Observational Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jul 14, 2015; 21(26): 8170-8177
Published online Jul 14, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i26.8170
Japanese apricot improves symptoms of gastrointestinal dysmotility associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease
Takao Maekita, Jun Kato, Shotaro Enomoto, Takeichi Yoshida, Hirotoshi Utsunomiya, Hideyuki Hayashi, Toshiko Hanamitsu, Izumi Inoue, Yoshimasa Maeda, Kosaku Moribata, Yosuke Muraki, Naoki Shingaki, Hisanobu Deguchi, Kazuki Ueda, Mikitaka Iguchi, Hideyuki Tamai, Masao Ichinose
Takao Maekita, Jun Kato, Shotaro Enomoto, Takeichi Yoshida, Hirotoshi Utsunomiya, Izumi Inoue, Yoshimasa Maeda, Kosaku Moribata, Yosuke Muraki, Naoki Shingaki, Hisanobu Deguchi, Kazuki Ueda, Mikitaka Iguchi, Hideyuki Tamai, Masao Ichinose, Department of Gastroenterology, School of Medicine, Wakayama Medical University, Wakayama 641-0012, Japan
Hideyuki Hayashi, Department of Japanese Apricot, Minabe Town Office, Minabe-cho Hidaka-gun, Wakayama 645-0002, Japan
Toshiko Hanamitsu, Department of Health Welfare, Minabe Town Office, Minabe-cho Hidaka-gun, Wakayama 645-0002, Japan
Author contributions: Maekita T and Kato J designed and proposed the research; all authors approved the analysis and participated in drafting the article; Maekita T, Yoshida T, Utsunomiya H, Hayashi H, Hanamitsu T and Inoue I treated the participants; Maekita T, Enomoto S, Yoshida T, Maeda Y, Moribata K, Muraki Y, Shingaki N, Deguchi H, Ueda K, Inoue I, Iguchi M and Tamai H collected the clinical data; Maekita T, Kato J, Yoshida T and Ichinose M performed the statistical analysis; and Maekita T and Kato J wrote the manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Wakayama Medical University Institutional Review Board, Wakayama No.1523.
Informed consent statement: Written, informed consent was obtained from all participants.
Conflict-of-interest statement: There is no conflict of interest in this study.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Takao Maekita, MD, PhD, Department of Gastroenterology, School of Medicine, Wakayama Medical University, 811-1 Kimiidera, Wakayama, Wakayama 641-0012, Japan. maekita@wakayama-med.ac.jp
Telephone: +81-73-4410627 Fax: +81-73-4453616
Received: January 16, 2015
Peer-review started: January 17, 2015
First decision: March 27, 2015
Revised: April 9, 2015
Accepted: May 20, 2015
Article in press: May 21, 2015
Published online: July 14, 2015
Processing time: 178 Days and 20 Hours
Abstract

AIM: To investigate the effects of Japanese apricot (JA) consumption on gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)-related symptoms.

METHODS: Participants included individuals living in Minabe-cho, a well-known JA-growing region, who received specific medical check-ups by the local community health service in 2010. GERD-related symptoms were examined in 1303 Japanese individuals using a validated questionnaire, the Frequency Scale for Symptoms of GERD (FSSG), which consists of 7 questions associated with acid reflux symptoms and 5 questions asking about gastrointestinal dysmotility symptoms. Each question was answered using a 4-point scale, with higher scores indicating more severe GERD-related symptoms. Subjects were divided into two groups according to their intake of dried and pickled JA: daily intake (≥ 1 JA daily) (392 subjects) and none or occasional intake (< 1 JA daily) (911 subjects). FSSG scores were compared between subjects who consumed JA daily and those who did not. Next, subjects were stratified by age, gender and Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) status for subanalyses.

RESULTS: Those who ate JA daily were significantly older than those who did not (60.6 ± 10.5 years vs 56.0 ± 11.0 years, P < 0.001). Total FSSG scores were significantly lower in subjects with daily JA intake than in those with none or only occasional intake (2.13 ± 3.14 vs 2.70 ± 3.82, P = 0.005). In particular, subjects who consumed JA daily showed significantly improved FSSG dysmotility scores compared with subjects who did not (1.05 ± 1.58 vs 1.46 ± 2.11, P < 0.001). In contrast, the FSSG reflux score did not differ between subjects with and without daily intake of JA (1.08 ± 1.90 vs 1.24 ± 2.11, P = 0.177). Subanalysis indicated that improvement in dysmotility by JA intake was specifically observed in non-elderly (1.24 ± 1.68 vs 1.62 ± 2.22, P = 0.005) and H. pylori-negative subjects (0.99 ± 1.58 vs 1.57 ± 2.06, P < 0.001). GERD patients (total FSSG score ≥ 8) were less frequently observed among subjects with daily intake of JA as compared to those without daily intake of JA (6.1% vs 9.7%, P = 0.040).

CONCLUSION: Daily JA intake may improve digestive dysmotility symptoms, resulting in relief of GERD symptoms. The effect is more obvious in non-elderly and H. pylori-negative subjects.

Keywords: Japanese apricot; Umeboshi; Gastroesophageal reflux disease; Frequency Scale for Symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease; Dysmotility

Core tip: Japanese apricot (JA), which is eaten as a daily food in Japan, is considered to have medicinal benefits. We focused on the effect of JA on gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)-related symptoms in this study. First, GERD-related symptoms were examined in 1303 Japanese individuals using the validated questionnaire, the Frequency Scale for Symptoms of GERD (FSSG). JA was consumed daily by 392 subjects. Then, FSSG scores were compared between subjects who took one or more JA daily and those who did not. This study indicates that daily intake of JA improves digestive dysmotility symptoms, resulting in relief of GERD-related symptoms.