October 15, 2003 – A capsule containing 18 herbs used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is believed to provide marked relief from allergic rhinitis, a problem better known as hay fever.
A mixed team of Western and Asian researchers recruited 49 patients for their study. Twenty-five of them were assigned to the control group who received a placebo, while the remaining 24 took one capsule daily for eight weeks.
The capsules contained in particular Chinese angelica (Dang Gui), buplévre root (Chai Hu), black cohosh (Sheng Ma) and mint (Bo He).
At the end of treatment, about 30% of members of the control group reported improvement in their symptoms, compared to 61% in the other group. Four patients in the group who took the capsules also experienced mild gastrointestinal side effects, but it is impossible to say that these were necessarily the result of the treatment since five patients in the control group also suffered.
The researchers advise caution, however, due to the small number of subjects studied, the lack of data regarding the long-term safety of the herbs used, and the exact nature of the mechanism that appears to confer efficacy on the product remains unclear. At most, they say, the product could be used in order to achieve symptomatic relief.
Allergic rhinitis affects approximately 25% of young adults and between 10% and 18% of the North American population.
Jean-Benoit Legault – PasseportSanté.net
From Alternative Therapies; Sept / Oct 2003.
