Aromatherapies using Osmanthus fragrans oil and grapefruit oil are effective complementary treatments for anxious patients undergoing colonoscopy: A randomized controlled study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Colonoscopy can be painful and uncomfortable. Aromatherapy is often used for the relief of anxiety or discomfort. Recently, it has been reported that olfactory stimulation induces various physiological effects. We investigated the effects of aromatherapy on anxiety and abdominal discomfort during colonoscopy. METHODS: The investigation was carried out using a randomized controlled study. Aromatherapy was performed by vapor diffusion, and each patient was given one of the following treatments: no inhalation (control group), essential-oil-less vapor (vehicle group), lavender oil (lavender group), grapefruit oil (grapefruit group), or Osmanthus fragrans oil (Osmanthus fragrans group). Following total colonoscopy procedures, each patient estimated their anxiety and abdominal discomfort using the Numeric Rating Scale. RESULTS: Total colonoscopy was performed on 361 patients. No complications caused by colonoscopy or aromatherapy were experienced. In the Osmanthus fragrans group, anxiety was significantly attenuated. The abdominal discomfort of patients who reported strong anxiety during colonoscopy was significantly attenuated in the grapefruit group and the Osmanthus fragrans group. CONCLUSION: Aromatherapies using Osmanthus fragrans oil and grapefruit oil are effective complementary treatments for anxious patients undergoing colonoscopy.

Phlebosclerotic colitis that was difficult to distinguish from collagenous colitis.

Phlebosclerotic colitis is a rare and recently known disease entity and its etiology is still to be elucidated. Some phlebosclerotic colitis cases are difficult to distinguish from collagenous colitis because of the similarity of pathological findings. In all Japanese case reports of phlebosclerotic colitis in which an association with the use of Chinese herbal medicine is suspected, sansisi (gardenia fruit) was included, suggesting pathogenesis of this disease. We report a case of phlebosclerotic colitis that wasdifficult to be distinguished from collagenous colitis, and an association with the use of Chinese herbal medicine was suspected as the cause of the disease.

Dietary lipids and sweeteners regulate glucagon-like peptide-2 secretion.

Glucagon-like peptide-2 (GLP-2) is a potent intestinal growth factor derived from enteroendocrine L cells. Although food intake is known to increase GLP-2 secretion, its regulatory mechanisms are largely unknown as a result of its very short half-life in venules. The aims of this study were to compare the effects of luminal nutrients on the stimulation of GLP-2 secretion in vivo using lymph samples and to clarify the involvement of the sweet taste receptor in this process in vitro. Lymph samples were collected from the thoracic duct after bolus administration of dietary lipids or sweetening agents into the duodenum of rats. Human enteroendocrine NCI-H716 cells were also used to compare the effects of various nutrients on GLP-2 secretion. GLP-2 concentrations were measured by ELISA in vivo and in vitro. GLP-2 secretion was enhanced by polyunsaturated fatty acid- and monounsaturated fatty acid-rich dietary oils, dietary carbohydrates, and some kinds of sweeteners in rats; this effect was reproduced in NCI-H716 cells using α-linolenic acid (αLA), glucose, and sweeteners. GLP-2 secretion induced by sweetening agents was inhibited by lactisole, a sweetness-antagonizing inhibitor of T1R3. In contrast, lactisole was unable to inhibit GLP-2 secretion induced by αLA alone. Our results suggested that fatty acid- and sweetener-induced GLP-2 secretion may be mediated by two different pathways, with the sweet taste receptor involved in the regulation of the latter.