Comparing the Efficacy of Cumin Sofouf With Mebeverine on Irritable Bowel Syndrome Severity and Quality of Life: A Double-blind Randomized Clinical Trial

The treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is not curative and is based on patient symptoms. Some herbal medicines have significant effects on IBS symptoms. The present study aimed to assess the efficacy of a recommended drug from Persian medicine (Cumin Sofouf) on the score of IBS symptom severity and the quality of life as a clinical trial compared with mebeverine, which is a commonly used antispasmodic drug for this disorder.

In this double-blind randomized clinical trial, eligible patients were allocated to two groups. One group received 200 mg sustain release mebeverine capsule plus placebo sofouf and another group received the sachets of cumin sofouf plus placebo capsule. Cumin sofouf contains the seed powder of Bunium persicum, Trachyspermum ammi, Foeniculum vulgare, and Pimpinella anisum. Patients were requested to fill IBS-symptom severity score (IBS-SSS) and IBS-quality of life (IBS-QoL) questionnaires at the base and after 4 weeks of treatment.

Data of 40 patients in each group entered the analysis step. Based on the results, IBS-SSS decreased by 120.13 (SD = 66.04) and 70.75 (SD = 50.75) point after 4 weeks in cumin sofouf and mebeverine groups, respectively. in addition, cumin sofouf was statistically more effective than mebeverine, which was also about IBS-SSS substructures. Further, the IBS-QOL score decreased by 17.40 (SD = 13.66) and 8.55 (SD = 6.88) point in sofouf and mebeverine groups, respectively. Finally, cumin sofouf was significantly more effective than mebeverine.

According to the results, cumin sofouf could be recommended as a supplementary remedy for IBS patients.