Gum Arabic as fetal hemoglobin inducing agent in sickle cell anemia; in vivo study

BMC Hematology

Research Article

Imad FdleAlmula¹  Mustafa Elnimeiri²  Omer Ali Eisawi³  Haydar Awad Abdelrazig⁴  Lamis Kaddam⁵  Amal M. Saeed⁶  Florian Lang⁷ 

[1] Alneelain Research Centre Faculty of Medicine, Alneelain University, Khartoum, Sudan;Department of Community Medicine Faculty of Medicine, Alneelain University, Khartoum, Sudan;Department of Hematology, Military Hospital, Khartoum, Sudan;Department of Pediatrics, Military Hospital, Khartoum, Sudan;Department of Physiology Faculty of Medicine, Alneelain University, P.O. Box: 11121, 12702, Khartoum, Sudan;Department of Physiology Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan;Department of Physiology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany;

关键词: Sickle Cell Anemia;    Short Chain Fatty Acid;    Decitabine;    Sickle Cell Anemia Patient;    Fetal Hemoglobin;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12878-015-0040-6

 received in 2015-05-02, accepted in 2015-12-10,  发布年份 2015

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundHigh levels of fetal haemoglobin (HbF) decrease sickle cell anaemia (SCA) severity and leads to improved survival. According to in vivo and in vitro studies, butyrate increases HbF production. Its utilization in clinical practice is hampered, however, by its short half-life. Serum butyrate concentrations could be enhanced by colonic bacterial fermentation of Gum Arabic (GA), edible, dried, gummy exudates from Acacia Senegal tree. We hypothesized that regular intake of GA increases serum butyrate levels, thus inducing HbF production and ameliorating symptoms of sickle cell anemia.MethodsFourty seven patients (5–42 years) carrying hemoglobin SS were recruited from April 2014 to January 2015. Patients received 30 g/day GA for 12 weeks. HbF, blood count and erythropoietin level were measured. The main outcome of interest was the level of HbF after 12 weeks. The secondary outcomes were improvement in clinical and laboratory results. The study was ethically approved by Alneelain University IRB.ResultsThe study revealed significant increase in HbF level P.V0.000 [95 % CI, 0.43–1.02], MCV P.V:000 [95 % CI, 2.312–6.058] and Hematocrit level P.V:0.026 [95 % CI, 0.124–1.902]. No significant difference was encountered in platelets count P.V: 0.346 [95 % CI,−25.76–71.94], and WBCs count P.V:0.194 [95 % CI,−8.035–1.68]. Thirty seven percent of patients experienced minor side effects which resolved within a week.ConclusionThese findings reveal a novel effect of GA, which may be used to foster fetal hemoglobin production.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02467257. Registered 3rd June 2015.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Kaddam et al. 2015