Synbiotic Supplementation Improves Metabolic Factors and Obesity Values in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Independent of Affecting Apelin Levels: A Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial

This research investigated the symbiotic supplement influences on serum glycemic indices and lipidsas well as apelin rates and obesity values in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) patients. A total of 68 obese or overweight patients (20-44 years old) with PCOS were enrolled toconduct a randomized double-blinded placebo-controlled clinical trial. A total of 34 people in the synbiotic group receiveda synbiotic supplement and 34 people in the placebo group received placebo, daily for 8 weeks. Fasting bloodspecimens, anthropometric measurements and dietary intake data were gathered three times during the study. Theinformation was analyzed by independent t test, paired t test, analysis of covariance and chi-square test. Synbiotic supplementation significantly decreased serum fasting glucose (P=0.02), insulin (P=0.001), homeostaticmodel assessment for insulin resistance (IR, P=0.001), weight (P=0.02), body mass index (BMI, P=0.02),waist circumference (WC, P=0.01), hip circumference (HC, P=0.02), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR, P=0.02) butsignificantly increased high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (P=0.02) compared to the placebo. At the end of thetrial, no significant differences were seen in serum total cholesterol, triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL)cholesterol, or apelin levels as well as waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) between the two groups. Synbiotic supplementation improved glycemic indices, lipid profile and obesity values in womenwith PCOS. These beneficial effects were not related with alterations in serum apelin levels (Registration number:IRCT20100408003664N19).