effect of zinc gluconate supplementation on c-reactive protein and malondialdehyde in patients with behcet's disease: a double-blind randomized controlled clinical trial

Background:  behçet’s disease (bd) with autoimmune and auto-inflammatory nature is more prevalent in silk road countries. the current study aimed to investigate the effect of zinc gluconate supplementation on c-reactive protein (crp) and malondialdehyde (mda) levels in bd patients. methods: this randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted on 50 iranian bd patients. participants were randomly assigned into either placebo or zinc gluconate (30 mg/day) groups for 12 weeks. before and after the intervention, serum mda and crp levels were measured. results: zinc supplementation led to a significant increase in serum zinc levels compared to the placebo group (p<0.05). there was no significant difference in mda serum levels between the groups after adjusting for the baseline values and confounding factors (p>0.05). zinc supplementation led to a significant improvement in crp serum levels compared to the placebo group following adjustment for the effect of baseline values and confounding factors (p=0.012 and 0.04, respectively). conclusion: zinc supplementation in an elemental dose of 30 mg per day has an anti-inflammatory effect in bd patients by reducing crp levels. the beneficial effect of zinc on lipid peroxidation in bd patients was not shown in the study.