High fiber multigrain supplementation improved disease activity score, circulating inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients: A randomized human clinical trial

Abstract

It remains unclear whether grain could act as an effective complementary agent for Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). This study investigated the effects of 12 weeks high fiber multigrain supplementation on disease activity scores, circulating inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers in patients with RA. Fifty-four moderate to severe RA patients were randomly assigned to receive either 80 g multigrain supplementation (containing 15.6 g fiber) coupled with prescribed anti-rheumatic regimen (n = 27), or anti-rheumatic regimen alone (n = 27). Multigrain supplementation group showed significant improvement in DAS-28 score (p < 0.05), morning stiffness (p < 0.01), joint (p < 0.05) and pain (p < 0.01) scales. Similarly, significant reductions in circulating inflammatory biomarkers (p < 0.01), improvement of oxidative stress indices (p < 0.0001; except hydrogen peroxide) and antioxidant status (p < 0.05; except reduced glutathione) have been observed in the supplement group. The study suggested the potential of multigrain as complementary agent for the amelioration of RA pathophysiology. The role of long-term multigrain consumption warrants further investigations.

Keywords

• Complementary and alternative medicine
• Grain
• Oxidative stress
• Pain
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Fiber