OBJECTIVES This meta-analysis was conducted to examine the effectiveness of Chinese herbal medicine (either alone or with interferon alfa) in treating chronic hepatitis B. METHODS We searched the TCMLARS, AMED, CISCOM, EMBASE, MEDLINE, and Cochrane Collaboration databases and then hand-searched the articles' bibliographies. RESULTS Chinese herbal medicine significantly increased seroreversi...

  Evidence based medicine (EBM) can be found as far back as the 1940s. However, it was in 1972 that the concept first came into play, originated by Professor Archie Cochrane, in his book, Effectiveness & Efficiency: Random Reflections on Health Services. This was the foundation for evidence based research, and in 1992 a facility was funded by the UK government, with the aim of performing r...

Scutellaria baicalensis GEORGI (Lamiaceae) is the botanical origin of the well-known traditional Chinese medicine "Huang Qin" (Radix Scutellariae). Due to overexploitation that had induced a decline in natural sources, the dried roots of its congeners, S. amoena, S. rehderiana, and S. viscidula, have been used to adulterate it in recent years. This practice may cause a series of inconsistent th...

Use of herbal medicine in the treatment of liver cancer has a long tradition. The compounds derived from the herb and herbal composites are of considerable interest among oncologists. In the past, certain herbal compounds and herbal composite formulas have been studied through in vitro and in vivo as an anti-hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) agent, enhancing our knowledge about their biologic func...

It is estimated that 80% of people in developing countries are completely dependent on traditional and folk medicines for their health care. The contribution of medicinal plants and natural products as drugs or as sources of useful drugs in medicine is unquestionable. There are many reports of medicinal plants capable of interfering with the pathophysiological processes in inflammation. Plant e...

BACKGROUND Despite the popularity of naturopathic and herbal medicine in New Zealand there remains limited data on New Zealand-based naturopathic and herbal medicine practice. In response, this paper reports findings from the first national survey examining the characteristics, perceptions and experiences of New Zealand-based naturopaths and herbal medicine practitioners across multiple domains...

BACKGROUND The use of herbal medicine, as one element of complementary and alternative medicine, is increasing worldwide. Little is known about the reasons for and factors associated with its use. This study derives insights for the use of herbal medicine in Germany regarding the usage aims, role played by the type of illness, reasons for preferred usage and sources of information. METHODS Us...

in this study, we aimed at studying the benefit of urtica dioica root extract in the management of allergic rhinitis. in a randomized double blind clinical trial, 74 patients with the signs and symptoms of allergic rhinitis and a positive skin prick test were randomly divided into 2 groups. the study group was treated with routine allergic rhinitis treatment and nettle root extract (urtidin®, b...

rosa damascena has been traditionally used as an herbal medicine for different therapeutic purposes. inorder to preliminarily study the probable toxic effects of the plant, its infusion was orally administered to 5groups of 5 dogs at doses 0.5-8 times that of human use in traditional medicine (90-1440 mg/kg/d) for 10successive days. the dogs in the control group (n=4) received placebo. serum le...

joint pain is one of the most common complaints with many possible causes.some medicines used for joint pain relief such as nsaids have substantial and frequent side effects. topical route possibly reduces adverse reactions by maximizing local delivery and minimizing systemic toxicity. throughout history, plants have been the most important sources of medicines for human health and iranian trad...