant increase in cortisol levels. Further trials with larger samples of medical students should be conducted to contrast our findings.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7343,"journal":{"name":"Advances in integrative medicine","volume":"10 3","pages":"Pages 122-130"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135249393","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Characteristics of the research literature on herbal medicines corresponding with herbal supplements yielding the highest total sales: A bibliometric analysis","authors":"Jeremy Y. Ng ,&nbsp;Swati Anant ,&nbsp;Nandana D. Parakh","doi":"10.1016/j.aimed.2023.05.004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aimed.2023.05.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Herbal medicines are frequently utilized for healthcare purposes. Due to their increased use globally, it is essential to understand the characteristics of the research literature published on this topic.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>Search strategies were informed by the top-selling herbal supplements from the 2020 HerbalGram Market Report. The Natural Medicines database was used to identify and record the most common terms used to refer to the herbs listed in the market report. Searches were run on Scopus on August 02, 2021, and all results were exported on the same day to avoid discrepancies due to database updates. Bibliometric data were collected, including information on total number of publications, publications per year, number of authors and journals, open access status, document type, author affiliations, most highly published authors, institutional affiliations, funding sponsors, country of publication, and most highly cited publications. VOSViewer, a software tool, was used to construct and visualize bibliometric networks.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>A total of 42,385 articles published by 92,814 unique authors between 1827 and 2021 were obtained. An overall upward trend was observed in the number of publications, with the most widely researched herbal medicines being wheatgrass, turmeric, barley and garlic. The most productive countries were the United States (n = 6957) and China (n = 5426).</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>A continuous upward trend was identified with respect to the volume of research literature published about this subset of herbal medicines. Due to the projected increase of the use of these medicines, future research should examine and analyse the characteristics of emerging publications in this field.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":7343,"journal":{"name":"Advances in integrative medicine","volume":"10 2","pages":"Pages 64-79"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49710123","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Australian reflexology workforce: A descriptive secondary-analysis from the PRACI practice-based research network","authors":"Harriet Gibson ,&nbsp;Amie Steel ,&nbsp;Jon Adams","doi":"10.1016/j.aimed.2023.05.002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aimed.2023.05.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objectives</h3><p>This study provides the first detailed empirical examination of the reflexology profession and reflexology practice in Australia.</p></div><div><h3>Design</h3><p>Secondary analysis of the Practitioner Research And Collaboration Initiative (PRACI) online baseline workforce survey and practice-specific manual therapy follow-up survey.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>The baseline survey collected data about participant sociodemographics, practitioner and professional characteristics, and clinical special interest areas. The Follow up survey provided more information about practice behaviours including participant use of diagnostic and therapeutic tools. Responses from both surveys were linked and the data were analysed for descriptive statistics. Bivariate analyses tested the association between practitioner characteristics across two subgroups: those participants with both a reflexology and massage qualification; and those with a reflexology qualification but no massage qualification.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p><span>The baseline survey was completed by 128 reflexologists and 74 (57.8 %) of the baseline respondents completed the secondary practice-specific manual therapy survey. Substantially more females (86.7 %) completed the survey and the mean age of participants was 53.1 years (SD 10.4). A diverse range of clinical interest topics were disclosed. Most frequent were general health and wellbeing (81.3 %) and musculoskeletal complaints (78.1 %). </span>Digestive disorders<span> (68.0 %), women’s health complaints (66.4 %), endocrine conditions (64.8 %), pain (64.8 %) and allergies (60.2 %) were also commonly identified as clinical interest areas. Participants with a reflexology qualification only reported a lower hourly rate, less new clients per month and less days in clinical practice compared to other participants. They also reported discussing diet and nutrition, exercise prescription, nutritional supplements less often than other participants.</span></p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>Reflexology is a manual therapy with a broad range of applications that ay support many health conditions. This study highlights the important priority areas for the Australian reflexology profession to ensure sustainability of their workforce into the future.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":7343,"journal":{"name":"Advances in integrative medicine","volume":"10 2","pages":"Pages 51-57"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49732603","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Successful pregnancy of a woman with PCOS after intervention with cyclic meditation – A case report","authors":"K.S. Lakshmi ,&nbsp;M. Fathima Jebin ,&nbsp;V. Venugopal ,&nbsp;K. Maheshkumar","doi":"10.1016/j.aimed.2023.05.007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aimed.2023.05.007","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Traditional Complementary and Integrative Medicine (TCIM) therapy usage for treating infertility has increased in the recent times. However the scientific documented evidence of mind-body interventions such as yoga and meditation on women with infertility still remains largely unexplored.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>We report a case of 25-year-old female with PCOS and infertility, unable to conceive for the past two years. Regular practice of cyclic meditation was given four days a week for 4 months.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>The patient started practicing cyclic meditation for a duration of 35 min, four times a week for a period of four month, from the 5th day of menstruation. In the fourth month, she missed her periods on the expected day, after a delay of 20 days, she got menses which lasted for 5 days. After that, for the next month, again she missed her period and this time she was tested positive for pregnancy on the 35th day from the last menstrual period (LMP).</p></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>Regular practice of cyclic meditation could have a positive impact in women with secondary infertility due to PCOS. However, future studies with experimental study design is required to warrant our current findings.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":7343,"journal":{"name":"Advances in integrative medicine","volume":"10 2","pages":"Pages 89-91"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49761315","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Predictors of herbal medicine use in Ashanti Region of Ghana","authors":"James Afriyie ,&nbsp;Akwasi Kumi-Kyereme","doi":"10.1016/j.aimed.2023.05.005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aimed.2023.05.005","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><p>To determine the predictors of herbal medicine use among adults in Ashanti Region of Ghana.</p></div><div><h3>Method</h3><p>A cross sectional study<span> design was employed to obtain data from 910 adults using a questionnaire. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the predictors of herbal medicine use.</span></p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>Majority of the respondents (73.7%) had used herbal medicine within 1 year prior to the survey. Living in a district (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2893, CI: 1.646 −5076, <em>p</em> &lt; .001) and being older than 20 years were the factors that predicted use of herbal medicine. The other predictors included having the opinion that herbal medicines work very well (AOR= 6.072, CI: 3.237 – 11.386, <em>p</em> &lt; .001) or work somehow (AOR= 3.525, CI: 1.885 – 6.591, <em>p</em> &lt; .001), and having the belief that one could definitely (AOR= 5.084, CI: 2.952 – 8.754, <em>p</em> &lt; .001) or maybe (AOR= 2.034, CI: 1.186 – 3.487, <em>p</em> = .01) use herbal medicine with ease.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>The study observed a high prevalence of herbal medicine use in the Ashanti region of Ghana particularly among those living in the districts and those older than 20 years of age. Predictors of herbal medicine use include positive perception of efficacy and ease of use. This highlights a need for public engagement via all forms of media on the possible implications of the safety and efficacy of herbal medicines.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":7343,"journal":{"name":"Advances in integrative medicine","volume":"10 2","pages":"Pages 80-85"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49732569","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Efficacy of a prebiotic formulation for treatment of functional constipation and associated gastrointestinal symptoms in adults: A randomised controlled trial","authors":"Elizabeth Steels ,&nbsp;Rene Erhardt ,&nbsp;Joanna E. Harnett ,&nbsp;Vanessa Vigar ,&nbsp;Kathryn J. Steadman","doi":"10.1016/j.aimed.2023.05.001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aimed.2023.05.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objectives</h3><p>Functional constipation is the result of a complex interplay between the gastrointestinal tract, the gut microbiome, the nervous system, along with diet and lifestyle factors. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a prebiotic formulation containing plant-based extracts rich in dietary fibre and polyphenols in the management of functional constipation and associated gastrointestinal symptoms.</p></div><div><h3>Design</h3><p>This 3-week randomised controlled study assessed the effect of a prebiotic formulation (6 g powder taken in water twice daily), by comparison with a capsule designed to have minimal effect on gastrointestinal function, on indicators of bowel health in healthy adults with low fibre intake and meeting the Rome IV criteria for functional constipation.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>Participants were informed that they may receive one of two products, either a powder or a capsule, both of which contained prebiotics. The primary outcome was change in frequency of complete spontaneous bowel movements. Secondary outcomes assessed were gastrointestinal symptoms, quality of life and mood using the PAC-SYM, PAC-QoL, and DASS-21. Safety and tolerability were also assessed.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>There was a significant improvement in bowel movements (p &lt; 0.001) and improved stool consistency (p &lt; 0.01) in participants taking the prebiotic powder formulation compared to those taking the capsule. Accompanying this was a significant reduction in overall gastrointestinal symptoms (p &lt; 0.001) including abdominal (p &lt; 0.001), rectal (p = 0.004) and stool (p = 0.002) symptoms, and a significant improvement in quality of life (p 0.001). There was a significant reduction in mean score for depression, anxiety, and stress for participants in both groups, which indicated a significant improvement in mood during the study that was unrelated to bowel function.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>The results showed that the prebiotic powder formulation taken twice per day for 21 days was effective in reducing clinical symptoms of functional constipation in individuals reporting a low fibre intake.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":7343,"journal":{"name":"Advances in integrative medicine","volume":"10 2","pages":"Pages 43-50"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49732610","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}