November 20, 2018

A study reported in the October 2018 issue of Minerva Medica found a significant decrease in symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among participants who supplemented with Robuvit^® French oak wood extract for four weeks.

PTSD is a condition associated with recurrent, obsessive recollection of severe traumatic events and can involve nightmares, flashbacks, and episodes of rapid heartbeat, perspiration, and variation in blood pressure. Psychotherapy, exposure therapy, and drugs like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are currently employed to treat the condition.

The investigation included 15 men and 19 women between the ages of 25 and 52 years who were receiving supportive psychotherapy for PTSD. Sixteen participants also received Robuvit^® daily for four weeks. PTSD symptoms and oxidative stress levels were assessed at the beginning and end of the study.

At the end of the treatment period, percentages of participants with recurrent memories and dreams, transient walking-dissociative states, reactive flashbacks/hallucinations, alarm reactions, intense emotional distress, emotional numbness, social disinterest, and detachment were all significantly lower among those treated with Robuvit^® compared to standard management alone. Robuvit^® supplementation was also associated with greater improvement in sleep difficulties, fatigue, irritability, and oxidative stress at the end of the study in comparison with standard management.

“The results of our study indicate a significant effect of Robuvit^® on PTSD symptoms and oxidative stress levels over a relatively limited period of observation,” authors Gianni Belcaro and colleagues conclude. “The improvement with Robuvit^® is faster and larger than that seen with standard management only. Supplementation is safe and well tolerated and may represent an important option in PTSD treatment.”