EASING the symptoms of asthma could be as simple as a fibre supplement, but Hunter researchers need a little extra help to prove it.
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Professor Lisa Wood, of the University of Newcastle School of Biomedical Science and Pharmacy, said her team of HMRI researchers had already found a positive link between a soluble fibre supplement and asthma control.
The researchers believe "gut bacteria" plays a vital role, and they are now aiming to find conclusive evidence to develop solid dietary advice for people with asthma.
"We know that over half the people who have the disease try to make changes to their diet to help manage their symptoms, but there hasn't been much good scientific evidence about what they should do," Professor Wood said. "A couple of years ago we finished a study where adults used a soluble fibre supplement for seven days. In that seven days, the supplement reduced their airway inflammation, which is what drives the disease, and it improved their symptoms."
Results from that first trial also showed the supplement worked on the same type of asthma that is most common in children. The researchers are now looking for non-smoking adults with asthma to participate in a larger, 16-week study.
"I've been doing this dietary work for about 20 years, and this is the strongest lead we have had," Professor Wood said. "It is linking into that whole idea that a healthy gut is a healthy body... that what you eat and what happens in your gut affects different diseases. And this is the first trial that has shown that, with that strategy, you could improve asthma.
"It is a great and exciting opportunity. If we can get another positive result, then we really are in a position to start saying to people with asthma that this is a supplement they could use. But we need to get volunteers in to trial the supplement, and take it to that next stage."
Professor Wood said the supplement was derived from fruit and vegetables.
"It's a natural product in a concentrated form, and what we're using is equivalent to about six serves of fruit and vegetables per day," she said.
To participate, or find out more, call 02 4042 0116.
"Asthma impacts 10 per cent of the population, and because it is so common, in a lot of ways, it's trivialised, and people forget how serious it is," Professor Wood said.
"But for someone who has bad asthma, and has trouble controlling their asthma, it has such a big effect on their quality of life.
"Over one person every day dies because of asthma, and it's the most common reason children are hospitalised.
"We have to keep reminding people how serious asthma is."
If this trial proves successful, the Hunter researchers are hoping to do another study looking at whether the fibre supplement could also be proven to help children with asthma.
"A lot of parents are worried about giving their children high doses of medication - and we are not suggesting this would ever completely replace someone's medication, but we are trying to develop it as an adjunct therapy. Something that people could use to help improve the efficacy of their medications and potentially decrease their reliance on their medications."
