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. 2024 Mar 29;24(1):44.
doi: 10.1186/s12902-024-01571-y.

Efficacy of optimal nutraceutical combination in treating PCOS characteristics: an in-silico assessment

Abha Saxena  1 , Manali Sherkane  1 , Rachana Bhoite  2 , Manasa Premasudha Sadananda  2 , Vinita Satyavrat  2 , Venkatesh Kareenhalli  3
Affiliations

Efficacy of optimal nutraceutical combination in treating PCOS characteristics: an in-silico assessment

Abha Saxena et al. BMC Endocr Disord. .

Abstract

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a serious health condition affecting women of reproductive age. High prevalence of PCOS and associated metabolic complications needs effective treatment and management. This study evaluated the efficacy of optimal nutraceutical combinations in improving PCOS characteristics using system biology-based mathematical modelling and simulation.

Methods: A shortlisting of eight potent nutraceuticals was carried out with literature search. Menstrual cycle model was used to perform simulations on an in-silico population of 2000 individuals to test individual and combined effects of shortlisted nutraceuticals on five PCOS characteristics [oligomenorrhea, anovulation, hirsutism, infertility, and polycystic ovarian morphology (PCOM)] for a duration of 6 months. Efficacy was tested across lean and obese phenotypes and age groups.

Results: Individual assessment of nutraceuticals revealed seven most potent compounds. Myo-inositol among them was observed to be the most effective in alleviating the PCOS characteristics. The in-silico population analysis showed that the combination of melatonin and ALA along with myo-inositol was efficacious in restoring the hormonal balance across age-groups and Body Mass Index (BMI) categories.

Conclusion: Supplementation with the combination of myo-inositol, melatonin, and ALA demonstrated potential in managing PCOS symptoms in our in-silico analysis of a heterogeneous population, including lean and obese phenotypes across various severities and age groups, over a 6-month period. Future clinical studies are recommended to validate these findings.

Keywords: In-silico; Intervention; Nutraceutical; Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS); Systems-biology.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Simulation of healthy and PCOS physiological state for 7 months. (a) LH levels in healthy state, (b) LH levels in PCOS state, c) mass of antral follicles in healthy state, (d) mass of antral follicles in PCOS state, (e) serum testosterone levels in healthy state, (f) serum testosterone levels in PCOS state. PrA1: preantral follicle 1, PrA2: preantral follicle 2, and SmAn: small antral follicle
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Prevalence of PCOS based on different age groups. Pie chart showing the prevalence from (a) published epidemiological data, (b) population generated in-silico for this study using model simulation. Same age groups are depicted in same colour
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Heatmap comparing the effect of eight shortlisted nutraceuticals on PCOS characteristics. Expression levels (displayed as fold change from healthy condition) are represented by means of a colour scale in which blue and red represent healthy condition and PCOS respectively. PrAP: Pre-antral follicle mass, LH_P: Time between two LH surge
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Age group-wise comparison of the effect of optimal nutraceutical combination on (a) serum anti-Müllerian hormone levels, (b) menstrual cycle length (Oligomenorrhea), (c) serum estradiol levels, (d) serum LH levels, (e) pre-antral follicle (PCOM), (f) serum testosterone levels, (g) serum triglycerides. T-test indicates p < 0.0001
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Effect of optimal nutraceutical combination on (a) serum anti-Müllerian hormone levels, (b) menstrual cycle length (Oligomenorrhea), (c) serum estradiol levels, (d) serum LH levels, (e) pre-antral follicle (PCOM), (f) serum testosterone levels, (g) serum triglycerides in lean and obese population. T-test indicates p < 0.0001
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Detailed mechanism of action of the mapped ingredients for their benefits in PCOS. GnRH: Gonadotropin-releasing hormone, LH: Luteinizing hormone, FSH: Follicle-stimulating hormone, AMH: Anti-Müllerian hormone, ALA: Alpha-lipoic acid
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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