Clinical Evidence
The effect of fibre, antispasmodics and peppermint oil in the treatment of IBS was reviewed in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) in 2008. Peppermint oil was found to be more effective than placebo in the treatment of IBS. This meta-analysis studied the effect of fibre, antispasmodics and peppermint oil in the treatment of IBS and found that patients taking enteric coated peppermint oil had a 57% reduced risk of persistent symptoms, only 2.5 patients needed to be treated to prevent symptoms in 1 patient¹ and only 26% of patients had persistent symptoms after treatment.
|
Treatment |
Reduced risk of persistent symptoms | Number needed to treat to prevent symptoms in 1 patient | % of patients with persistent symptoms after treatment |
|
Peppermint Oil |
57% |
2.5 |
26% |
|
Antispasmodics |
32% |
5 |
39% |
|
Soluble Fibre |
13% |
11 |
52% |
¹ A C Ford, N J Talley et al, Effect of fibre, antispasmodics & peppermint oil in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome, BMJ 2008; 337:a2313. For full text see BMJ.com.au
