Research supporting the use of herbs for the treatment of asthma

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Herbal alternative for asthma shows promise

 

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10/18/2005 - An oral combination of three Chinese herbs could be as

effective as conventional medicines at alleviating asthma symptoms

but without such severe side effects, report Chinese and American

researchers.

 

The researchers, from the Weifang Asthma Hospital and Weifang School

of Medicine in China, and Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York,

sought to investigate alternatives to corticosteroids,

the " cornerstone " of Western asthma treatment.

Since corticosteroids can cause side effects, such as greater

susceptibility to infections due to immune suppression and reduced

growth velocity, they said that there is a need for additional

effective treatments with fewer side effects.

 

In China, traditional medicine is part of mainstream practice, either

used alone or in conjunction with Western medications. However,

little clinical research has been carried out into traditional

Chinese medicine for asthma, say the researchers.

 

For the double-blind placebo-controlled study published in the

September issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology

(vol. 116, issue 3), they investigated the effects of a combination

of three Chinese herbal extracts: Ling-Zhi (Ganoderma lucidum), Ku-

Shen (Radix Sophora flavescentis) and Gan-Cao (Radix Glycyrrhiza

uralensis). The combination was dubbed ASHMI - antiasthma herbal

medicine intervention.

 

The formulation notably excluded Ma Huang, used in many herbal asthma

remedies throughout the world, since it is a source of ephedrine.

Ephedine has been associated with adverse effects on the

cardiovascular and central nervous systems. In the United States,

dietary supplements containing more than 10mg of ephedrine alkaloids

are outlawed, but the ban does not extend to Ma Huang.

 

ASHMI was in fact developed as a simplified version of a 14-herb

formula known as MSSM-002, which the same team previously found to

effectively reduce the symptoms of asthma in a mouse model. Prepared

by Weifang Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Factory, ASHMI was formulated

on the basis of the actions of the individual herbs in MSSM-002, and

according to traditional Chinese medicine formulation concepts.

 

The new trial involved 91 subjects with moderate to severe persistent

asthma. They were admitted to hospital for the four-week duration.

 

Forty-six patients were randomly assigned to receive 12 ASHMI

capsules per day, each one containing 0.3g of dried aqueous extract.

The total daily dosage of extracts was equivalent to 20g of raw Ling-

Zhi, 9g of Ku-Shen, and 3g of Gan-Cao. Patients in this group also

received placebo tablets similar in appearance to prednisone, an oral

administration of the hormone cortisone.

 

The 46 patients in the placebo group received 20mg of prednisone per

day, plus placebo capsules resembling ASHMI.

 

The researchers measured participants' lung function, side effects

and serum cortisol, cytokine and igE levels before and after

treatment. The effects of prednisone and ASHMI on lung function

were " slightly but significantly greater " with prednisone. However

unlike prednisone, ASHMI was seen to have no adverse effects on

adrenal function, and had a beneficial effect on TH1 and TH2 cytokine

levels.

 

In addition, fewer patients receiving ASHMI experienced gastric

discomfort compared to those receiving prednisone, and the prednisone

patients showed significant weight gain after four weeks of

treatment.

 

" Taken together, the findings of this study show that ASHMI is

effective and well-tolerated in nonsteroid-dependent patients with

moderate-severe persistent asthma, " wrote the researchers.

 

They said that the mechanisms underlying its " remarkable " effects are

largely unknown but that they are likely to be the result of

synergistic or additive effects of the complex nature of its

constituents.