Rapid healing of peptic ulcers in patients receiving fresh cabbage juice.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Case series compared with historical controls from the literature
What was done
Thirteen patients with peptic ulcer (7 with duodenal ulcer and 6 with gastric ulcer) were treated with fresh cabbage juice containing a hypothesized antipeptic ulcer factor (vitamin U). Healing of ulcer craters was evaluated radiologically and gastroscopically and compared against healing times from standard therapy reported in the literature.
What was found
The average crater healing time in the 7 duodenal ulcer patients treated with cabbage juice was 10.4 days, compared to an average of 37 days reported in the literature for 62 patients on standard therapy. For the 6 gastric ulcer patients treated with cabbage juice, average crater healing time was 7.3 days, compared to 42 days reported in the literature for 6 patients on standard therapy.
Why it matters
This early study suggested that dietary components in fresh cabbage juice could accelerate peptic ulcer healing, stimulating early research into nutritional ulcer therapies.
Limits
The study is extremely small (13 treated patients) and lacks a concurrent or randomized control group, relying on historical controls from the literature. The abstract does not report patient demographics, variance, or statistical significance testing, and evaluations were not blinded.
Cited by
- supports Cabbage juice contains vitamin U, also known as S-methylmethionine.