Oxidative stress is present in patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), and natural supplements with antioxidant properties have been investigated as a non-pharmacological approach. The objective of the present study was to assess the effects of a natural Pistacia lentiscus (PL) supplement on oxidative stress biomarkers and to characterise the plasma-free amino acid (AA) profiles of patients with active IBD (Crohn’s disease (CD) N = 40, ulcerative colitis (UC) N = 20). The activity was determined according to 5 ≤ Harvey Bradshaw Index ≤ 16 or 2 ≤ Partial Mayo Score ≤ 6. This is a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. IBD patients (N = 60) were randomly allocated to PL (2.8 g/day) or to placebo for 3 months being under no treatment (N = 21) or under stable medical treatment (mesalamine N = 24, azathioprine N = 14, and corticosteroids N = 23) that was either single medication (N = 22) or combined medication (N = 17). Plasma oxidised, low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL), total serum oxidisability, and serum uric acid were evaluated at baseline and follow-up. OxLDL/LDL and oxLDL/High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL) ratios were calculated. The plasma-free AA profile was determined by applying a gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis. oxLDL (p = 0.031), oxLDL/HDL (p = 0.020), and oxLDL/LDL (p = 0.005) decreased significantly in the intervention group. The mean change differed significantly in CD between groups for oxLDL/LDL (p = 0.01), and, in the total sample, both oxLDL/LDL (p = 0.015) and oxLDL/HDL (p = 0.044) differed significantly. Several changes were reported in AA levels. PL ameliorated a decrease in plasma-free AAs seen in patients with UC taking placebo. In conclusion, this intervention resulted in favourable changes in oxidative stress biomarkers in active IBD.

Nowadays both scientists and consumers have an increasing interest for natural products as preventing and healing factors without side effects. Mastiha, is a natural product of the Mediterranean basin with several health benefits as investigated the last decades. The present review summarises the research evidence from preclinical and clinical studies regarding the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential of Mastiha. MEDLINE, COHRANE and search terms “Mastiha”, “Mastic gum”, “Chios mastic” and “Pistacia lentiscus” were used. We limited our search by selecting only articles written in English literature, published between 2003 and 2019 that were experimental studies on Mastiha resinous exudate (review articles and individual case reports were excluded). Additional searches were performed using “oxidative stress” and “inflammation”. A total of 19 studies met our criteria and were included in this review. Currently, there are more preclinical than clinical data available. Taken all together, the antioxidant potential of Mastiha is most probably owed to the inhibition of protein kinase, while its anti-inflammatory capacity may be the result of the inhibition of NF-κB activation. Further clinical studies in large populations are necessary.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of two isoenergetic elemental formulae with different fat content in the rat model of trinitrobenzene sulphonic acid (TNBS) colitis that mimics human inflammatory bowel disease. A total of forty-five male Wistar rats were assigned to five groups: (1) control group; (2) TNBS-induced colitis group; (3) TNBS-induced colitis group fed a long-chain TAG (LCT)-rich diet; (4) TNBS-induced colitis group fed a medium-chain TAG (MCT)-rich diet; (5) TNBS-induced colitis group fed a baseline diet and administered infliximab. Nutritional management lasted 12 d before and 4 d after rectal administration of TNBS. Subsequently, the rats were killed, and colonic tissue samples were collected for the assessment of histology, inflammation and oxidative stress. The MCT-rich diet decreased IL-6, IL-8 and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) levels and glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity, while the LCT-rich diet reduced only ICAM-1 levels and GST activity (P<0.05). Neither elemental formula affected IL-10 levels. Infliximab reduced IL-8 and ICAM-1 levels and GST activity and increased IL-10 levels (P<0.05). No significant differences were detected in oxidative stress. Histological damage scores differed significantly only between the control and the TNBS-induced colitis group. A MCT-rich formula seems to exert stronger anti-inflammatory effects than a LCT-rich formula in TNBS colitis.