Herbal therapy for the treatment of asthma According to researchers, "Although herbal medicine for the treatment of asthma is becoming the focus of public attention, randomized studies have not been performed, even in Eastern countries such as Japan." For this reason, researchers sought to conduct a randomized clinical trial to assess the effects of Saiboku-to—a combination of herbs including Perilla frutescens that is commonly used in Japanese herbal medicine to treat asthma. In this study, 32 asthmatic patients were randomly assigned to receive a four-week course of either 2.5 grams of dried, powdered Saiboku-to or placebo (a preparation with no pharmacological activity). Physicians recorded the patients' asthma symptoms weekly. Of the 32 patients, 27 showed improvements in asthma symptoms such as nocturnal cough, wheezing, as well as the frequency or severity of asthma attacks. No adverse side effects were reported. These positive results are consistent with animal and cell culture studies in which perilla extract, an active ingredient in Saiboku-to, also inhibited the allergic response. These findings led Y. Urata and colleagues to conclude in Respiratory Medicine that "Our study revealed that Saiboku-to is significantly effective for the management of allergic asthma..." SOURCE: Respir Med 2002;96(6):469-74. Advanced Nutrition Publications ©2002
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