Treatment of Diarrhea Predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS-D) Using Plantagel:a Random Double-blind Clinical Trial

Despite the frequency with which IBS is encountered in clinical practice, it remains an important medical problem for both health care providers and patients. Unfortunately,so far no single treatment option has been effective for managing IBS.Therefore, we decided to evaluate the effects of Plantagel on relieving IBS symptoms.Patients and This double-blind clinical study was conducted from April 2006 to December 2007. 70 patients with diarrhea predominant IBS (IBS-D) enrolled in our study.The subjects were divided into two equal groups of 35. First, all the participants were monitored for two weeks prior to drug administration.Then 35 patients in the study group received Plantagel and 35 patients in the control group received placebo for two weeks. The patients were called at the end of the second week of treatment period and 3 weeks after the end of treatment in order to evaluate the clinical severity of IBS symptoms.SPSS software v.15, paired t-test, Chi-square and independent sample t-test were used to analyze the data. The entire study population improved significantly over 2 weeks of treatment in terms of all studied parameters. However, severity of bloating, feeling of incomplete emptying, presence of mucous in stool and urgency tended to decrease further in Plantagel group in comparison with placebo group.Three weeks after completion of the course of treatment, severity of abdominal pain, frequency of defecation, bloating and urgency returned to primary levels in placebo group and the benefits of treatment diminished over time in this group,while the severity of all symptoms in Plantagel group statistically improved compared with before treatment. The present study is the first clinical trial to evaluate the effects of Plantago Major on IBS-D symptoms. Our study demonstrated that Plantagel is effective in the management of IBS-D symptoms and its effects last 3 weeks after completion of treatment. According to these findings, IBS-D patients can use Plantagel intermittently to improve their complaints and decrease treatment costs.