Effectiveness of a nutraceutical supplement containing highly standardized perilla and ginger extracts in patients with functional dyspepsia.

Background: In Western countries functional dyspepsia (FD) has a prevalence of 10-20% among adults and although many drugs are currently available for use within clinical practice, FD remains an important challenge for physicians. Recently, food supplements that are ginger-based, along with other botanicals, have been proposed to be a possible natural alternative to pharmaceutical drugs to empirically counteract the symptoms of FD.

Methods: We have therefore retrospectively analyzed the efficacy and safety profiles of a nutraceutical containing, in addition to a highly standardized ginger root extract, a multi-fractionated botanical obtained from Perilla frutescens leaf containing an innovative bouquet of compounds, including hydrophilic polyphenols and the lipophilic terpenoid perilla ketone.

Results: The results of our single-group study, obtained from patients with a diagnosis of FD who were treated with the perilla/ginger nutraceutical, demonstrated a good efficacy profile, with a significant reduction observed in nearly all evaluated symptoms (epigastric pain, heartburn, gastric reflux, nausea, borborygmi, early satiety, diarrhea/constipation) starting from the first week of treatment that was further improved after 2 weeks. The treatment was well tolerated with very mild side effects (flatulence, meteorism, gastric burning, difficulty in falling asleep) lasting 3-4 days, which disappeared without stopping the treatment.

Conclusions: Despite all the limitations of our pragmatic study, we believe that the perilla and ginger supplement we have used can be considered a valid tool for an empirical approach to treating patients with FD, especially when a non-conventional drug treatment is preferable to the patient and considered suitable by the physician.