Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 7, 2026
How to Study Placebo Responses in Motion Sickness with a Rotation Chair Paradigm in Healthy Participants
Published on: December 14, 2014
Ingestion of Exopolymers from Aureobasidium pullulans Reduces the Duration of Cold and Flu Symptoms: A Randomized,
Jong-Min Lim1, Eunju Do2, Dong-Chan Park1
1Glucan Corp., #305 Marine Bio-Industry Development Center, 7 Hoenggye-gil, Ilgwang-myeon, Busan 46048, Republic of Korea.
Aim:
The objective of the study was to assess the efficacy of exopolymers from Aureobasidium pullulans (EAP) on the incidence of colds and flu in healthy adults.
Methods:
We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study at the onset of the influenza season. A total of 76 subjects (30-70 years of age) were recruited from the general population. The subjects were instructed to take one capsule per day of either EAP or a placebo for a period of 8 weeks. The duration of cold and flu symptoms, a primary variable in assessing effectiveness, and serum cytokine levels as well as WBC counts as secondary variables were also evaluated.
Results:
EAP was associated with a statistically significant decrease in the duration of cold and flu symptoms, a primary variable in assessing effectiveness. Although cold and flu symptom levels were not significantly different at a significance level of 5%, the cold and flu symptom levels of the EAP group were less severe compared to the placebo group. No statistically significant changes of serum cytokine levels as well as WBC counts were observed.
Conclusion:
The results showed that EAP is a useful pharmaceutical and functional food material for preventing and treating colds and flu.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:54The Placebo Effect
01:20Bioequivalence Experimental Study Designs: Completely Randomized and Randomized Block Designs
02:45Responses to Heat and Cold Stress
01:23Types of Biopharmaceutical Studies: Controlled and Non-Controlled Approaches
Non-controlled studies, commonly employed for initial exploration, lack a control group, rendering them susceptible to biases and external influences. In contrast,...
01:22Physiology of the Gastrointestinal System I: Ingestion and Propulsion
01:03Nursing Interventions I: Taxonomy of Nursing Interventions
A nursing intervention is a treatment or action based on scientific concepts and knowledge from the nursing, behavioral, and physical sciences. Identifying and prioritizing nursing interventions based on the desired outcome...