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Attenuation of common cold symptoms by encapsulated juice powder concentrate
Author(s) -
Roll Stephanie,
Nocon Marc,
Willich Stefan N
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.24.1_supplement.209.8
Subject(s) - common cold , placebo , medicine , confidence interval , clinical endpoint , randomized controlled trial , alternative medicine , pathology , immunology
Dietary supplements have been suggested as preventive strategies for common cold, but previous results were inconsistent. This study aimed to assess the effect of a dietary supplement from fruits and vegetables on common cold symptoms in healthy healthcare professionals. Methods This was a randomized double‐blind placebo‐controlled trial. Subjects were taking four capsules of dietary supplement (Juice Plus+®) or matching placebo daily for eight months, including a two month run‐in period. We report means and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the number of days with at least moderate common cold symptoms (primary endpoint) and number of days with any common cold symptoms. Differences between groups are analyzed with ANOVA. Results A total of 543 subjects were included, with 529 valid for primary analysis (intervention: 263, placebo: 266). The mean number of days with at least moderate common cold symptoms was 7.6 (95% CI 6.5–8.8) in the intervention and 9.5 (8.4–10.6) in the placebo group (P=0.023). The mean number of days with any common cold symptoms was 29.4 (25.8–33.0) in the intervention and 30.7 (27.1–34.3) in the placebo group (P=0.616). Conclusion Intake of a dietary supplement from fruits and vegetables was associated with a reduction of moderate or severe common cold symptoms, but not with a reduction of total days with common cold symptoms. Research support: NSA (TN, USA)