The effects of synbiotic supplementation on oxidative stress and clinical symptoms in women with migraine: A double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial

Oxidative stress may play an important role in migraine pathogenesis. This randomized controlled trial aimed to investigate the effect of 12 weeks synbiotic supplementation on the oxidative stress and clinical symptoms of migraine in eighty women. The effect of the intervention on the total antioxidant capacity (TAC), nitric oxide (NO), oxidative stress index (OSI), total oxidant status (TOS), migraine index (MI), headache diary result (HDR) and migraine headache index score (MHIS) were investigated using bivariate comparison. Synbiotic supplementation improved TAC (381.77 vs 43.17 nmol/ml, P = 0.034), and reduced NO (-4.62 vs 0.55 nmol/ml, P = 0.021), OSI levels (-0.33 vs 0.0009, P = 0.027), and MI (-8.27 vs -3.20, P = 0.013) compared to placebo. A positive correlation between the severity of migraine headache and NO level was observed following synbiotic supplementation (r = 0.44, P = 0.002). Synbiotics may reduce oxidative stress and improve migraine symptoms in women and help as a supplemental therapy in managing migraine headaches.