Preliminary Report on the use of Nutraceuticals in the Management of Sickle Cell Anemia

Background: There is growing recognition of the benefits of nutraceuticals in the management of sickle cell disease but a scarcity of reports on their use. Nutraceuticals are food or parts of food that provide medical or health benefits. They include botanicals, functional foods and medicinal foods. This is a preliminary report on the use of nutraceuticals in the management of a small cohort of children with sickle cell disease in Nigeria.

Methods: Children, aged 1 to 12 years, presenting with sickle cell anemia were evaluated at baseline and at six month after the commencement of a cocktail of nutraceuticals using an objective grading tool. Changes in weight, hematocrit and frequency of sickle cell crises were determined.

Results: Ten children with sickle cell anemia were placed on nutraceuticals therapy. The average age of the children was 7.4 (range 2-12) years. Aroga immune support was the commonest component of the neutraceutical cocktail given to the children. There was a rise in mean weight (from 21.8 ± 8.9 to 23.0 ± 8.3) and hematocrit (from 22.8 ± 3.9 to 27.2 ± 3.9) at six months compared to values obtained at baseline. There was also a fall in the mean frequency of sickle cell crises at six months compared to values obtained at baseline (from 7.4 ± 6.1 to 3.2 ± 2.8). Overall, eight out of the ten children showed moderate to good clinical improvement. There was no documentation of any adverse reaction to the medications in any of the children.

Conclusion: The results suggest that the use of nutraceuticals may be beneficial in the management of sickle cell anemia in children. However, there is a need for controlled clinical trials for stronger evidence. Such clinical trials of unconventional therapies should be conducted with great care and concern for the safety of the participants.