There was no significant change in the γGT levels .
Significant differences were not found .
CONCLUSION Silymarin minimally reduced , but without clinical relevance , the serum levels of ALT and AST .
AIM To evaluate the effect of silymarin on the serum levels of alanine aminotransferase ( ALT ) , aspartate aminotransferase ( AST ) and gamma glutamyl transpeptidase ( γGT ) in patients with liver diseases .
Spirulina platensis versus silymarin in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus infection. A pilot randomized, comparative clinical trial
Background Spirulina platensis , a cynobacterium used frequently as a dietary supplement had been found to exhibit many immune-stimulating and antiviral activities . It had been found to activate macrophages , NK cells , T cells , B cells , and to stimulate the production of Interferon gamma ( IFN-γ ) and other cytokines . Natural substances isolated from Spirulina platensis had been found to be potent inhibitors against several enveloped viruses by blocking viral absorption/penetration and some replication stages of progeny viruses after penetration into cells . We aim ed to study whether this dietary supplement possesses any therapeutically feasible activity worthy of further larger controlled clinical evaluation . Methods Sixty six patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection and eligible for inclusion had been r and omized to either Spirulina or Silymarin treated groups for a period of six months treatment . The two groups were followed up and blindly compared for early ( after 3 months ) and end of 6 months treatment virological response . The effects of both treatments on each of alanine aminotransferase ( ALT ) , Chronic Liver Disease Question naire scores ( CLDQ ) , Arizona Sexual Experience Scale scores ( ASEX ) and the occurrence of any attributable adverse events were also compared . Results Among the 30 patients who had been treated with Spirulina and completed the 6 months protocol , 4 patients ( 13.3 % ) had a complete end of treatment virological response and 2 patients ( 6.7 % ) had a partial end of treatment response defined as significant decrease of virus load of at least 2-logs10 . Though the proportion of responders in Spirulina group was greater than in the Silymarin group , the difference was not statistically significant at the end of both 6 months ( p = 0.12 ) and 3 months treatment ( p = 0.22 ) by Exact test . Alanine aminotransferase as well as CLDQ and ASEX scores were found to be more significantly improved in Spirulina than in Silymarin treated group . Conclusions Our results could suggest a therapeutically feasible potential for Spirulina platensis in chronic HCV patients , worthy to conduct a larger sized and longer study to confirm these safety and efficacy encouraging results .Trial Registration WHO Clinical Trial Registration ID : ACTRN12610000958088http://apps.who.int/trial search /trial.aspx?trialid =
There was no significant change in the γGT levels .
Significant differences were not found .
CONCLUSION Silymarin minimally reduced , but without clinical relevance , the serum levels of ALT and AST .
AIM To evaluate the effect of silymarin on the serum levels of alanine aminotransferase ( ALT ) , aspartate aminotransferase ( AST ) and gamma glutamyl transpeptidase ( γGT ) in patients with liver diseases .