The aging/precancerous gastric mucosa: a pilot nutraceutical trial

The aim of this study was to test the effect of antioxidant supplementation on enzymatic abnormalities and free radical-modified DNA adducts associated with premalignant changes in the gastric mucosa of elderly patients with HP-negative atrophic gastritis (CAG). Sixty patients with atrophic gastritis and intestinal metaplasia underwent a nutritional interview and a gastroscopy with multiple biopsy samples in the antrum that were processed for histology and for assaying: alpha-tocopherol, MDA, xanthine oxidase (XO), ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), and 8-OHdG. Patients were randomly allocated into three matched groups and supplemented for 6 months with (1) vitamin E, 300 mg/day; (2) multivitamin, two tablets t.i.d.; and (3) Immun-Age 6 g/day nocte (ORI, Gifu, Japan), a certified fermented papaya preparation with basic science-validated antioxidant/immunomodulant properties. Ten dyspeptic patients served as controls. Histology and biochemistry were blindly repeated at 3 and 6 months. CAG patients showed a significantly (P <.05) increased level of mucosal MDA and XO concentration that were reverted to normal by each supplementation (P <.05). All supplements caused a significant decrease of ODC (P <.01), but Immun-Age yielded the most effective (P < 0.05) and was the only one significantly decreasing 8-OhdG (P < 0.05). These data suggest that antioxidant supplementation, and, namely, Immun-Age, might be potential chemopreventive agents in HP-eradicated CAG patients and especially in the elderly population.