Herbs Well Researched, Despite Media Bias

SCHAUMBURG, Ill.Some critics of botanicals say research is limited and the studies that are available are of poor quality. However, a 2010 study found 6,300 studies were conducted on botanicals in 2007 alone, and many of these were high-quality clinical trials, noted Mark Blumenthal, founder and executive director of the American Botanical Council (ABC).

In a presentation at the Natural Health Research Institutes (NHRI) 6th Annual Scientific Symposium on Oct. 28, 2011, Blumenthal said these studies were published in medical journals, which may have been no small feat. He said a study of 11 medical journals reported an inverse relationship between the amount of pharmaceutical ads and major articles about dietary supplements; the journals with the most pharmaceutical ads had the fewest dietary supplement coverage, he said.

Still, despite recent headlines that scream botanicals arent effective, a review of the entire scope of published clinical trials on specific herbs shows significant and reasonable level of clinical evidence which supports their safety and their benefits in a variety of clinical endpoints, even from an evidence-based medicine perspective, according to Blumenthal.

Blumenthal reviewed various systematic reviews and meta-analyses on herbs and phytomedicinal dietary supplement preparations, the number of published clinical trials on each, the total number of patients included in the reviews, their conclusions, as well as their potential roles as safe, beneficial, low-cost supplements which can be used by consumers for various self-care purposes, and which should be considered conventional and integrative health care practitioners for inclusion in clinical practice.

He covered studies that showed efficacy for Echinacea (Echinacea spp.) for immune health, St. Johns wort (Hypericum perforatum) for mood support, garlic (Allium sativum) and hibiscus (Hibiscus sabdariffa) tea for mildly elevated blood pressure, hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) leaf with flower extract as an adjunct in early states of congestive heart disease, Asian ginseng (Panax ginseng) root for erectile dysfunction, South African pelargonium (Pelargonium sidoides) root extract for bronchitis, a proprietary combination of andrographis (Andrographis paniculata) and eleuthero (Eleutherococcus senticosus) root for symptoms of upper respiratory tract infections, and numerous others.

Further, he noted herbs and medicinal plant preparationsand the various chemical compounds they containare the sources of numerous modern nutritional and pharmaceutical products, but these compounds can be obtained more cost efficiently via herbal teas, herbal dietary supplements and phytomedicines.

NHRI is an independent organization that supports research on natural health and wellness. Its objectives are to promote research on science-supported approaches to optimal health and wellness; bring respected scientists and world-renowned thought leaders together at scientific conferences to share their research with other scientists and the public; study and promote the public health benefits and cost-of-care savings that can be achieved by widespread, responsible use of science-based dietary ingredients and related natural approaches to health and wellness; and encourage young scientists to engage in university-directed research on natural health remedies and the public-health benefits that can be achieved to help developed and developing countries reduce chronic disease and its associated cost-of-care burdens.