Efficacy and safety of dietary supplements for the treatment of ulcerative colitis, a network meta-analysis

Background: In recent years, the application of dietary supplements in the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC) has attracted more and more scholars' attention, and a number of studies have shown that dietary supplements have a non-negligible role in improving the clinical symptoms and quality of life of UC patients. This article aims to compare the efficacy and safety of dietary supplement therapy of UC through a comprehensive network meta-analysis method. Methodology: A comprehensive literature search was conducted in multiple databases, including PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Embase, and Web of science, from their inception up to 30 October 2025. Network and routine meta-analyses using the mvmeta package in Stata 16.0 and Stata 12.0 software, and literature quality and risk of bias assessed using RevMan 5.3 software. Result: [MD = -2.95, 95% CI (-3.52 to -2.38)] all showed significant advantages compared with conventional medical therapy or placebo for reducing C-reactive protein levels. Conclusion: have outstanding advantages in reducing CRP. Due to the limitations of the number and quality of included studies, the above conclusions still need to be validated by more high-quality, large-sample RCTs.