Treatment of ulcerative colitis with germinated barley foodstuff feeding: a pilot study.
BACKGROUND
Germinated barley foodstuff (GBF) has been shown to attenuate intestinal injury in animal models, largely by increasing luminal short-chain fatty acid production.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the safety and efficacy of GBF in the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC).


METHODS
Ten patients with active UC received 30 g of GBF daily for 4 weeks in an open-label treatment protocol while the baseline anti-inflammatory therapy was continued. The response to treatment was evaluated clinically and endoscopically. Pre- and post-treatment stool concentrations of short-chain fatty acids were measured by gas-liquid chromatography.


RESULTS
Patients showed improvement in their clinical activity index scores, with a significant decrease in the score from 6.9+/-1.4 to 2.8+/-1.5 (mean+/-S.E.M., P < 0.05). The endoscopic index score fell from 6.1+/-2.3 to 3.8+/-2.3 (P < 0.0001). Patients showed an increase in stool butyrate concentrations after GBF treatment (P < 0.05). No side-effects were observed.


CONCLUSIONS
Oral GBF therapy may have a place in management of ulcerative colitis, but controlled studies are needed to demonstrate its efficacy in the treatment of this disorder.
Mitsuyama
K
K
Second Department of Medicine, Kurume University School of Medicine, Fukuoka, Japan. ibd@med.kurume-u.ac.jp
Saiki
T
T
Kanauchi
O
O
Iwanaga
T
T
Tomiyasu
N
N
Nishiyama
T
T
Tateishi
H
H
Shirachi
A
A
Ide
M
M
Suzuki
A
A
Noguchi
K
K
Ikeda
H
H
Toyonaga
A
A
Sata
M
M
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000178:diet therapy*; D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile / Q000032:analysis; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry*; D005260:Female; D018525:Germination; D001467:Hordeum / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010865:Pilot Projects; D013997:Time Factors
D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile