Peppermint Oil, Fiber Work Well for Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Lee Swanson Research Update
Older remedies like peppermint oil and fiber are effective treatments for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a review of research shows.
Irritable bowel syndrome is a functional gastrointestinal disorder characterized by abdominal pain or discomfort and accompanied by a change in bowel habit. It affects from 5% to 20% of the population.
According to researcher Alexander C. Ford, M.D., the analysis shows that these remedies and some antispasmodic drugs that are no longer widely prescribed work well.
Newer drugs that once held great promise for the treatment of IBS have largely proven disappointing, either because serious side effects emerged or they were not very effective. "Most of the treatments we examined have fallen out of clinical favor," Dr. Ford said. "But they work, they are cheap, and they're far less toxic than some of the newer drugs."
Ford and colleagues combined the results from 12 studies comparing fiber with placebo or no treatment, 22 studies comparing different antispasmodic drugs to placebo, and four studies examining treatment with peppermint oil. Although there were fewer peppermint oil studies, the trials were well designed and showed peppermint oil to be effective.
Based on the combined data, the researchers estimated that one in 2.5 patients would get significant relief of symptoms if treated with peppermint oil, compared to one in five patients taking antispasmodics and one in 11 patients taking fiber. Peppermint oil is sold in capsules, and the study participants took about 200 mg two or three times a day.
Insoluble bran-based fibers were not very effective, but soluble psyllium-based fiber treatments were. When psyllium therapies were considered on their own, one in six treated patients had significant improvement in symptoms.
Ford and his co-workers concluded that psyllium-fiber therapy is a good first-line treatment for constipation-predominant IBS, while peppermint oil is a good choice for diarrhea-predominant IBS.
BMJ Published online ahead of print.