Effect of Daily Vinegar Ingestion for Four Weeks on Mood State in Healthy College Students

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT04706806

Acronym

VIN2020

Enrollment

Registered

2021-01-13

Start date

2020-09-29

Completion date

2020-11-17

Last updated

2021-01-13

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Mood, Depression

Keywords

acetic acid

Brief summary

The objective of this research is to record mood states and depression levels in healthy college students before and after 4 weeks of daily vinegar ingestion.

Detailed description

Recent research suggests that fruit and vegetable intake is inversely associated with mood states and depression. Although the mechanism is not known, increased gut fermentation is suspected as changes in gut tryptophan metabolism was noted in these trials. Tryptophan is the precursor to serotonin, the neurotransmitter associated with improved mood state, but other metabolites of tryptophan have been associated with mental wellbeing as well. The main ingredient of vinegar, acetic acid, is the most common metabolite produced during gut fermentation of dietary fiber (mainly from fruits and vegetables) and can also be expected to influence the gut microbiome. It has been reported that vinegar ingestion is linked to a change in tryptophan metabolism in healthy adults consuming vinegar daily for 8 weeks. This study will explore the impact of vinegar ingestion on mood states.

Interventions

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENTapple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons diluted in water taken twice daily with meals

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENTvinegar pill

one pill taken daily

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

SINGLE (Subject)

Masking description

Both groups received vinegar, either liquid form (active) or pill form (placebo)

Intervention model description

randomized, controlled trial

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* college student, non-athlete, no chronic health condition

Exclusion criteria

* vegetarians or others adhering to special diet, body mass index \>30 kg/m2, pregnancy/lactation, unwilling to ingest vinegar

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
mood state	change from baseline at day 28	Profile of Mood States (POMS) questionnaire score
depression	change from baseline at day 28	Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D)

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026