Efficacy of polyphenols in adjuvant treating ulcerative colitis: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

The effectiveness and safety of polyphenols in treating ulcerative colitis remain controversial. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of polyphenols in the treatment of ulcerative colitis.

This study followed the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses 2020 guidelines. A systematic search was conducted across PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane databases to identify relevant articles. The random-effects model was employed to calculate the odds ratio (OR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

A total of 13 trials involving 742 participants were included in the meta-analysis. The clinical remission rates were higher in the polyphenol group compared to the control group, as demonstrated by both the intention-to-treat (ITT) (OR: 4.71; 95% CI: 2.02-10.99; P = .000) and per-protocol (PP) analysis (OR: 7.14; 95% CI: 3.11-16.39; P = .000). Similarly, the clinical response rate was higher in the polyphenol group compared to the control group, according to the ITT (OR: 5.40; 95% CI: 2.60-11.24; P = .000) and PP analysis (OR: 9.14; 95% CI: 4.25-19.64; P = .000). Moreover, the total endoscopic remission rate was superior in the polyphenol group, as indicated by the ITT (OR: 3.16; 95% CI: 1.20-8.37; P = .020) and PP analysis (OR: 4.92; 95% CI: 2.03-11.93; P = .000). No significant differences were observed regarding side effects between the 2 groups, according to the ITT (OR: 0.99; 95% CI: 0.56-1.76; P = .973) and PP analysis (OR: 0.99; 95% CI: 0.54-1.80; P = .971).

Polyphenols demonstrated effectiveness in inducing clinical remission, clinical response, and endoscopic remission in patients with ulcerative colitis. Furthermore, there was no evidence of a higher incidence of adverse effects associated with their use.