Effectiveness of Personalized Low Salicylate Diet in the Management of Salicylates Hypersensitive Patients: Interventional Study.

Salicylic acid and its derivatives (including acetylsalicylic acid/aspirin) are popular in medicine. They also occur naturally in many food products. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of the personalized low salicylate diet (PLSD) on the reduction of asthma, rhinosinusitis and urticaria symptoms in patients with hypersensitivity to aspirin (ASA) or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). To achieve the research goal, a prospective, nonrandomized, baseline-controlled intervention study was conducted. Thirty patients diagnosed with NSAIDs hypersensitivity, who despite pharmacotherapy had symptoms of hypersensitivity, were included in the study. The PLSD was recommended for all participants for a period of two to four weeks. The intensity of subjectively declared symptoms of asthma, rhinosinusitis and urticaria were measured before and after dietary intervention, using, respectively, the asthma control test (ACT), the sino-nasal outcome test (SNOT-22) and the four-item itch questionnaire (FIIQ). Diet adherence and salicylate intake were measured by a 3-day food record. The severity of symptoms improved significantly after the intervention. The median of the ACT score was 24 scores before and 25 after the dietary intervention (p < 0.002), the median of the SNOT-22 score was 25 before and 13 after a dietary intervention (p < 0.0002) and the median of the FIIQ score was 5 before and 0 after a dietary intervention (p < 0.0002). The intake of salicylates decreased from 0.79 mg/day (before intervention) to 0.15 mg/day (p < 0.001) (during intervention). Although the usefulness of a low salicylate diet in the treatment of salicylate hypersensitivity is controversial, the results of our study indicate that the PLSD may have a positive effect in reducing symptoms of salicylate hypersensitivity and could be an additional tool supporting the therapy of these patients.

Overall Content of Salicylic Acid and Salicylates in Food Available on the European Market.

The study aimed to determine the salicylates content in 112 products available on the European market. Quantitative determination of free and conjugated forms of salicylic acid in food was performed using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. The salicylates contents ranged from 0 to 1675.79 (µg/100 g). The results of this study confirm the presence of salicylates in food products, as well as a broad content diversity of these compounds depending on the species, variety, and method of processing the food items. The results can be very helpful for nutritionists and dieticians in planning low-salicylates or high-salicylates diets.