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Herbal medicines for asthma: a systematic review
1Department of Complementary Medicine, School of Postgraduate Medicine and Health Studies, University of Exeter, Exeter EX2 4NT, UK. A.Huntley@ex.ac.uk
Thorax
|October 26, 2000
Summary
This review found no definitive evidence that herbal remedies effectively treat asthma symptoms. More high-quality randomized clinical trials are needed to assess the efficacy of these popular complementary therapies for asthma.
Area of Science:
- Integrative medicine
- Respiratory medicine
- Evidence-based practice
Background:
- Asthma prevalence and severity are increasing globally.
- Herbal preparations are a popular complementary therapy for asthma.
- Limited scientific evidence supports herbal treatments for asthma.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the clinical efficacy of herbal preparations for asthma symptom management.
- To synthesize evidence from randomized clinical trials (RCTs) on herbal asthma treatments.
Main Methods:
- Conducted four independent literature searches (Medline, Pubmed, Cochrane Library, Embase).
- Included only randomized clinical trials, with no language restrictions.
- Extracted and critically assessed data using a standardized approach.
Main Results:
- Identified 17 randomized clinical trials on herbal asthma treatments.
- Trials included traditional Chinese, Indian (Tylophora indica), and Japanese Kampo medicines, plus others.
- Nine trials reported clinically relevant improvements in lung function or symptom scores.
Conclusions:
- No definitive clinical evidence supports the efficacy of herbal preparations for asthma.
- Urgent need for rigorously designed, clinically relevant RCTs for herbal asthma treatments.
- Despite lack of evidence, herbal medicine remains popular among asthma patients.