Background. The bioactive components of plant foods and medicinal plants have attracted interest due to their potential impact on the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and outcomes. Objective. This study aimed to conduct a critical and quantitative systematic review of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) investigating the potential effects of selected phytochemicals from plant-based foods and medicinal plants in CKD and dialysis patients. Methods. The review included studies that related plant-based bioactive compounds (curcumin, propolis, sulforaphane, betalain, catechins, rhein, emodin, aloe-emodin, flavonoids, and triptolide) and medicinal plants (green tea, rhubarb, Astragalus membranaceus, and Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F) in CKD and dialysis patients. A literature search was conducted in PubMed, LILACS, Embase, Scopus, and WOS between December 2022 and October 2024. This review was performed according to the PRISMA flowchart and was registered in PROSPERO (595162). Results. In the eight RCTs conducted with curcumin, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and microbiota-modulating properties were reported. As for propolis, in three RCTs, anti-inflammatory, anti-proteinuric, and renal-protective properties were reported. Sulforaphane in one RCT showed antioxidant and cardiovascular benefits, and in another RCT no effects were observed. In one RCT, genistein was shown to be a potential anti-inflammatory agent and improved nutritional status. Allicin in two RCTs showed cardioprotective, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and lipid-lowering effects. Finally, beetroot showed a vasodilator effect in one RCT. As for the medicinal plants, green tea, rhubarb, Astragalus membranaceus, and Tripterygium Wilfordii Hook F, in six RCTs they showed antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, cardioprotective, antiproteinuric, and renoprotective properties. Conclusions. These results suggest that bioactive compounds of plant-based foods and medicinal plants have promising effects in terms of preventing or treating CKD progression and appear to improve inflammation and antioxidant capacity and support cardiovascular benefits and renoprotective effects; however, it is recommended that further studies be carried out.

Background/Objectives: Nutritional disorders are common conditions in older people. This study aimed to determine nutritional disorders in a Mediterranean cohort of nursing home residents without cognitive or functional impairment. Methods: A multicentre cross-sectional observational study was conducted in 10 Spanish geriatric centres. Socio-health, clinical, and laboratory data were recorded from the participants’ medical records. The Mini-Nutritional Assessment (MNA) and Global Leadership Initiative in Nutrition (GLIM) diagnostic criteria [weight loss and serum C-reactive protein (CRP)] were used. Frailty risk was assessed using the FRAIL questionnaire. Anthropometric parameters [body mass index, weight loss, triceps skinfold thickness (TSF), muscle mass circumference (MAMC), and calf-circumference] were evaluated. Body composition [hydration pattern, fat-free mass, muscle mass (MM), fat mass, and phase angle (PhA)] was measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis. Laboratory parameters, such as haemoglobin, total lymphocyte count, serum albumin, transferrin, and CRP, were recorded. Participants were classified into two groups: the disease-related malnutrition (DRM) group and the no-DRM group. Using multivariate regression analysis, predictive factors for nutritional status were tested. Results: Among 340 participants, 63.2% were over 85 years old, 28.2% were men, and the median length of stay was 24 months (range: 6–119). Nutritional risk or malnutrition, as assessed by the MNA, was present in 60.8% of the residents. DRM was diagnosed in 39.4%, and frailty risk was diagnosed in 57.6%. Older adults with DRM had significantly lower MAMC, calfcircumference, MM, and serum albumin, as well as higher CRP concentrations compared with their No-DRM counterparts (all, at least, p < 0.05). The frailty risk (OR = 3.317), MM (OR = 0.732), PhA (OR = 0.033), serum albumin (OR = 0.070), and EuroQol visual analogue scale (OR = 0.961) were risk predictors of DRM in nursing home residents. Conclusions: This study supports the importance of conducting comprehensive nutritional assessments to ensure the earliest recognition of nutrition disorders in nursing homes. Older adults with DRM had greater unintentional weight loss, inflammation, and a high risk of frailty, as well as reduced MM, compared to those without DRM. Subclinical low-grade systemic inflammation is a risk factor for DRE and functional decline in older adults living in nursing homes. The generalisation of the study results is limited to institutionalised older adults without cognitive impairment who are clinically stable and functionally independent.