A Study to Evaluate the Palatability of a Nutritional Support Biscuit (Fitabisc) in Patients About to Undergo Abdominal Surgery

Nutrition and diet have been shown to have a direct impact on the health of the population and of selected patient groups. These beneficial effects have been attributed to the reduction of oxidative damage caused by the normal or excessive free radical production.

Antioxidants (AOX) are substances which inhibit or delay oxidation. The most important source of AOX is dietary intake. The trace elements copper, selenium, manganese, and zinc are all essential components of endogenous AOX defences. Nutritional antioxidants act through different mechanisms but are mainly free radical scavengers.

Oxidative stress occurs when there is an imbalance between generation of reactive oxygen species and inadequate antioxidant defence systems. Oxidative stress can cause cell damage either directly or through altering signalling pathways. Oxidative stress is a unifying mechanism of injury in many types of disease processes, including gastrointestinal diseases. Not surprisingly, many studies have investigated the potential clinical benefits of administering AOX to various patient groups. These results indicate that AOX nutrients do have a role in the intracellular prevention of AOX related damage and of proximity damage propagation. AOX, in particular appear effective in reducing damage which occurs as a result of ischaemia reperfusion injury.

The evidence suggests that the timing of AOX supplementation is important. It is unlikely that AOX will be able to reverse pathological change but they may limit its extension. In acute conditions the concept of a therapeutic window is essential. There appears to be an optimal early timing during which supplementation may have a "preventative" effect. The magnitude of this is probably determined by premorbid state. It is interesting to speculate, therefore, that pre loading with AOX might mitigate against severity of oxidative damage following a defined injury including surgery. There are theoretical reasons to consider that preoperative antioxidant therapy may be beneficial however there are no data available to date that confirms benefits in clinical practice and in particular as a preoperative supplement. Most studies to date have looked perioperative or postoperative supplementation with the antioxidants alone. No attempt has been made to do this using a palatable biscuit that would facilitate preoperative oral supplementation.

The rationale for this study is to establish whether or not Fitabisc, a biscuit that contains key antioxidants can be tolerated for up to 5 days before surgery in patients undergoing abdominal operations.