Chinese medicinal herbs for chronic hepatitis B: a systematic review

Chronic hepatitis B is a serious health problem worldwide. Chinese medicinal herbs are widely used for treatment of chronic hepatitis B in China and many clinical trials have been conducted. This systematic review is to assess the efficacy and safety of Chinese medicinal herbs for chronic hepatitis B.

Randomised clinical trials comparing Chinese medicinal herbs versus placebo, no intervention, nonspecific treatment, or interferon treatment for chronic hepatitis B with > or = 3 months follow-up were included. No language and blinding limitations were applied. The electronic databases were searched, combined with handsearches on Chinese literature. Data were extracted independently by two reviewers. The methodological quality of trials was assessed by the Jadad-scale plus allocation concealment.

Nine randomised trials (n=936) were included, with only one being of high quality. There was a funnel plot asymmetry (intercept 3.37, p=0.047). Compared to nonspecific treatment or placebo, the herbal compound Fuzheng Jiedu Tang showed an effect on clearance of serum HBsAg (relative risk 5.19, 95% CI 1.24-21.79), HBeAg (10.85, 3.56-33.06), and HBV DNA (8.50, 1.23-58.85). Polyporus umbellatus polysaccharide showed an effect on serum HBeAg (3.06, 1.13-8.29) and HBV DNA (4.14, 1.0-17.19); Phyllanthus amarus showed an effect on serum HBeAg (3.35, 1.49-7.56). Phyllanthus compound and kurorinone showed no significant difference on clearance of serum HBeAg and HBV DNA and on alanine aminotransferase normalisation compared to interferon. No serious adverse event was observed.

Chinese medicinal herbs are not recommended for chronic hepatitis B because of the publication bias and low quality of the trials. Rigorously designed, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials are needed.