Efficacy of Palmitoylethanolamide and Luteolin Association on Post-Covid Olfactory Dysfunction: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Clinical Studies
Meta-analysisHumansWith luteolin
This study tested palmitoylethanolamide together with luteolin. Its results cannot be assigned to palmitoylethanolamide alone. More combination studies.
- Design
- Meta-analysis
- Subjects
- 5 studies with 441 patients in the review. 3 studies with 327 patients were pooled.
- Dose used in the study
- 700 mg of palmitoylethanolamide with 70 mg of luteolin, once a day
- Duration
- 30 to 90 days
- What was measured
- Recovery of the sense of smell on the Sniffin' Sticks test
What the authors reported
The meta-analysis found:
- PEA plus luteolin, given with olfactory training, favoured recovery of smell over conventional therapy.
- The pooled odds ratio was 3.07 (95% CI 2.22 to 3.92) in a fixed-effects model and 4.28 in a random-effects model, though that confidence interval crossed zero (-0.04 to 8.60).
- Heterogeneity was high (I² = 89%).
Limits of this study
With heterogeneity this high, the random-effects result is the more cautious reading, and it was borderline. The authors note small samples, short follow-up, a lack of placebo control in some studies, and that all studies were Italian. The review received no external funding.
Source
PubMed 37626685 · doi:10.3390/biomedicines11082189
Entry checked against the full text at the publisher (MDPI) on 2026-09-21. The dose shown is the dose the researchers used. It is not a recommendation. How to read this page.