β -Glucan Improves Protective Qi Status in Adults with Protective Qi Deficiency-A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, and Double-Blinded Trial.
10.1007/s11655-021-3444-0
- Author:
Jun-Rong WU
1
;
Hao-Jie CHENG
2
;
Jian-Pin SHI
1
;
Wei-Dong YIN
1
;
Jun WANG
1
;
Xuan-Qiao OU
1
;
Jin-Li CHEN
1
;
Ira BERNSTEIN
3
;
Mark LEVY
2
;
Rolando MADDELA
2
;
Robert SINNOTT
2
;
Jun-Qiang TIAN
4
Author Information
1. Elegant and Olive Health Clinic, Markham, ON, L3R 5V6, Canada.
2. Research and Development Department, USANA Health Science, Inc., Salt Lake City, UT, 84121, USA.
3. Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5T 2S8, Canada.
4. Research and Development Department, USANA Health Science, Inc., Salt Lake City, UT, 84121, USA. jeremy.tian@usanainc.com.
- Publication Type:Randomized Controlled Trial
- Keywords:
Chinese medicine;
protective qi;
protective qi deficiency;
β -glucan
- MeSH:
Adult;
Double-Blind Method;
Humans;
Qi;
Risk Factors;
Self Report;
beta-Glucans/therapeutic use*
- From:
Chinese journal of integrative medicine
2022;28(5):394-402
- CountryChina
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
OBJECTIVE:To test the hypothesis that β -glucan enhances protective qi (PQi), an important Chinese medicine (CM) concept which stipulates that a protective force circulates throughout the body surface and works as the first line of defense against "external pernicious influences".
METHODS:A total of 138 participants with PQi deficiency (PQD) were randomized to receive β -glucan (200 mg daily) or placebo for 12 weeks. Participants' PQi status was assessed every 2 weeks via conventional diagnosis and a standardized protocol from which a PQD severity and risk score was derived. Indices of participants' immune and general health status were also monitored, including upper respiratory tract infection (URTI), saliva secretory IgA (sIgA), and self-reported measures of physical and mental health (PROMIS).
RESULTS:PQi status was not significantly different between the β -glucan and placebo treatment groups at baseline but improved significantly in the β -glucan (vs. placebo) group in a time-dependent manner. The intergroup differences [95% confidence interval (CI)] in severity score (scale: 1-5), risk score (scale: 0-1), and proportion of PQD participants (%) at finish line was 0.49 (0.35-0.62), 0.48 (0.35-0.61), and 0.36 (0.25-0.47), respectively. Additionally, β -glucan improved URTI symptom (scale: 1-9) and PROMIS physical (scale: 16.2-67.7) and mental (scale: 21.2-67.6) scores by a magnitude (95% CI) of 1.0 (0.21-1.86), 5.7 (2.33-9.07), and 3.0 (20.37-6.37), respectively, over placebo.
CONCLUSIONS:β -glucan ameliorates PQi in PQD individuals. By using stringent evidence-based methodologies, our study demonstrated that Western medicine-derived remedies, such as β -glucan, can be employed to advance CM therapeutics. (ClinicalTrial.Gov registry: NCT03782974).
