Rapid increase in immune surveillance and expression of NKT and γδT cell activation markers after consuming a nutraceutical supplement containing Aloe vera gel, extracts of Poria cocos and rosemary. A randomized placebo-controlled cross-over trial.

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial looks at Copper (Supplement).

To evaluate the acute impact of a nutraceutical blend on immune surveillance.

Who Took Part

The abstract describes 11 subjects taking part.

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over trial was conducted in 11 healthy subjects.

How the Study Was Run

The design is described as randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled and crossover.

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got Copper (Supplement) and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

As a double-blind Copper (Supplement) study, the assignments were hidden from both participants and investigators until the end.

A placebo (an inactive look-alike) gave the Copper (Supplement) group a baseline to be compared against.

In the crossover set-up each of the subjects took both Copper (Supplement) and the comparison in turn, acting as their own control.

Immunophenotyping and flow cytometry quantified numbers of monocytes, NK cells, NKT cells, CD8+ cytotoxic T cells, γδT cells, and total T cells, and expression of CD25 and CD69 activation markers.

Plasma was tested for cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, and enzymatic activity of superoxide dismutase and catalase.

What Was Measured

PubMed files the paper under topics including Antioxidants, Rosmarinus, Wolfiporia, Catalase, Dietary Supplements, Cytokines and Plant Extracts.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Copper (Supplement) in 11 subjects.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

Results are reported in around 9 sentences of the abstract; we leave them to the paper itself rather than summarise them.

The publication is from 2023 (PloS one), a journal based in United States.

More context: the Copper (Supplement) compound page, all human trials.