Oka, Takakazu, Yamada, Yu, Lkhagvasuren, Battuvshin et al. · BioPsychoSocial medicine · 2022 · DOI
Researchers tested whether wasabi extract—specifically a compound called 6-MSITC that has anti-inflammatory properties—could help people with ME/CFS. Fifteen patients took the supplement daily for 12 weeks, and many reported improvements in headaches, muscle pain, brain fog, and cognitive problems like word-finding difficulties. The study found measurable improvements in pain sensitivity and thinking speed, though overall fatigue scores did not change significantly.
ME/CFS lacks established pharmacological treatments, and cognitive dysfunction and pain are particularly disabling features. This preliminary study identifies a natural compound with anti-inflammatory properties that showed measurable benefits across multiple symptom domains and objective measures, warranting controlled investigation and potentially offering a low-risk therapeutic avenue.
This study does not prove 6-MSITC is effective for ME/CFS because it lacked a control group and blinding; observed improvements may reflect placebo effect, natural variation, or other unmeasured factors. The small sample size and open-label design severely limit the strength of evidence. The study cannot establish causation or whether benefits would persist beyond 12 weeks.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Oka, Takakazu, Yamada, Yu, Lkhagvasuren, Battuvshin, Nakao, Mutsuhiro, Nakajima, Ryota, Kanou, Masanobu, et al. (2022). Clinical effects of wasabi extract containing 6-MSITC on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: an open-label trial.. BioPsychoSocial medicine. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13030-022-00255-0
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-oka-2022-clinical-effects,
author = {Oka, Takakazu and Yamada, Yu and Lkhagvasuren, Battuvshin and Nakao, Mutsuhiro and Nakajima, Ryota and Kanou, Masanobu and Hiramatsu, Ryuji and Nabeshima, Yo-Ichi},
title = {Clinical effects of wasabi extract containing 6-MSITC on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: an open-label trial.},
journal = {BioPsychoSocial medicine},
year = {2022},
doi = {10.1186/s13030-022-00255-0},
note = {PubMed: 36510244},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/oka-2022-clinical-effects},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-27. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/oka-2022-clinical-effects
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