We designed a 16-week parallel double-blind randomized placebo-controlled school-based intervention trial to investigate the joint effect of the beneficial dietary components on asthma. A total of 192 asthmatic children aged 10–12 yrs were recruited from elementary schools in metropolitan Taipei. The intervention group received vegetable plus fruit capsules, fish oil capsules and probiotic capsules, while the control group received placebos. Asthma symptoms, pulmonary functions, medicine usage and pediatric asthma quality of life questionnaire score (PAQLQ score) were evaluated at baseline, 8 and 16 weeks. Compared to placebo group, the intervention group had significant improvement in pulmonary parameters such as FVC (178 ml vs. 91 ml) and FEV1 (107 ml vs. 41 ml) and the proportion of children using bronchodilator significantly decreased over the 16 week period. Asthma symptoms and PAQLQ score were not significantly different between the two groups, probably because most children were routinely seen by physicians and medication were adjusted whenever needed. Our study showed that dietary supplements with vegetable and fruit concentrates, fish oil, and probiotics could alleviate bronchodilator usage and increase pulmonary function in asthmatic children.
