{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,26]],"date-time":"2026-06-26T14:20:05Z","timestamp":1782483605302,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,8,28]],"date-time":"2024-08-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1724803200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pharmaceutics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Mild-to-moderate ulcerative colitis (UC) management is centred on 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) derivatives. Whether supplementing 5-ASA with nutraceuticals can provide real advantages in UC-relevant outcomes is unclear. This retrospective multicentre study compared clinical remission, response rates, and faecal calprotectin levels in a two-arm design, including patients treated with 5-ASA alone and those with additional H. erinaceus-based multi-compound supplementation. In the 5-ASA alone group, clinical response rates were 41% at three months (T1) and 60.2% at six months (T2), while corresponding clinical remission rates were 16.9% and 36.1%. In the nutraceutical supplementation group, clinical response rates were 49.6% (T1) and 70.4% (T2), with clinical remission rates of 30.4% (T1) and 50.9% (T2). No significant differences in clinical response rates between the groups at T1 (p = 0.231) and T2 (p = 0.143) emerged. Clinical remission rates differed significantly at both time points (p = 0.029 and p = 0.042, respectively). Faecal calprotectin levels decreased significantly in both groups during the retrospective follow-up (p &lt; 0.05), and this was more pronounced in nutraceutical supplementation patients at both T1 (p = 0.005) and T2 (p = 0.01). No adverse events were reported. This multi-component nutraceutical supplementation offers real-world potential in controlling disease activity in patients with mild-to-moderate UC.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pharmaceutics16091133","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,8,28]],"date-time":"2024-08-28T03:57:06Z","timestamp":1724817426000},"page":"1133","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":14,"title":["Enhancing Oral 5-ASA Effectiveness in Mild-to-Moderate Ulcerative Colitis through an H. erinaceus-Based Nutraceutical Add-on Multi-Compound: The \u201cHERICIUM-UC\u201d Two-Arm Multicentre Retrospective Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5767-5541","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Antonio","family":"Tursi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Territorial Gastroenterology Service, Barletta-Andria-Trani Local Health Agency, Via Fornaci, 76123 Andria, Italy"},{"name":"Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Catholic University of Rome, Largo A. Gemelli, 00168 Roma, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alessandro","family":"D\u2019Avino","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Internal Medicine, IRCCS Istituto Dermopatico dell\u2019Immacolata, 00167 Roma, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Giovanni","family":"Brandimarte","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cristo Re Hospital, Via delle Calasanziane, 00167 Roma, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9263-7409","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Giammarco","family":"Mocci","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"SC Gastroenterologia, ARNAS Brotzu, Piazzale A. Ricchi, 09047 Cagliari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5074-230X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Raffaele","family":"Pellegrino","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hepatogastroenterology Division, Department of Precision Medicine, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Via L. de Crecchio, 80138 Napoli, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3187-2894","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Edoardo Vincenzo","family":"Savarino","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Gastroenterology Unit, Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology, University of Padova, Via VIII Febbraio, 35121 Padova, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8049-0115","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Antonietta Gerarda","family":"Gravina","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hepatogastroenterology Division, Department of Precision Medicine, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Via L. de Crecchio, 80138 Napoli, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"name":"the HERICIUM-UC Study Group","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,8,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2652","DOI":"10.1056\/NEJMra2002697","article-title":"Pathophysiology of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases","volume":"383","author":"Chang","year":"2020","journal-title":"N. 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