ABC Executive Director’s Editorial Emphasizes Published Clinical Trials
Supporting the Therapeutic Benefits of Leading Herbs
Austin, TX (April 23, 2009) The March/April issue
of Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine features a guest
editorial by ABC Founder and Executive Director Mark Blumenthal, in which
Blumenthal addresses one of the primary inaccuracies promoted by some critics of
herbal medicine: the myth that clinical trial evidence shows many popular herbal
preparations to be ineffective.
In his editorial, titled “Systematic
Reviews and Meta-analyses Support the Efficacy of Numerous Popular Herbs and
Phytomedicines,” Blumenthal discusses how the public perception that certain
herbs do not work has been misled by highly publicized randomized controlled
trials (RCTs) with negative outcomes. These include RCTs of preparations made
from herbs such as St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum) to treat
symptoms of mild to moderate depression, and echinacea (Echinacea spp.)
to deal with upper respiratory tract infections related to colds and the flu.
Blumenthal goes on to cite numerous
recently-published systematic reviews and meta-analyses of RCTs in which the
above-mentioned herbal preparations were significantly more effective than
placebo. In addition, he points out that some trials found herbs to be as
effective, and safer, than conventional pharmaceutical medications used for the
same purposes. Also included in this discussion are reviews of RCTs of garlic
(Allium sativum) for lowering blood pressure, Asian ginseng (Panax
ginseng) for erectile dysfunction, and hawthorn (Crataegus spp.)
for aspects of congestive heart failure.
Blumenthal concludes the essay as
follows:
All too frequently, however, glaring exposure in the media of one
high-profile negative trial becomes “the conversation,” with the larger body of
clinical research, as well as highly relevant epidemiological and other
non-RCT-based data, being relegated to a cognitive Twilight Zone. Even critics
of CAM and herbal medicine in particular, frequently fall into the trap of
taking refuge under the high-profile negative trial in attempts to dismiss an
entire herbal category and, by extension, all herbal preparations in sweeping
generalizations that would never be countenanced in a freshman-level course in
logic, much less the “evidence-based” practice of
medicine.
A PDF of the editorial is available on
the Alternative Therapies web site.
Reference
Blumenthal M. Systematic reviews and
meta-analyses support the efficacy of numerous popular herbs and phytomedicines.
Altern Ther Health Med. 2009;15(2):14-15. Available at: http://www.alternative-therapies.com/resources/web_pdfs/recent/0309_blumenthal.pdf.
|