{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,5]],"date-time":"2026-03-05T06:45:03Z","timestamp":1772693103957,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,28]],"date-time":"2026-02-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1772236800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"II Bando Ricerca & Innova","award":["PR FESR 2021\u20132027. Lombardia\u2014Azione 1.1.1."],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PR FESR 2021\u20132027. Lombardia\u2014Azione 1.1.1."]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100009882","name":"Sostegno agli Investimenti in Ricerca, Sviluppo e Innovazione","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["5097130"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["5097130"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100009882","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC) is a common gastrointestinal disorder with a global prevalence of about 14%, common in women and elderly population. It often lacks effective treatment. This randomized clinical trial was aimed to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of Hippophae rhamnoides L. (sea buckthorn) fruit extract in adults with CIC. Methods: A UHPLC-HRMS\/MS analysis was performed on the hydroethanolic H. rhamnoides fruit extract to evaluate its composition. Ninety participants were randomly assigned to receive either 500 mg of H. rhamnoides extract or placebo delivered through a capsule daily for 28 days. The primary outcome was the change in weekly spontaneous complete bowel movements (SCBMs), while secondary outcomes included stool consistency (Bristol Stool Form Scale\u2014BSFS), gastrointestinal symptoms, and quality of life (SF-12). Results: Metabolic profile of the extract tentatively identified 75 bioactive compounds, predominantly flavonoids, triterpenoids and phospholipids. H. rhamnoides fruit extract significantly improved SCBM frequency (from 1.5 to 2.6 per week; p &lt; 0.001) and normalized stool consistency (mean BSFS score from 1.4 to 3.5; p &lt; 0.001), compared to no change in the placebo group. Significant reductions in bloating, abdominal pain, and heaviness were observed, while flatulence showed no between-group significant difference. No adverse events or use of rescue treatments were reported. Quality-of-life scores remained largely unchanged, with a non-significant trend towards improved mental health in the treated group. Conclusions: These findings suggest that H. rhamnoides fruit extract is a safe and effective option for managing CIC, offering an alternative to other plant extracts with laxative effects.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu18050806","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,3]],"date-time":"2026-03-03T16:18:45Z","timestamp":1772554725000},"page":"806","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Hippophae rhamnoides L. Fruit Extract Relieves Chronic Idiopathic Constipation and Improves Bowel Function: A Monocentric, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Clinical Trial"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Maria Vittoria","family":"Morone","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy, University of Napoli Federico II, 80131 Naples, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Gaia","family":"Spadarella","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Advanced Biomedical Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80131 Naples, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8084-9976","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alessandro","family":"Di Minno","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy, University of Napoli Federico II, 80131 Naples, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Marcello","family":"Cordara","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Medicine, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Angela","family":"Cerqua","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy, University of Napoli Federico II, 80131 Naples, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lorenza Francesca","family":"De Lellis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy, University of Napoli Federico II, 80131 Naples, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Daniele Giuseppe","family":"Buccato","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy, University of Napoli Federico II, 80131 Naples, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2877-9445","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alessandra","family":"Baldi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy, University of Napoli Federico II, 80131 Naples, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Roberto","family":"Piccinocchi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Anaesthesia and Resuscitation A. U. O. Luigi Vanvitelli, 80138 Naples, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9437-676X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hammad","family":"Ullah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Pharmacy, University of Management and Technology, 54000 Lahore, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3095-2198","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gaetano","family":"Piccinocchi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Comegen S.C.S., Societ\u00e0 Cooperativa Sociale, 80125 Naples, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Xiang","family":"Xiao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Food and Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, 212013 Zhenjiang, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6199-0074","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Roberto","family":"Sacchi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Applied Statistic Unit, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4870-7713","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maria","family":"Daglia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy, University of Napoli Federico II, 80131 Naples, Italy"},{"name":"International Research Center for Food Nutrition and Safety, Jiangsu University, 212013 Zhenjiang, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"99","DOI":"10.1053\/j.gastro.2020.04.014","article-title":"Worldwide Prevalence and Burden of Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders, Results of Rome Foundation Global Study","volume":"160","author":"Sperber","year":"2021","journal-title":"Gastroenterology"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"21","DOI":"10.1038\/s41575-019-0222-y","article-title":"Management of functional constipation in children and adults","volume":"17","author":"Vriesman","year":"2020","journal-title":"Nat. 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