Nutraceutical Supplementation as a Potential Non-Drug Treatment for Fibromyalgia: Effects on Lipid Profile, Oxidative Status, and Quality of Life

Abstract

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic syndrome of unknown etiology, although many studies point to inflammation, oxidative stress, and altered mitochondrial metabolism as some of the cornerstones of this disease. Despite its socioeconomic importance and due to the difficulties in diagnosis, there are no effective treatments. However, the use of non-drug treatments is increasingly becoming a recommended strategy. In this context, the effects of supplementation of FM patients with an olive (poly)phenol, vitamin C, and vitamin B preparation were investigated in this work, analyzing complete blood count, biochemical, lipid, and coagulation profiles, and inflammation and oxidation status in blood samples. To gain a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms and pathways involved in the etiology of FM, a proteomic study was also performed to investigate the mechanisms of action of the supplement. Our results show that the nutraceutical lowers the lipid profile, namely cholesterol, and improves the oxidative status of patients as well as their quality of life, suggesting that this product could be beneficial in the co-treatment of FM. ClinicalTrials.gov (ID: NCT06348537).

Keywords: fibromyalgia; inflammation; lipid profile; olive oil; oxidative stress; polyphenols; proteomics.

Figure 1

A significant decrease in aldolase concentration was observed in both groups, being greater in the patients treated with Mygrium^®. * p ≤ 0.05; ** p ≤ 0.01.

Figure 2

Total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and cholesterol ratio data showed a decrease after 60 days of treatment in both groups. * p ≤ 0.05; ** p ≤ 0.01.

Figure 3

Cortisol values increased significantly only in patients treated with Mygrium^®. * p ≤ 0.05.

Figure 4

Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) levels decreased significantly in patients administered Mygrium^®. ** p ≤ 0.01.

Figure 5

The physical dimension outcomes showed better performance in the group of individuals treated with Mygrium^®. ** p ≤ 0.01.

Figure 6

Volcanoes of the comparisons of proteins detected between the different groups of patients and between different times (p-value ≤ 0.05; fold change ≥ 1). The points in the center of these volcanoes correspond to those proteins that do not vary in the two situations foreseen in our experimental design. The proteins with statistically significant differences are presented at the right (overexpressed or upregulated) and left (less expressed or downregulated) of the graph.