Immunologic aspects of kampo medicine

Herbal interventions in asthma and allergy

This paper reviews the role of herbal-based medicines in the treatment of asthma and allergic rhinitis. A comprehensive literature search was performed of relevant English-language papers and abstracts were identified through a MEDLINE search and from bibliographies of the identified papers. Papers and studies pertaining to the use of medicinal plants in the treatment of asthma and allergic rhinitis were identified. They were then analyzed according to design, inclusion and exclusion criteria, population studied, variables tested, method of treatment (i.e., specific medicinal plants or herbal combinations), and results. The data have been reviewed and divided on the basis of culture and the effects of medicinal plants in asthma and allergy. A number of studies were found that support the use of some herbal medicines in asthma and allergy. Various derivatives from specific medicinal plants were identified as the antiasthma components and some mechanisms of action were explored. The results show positive effects of these herbs on bronchodilation, pulmonary function tests, and antagonism of asthma mediators such as histamine and platelet activating factor, corticosteroid levels, and clearance of mucus. Improved symptoms were also seen in patients with allergic rhinitis specifically on histamine-induced reactions, e.g., rhinorrhea, sneezing, and itching. From the review, there has been a role for some herbal medicines in the treatment of asthma and allergic rhinitis. Usage of herbal medicines has increased in recent years. Many of these medicinal plants provided relief of symptoms equal to allopathic medicines used. Specific chemical derivatives have been isolated from many of these plant products which act on the mechanisms and mediators that cause asthma and allergies. The amount of research on these products, especially in the United States, is limited. There is a lack of control of quantity and quality of the components in these remedies. Yet, many have fewer side effects than current therapy. Throughout the history of medicine, drugs have been developed from traditional medicine. By continuing to investigate how some of these herbal interventions work, we may be able to find additional effective medicines to treat asthma and allergies.

The role of plant-derived drugs and herbal medicines in healthcare

Many of our present medicines are derived directly or indirectly from higher plants. While several classic plant drugs have lost much ground to synthetic competitors, others have gained a new investigational or therapeutical status in recent years. In addition, a number of novel plant-derived substances have entered into Western drug markets. Clinical plant-based research has made particularly rewarding progress in the important fields of anticancer (e.g. taxoids and camptothecins) and antimalarial (e.g. artemisinin compounds) therapies. In addition to purified plant-derived drugs, there is an enormous market for crude herbal medicines. Natural product research can often be guided by ethnopharmacological knowledge, and it can make substantial contributions to drug innovation by providing novel chemical structures and/or mechanisms of action. In the end, however, both plant-derived drugs and crude herbal medicines have to take the same pharmacoeconomic hurdle that has become important for new synthetic pharmaceuticals.

Effect of Chinese herbal medicines and disodium cromoglycate on IgE-dependent histamine release from mouse cultured mast cells

We examined the effect of anti-allergic Chinese herbal medicines such as Ma-Xing-Gan-Shi-Tang (MXGST) and Xiao-Feng-San (XFS), and a mast cell stabilizer, disodium cromoglycate (DSCG) on histamine release from mouse cultured mast cells. The mast cells (ILMCMC) were obtained by culturing mouse bone marrow cells for 3-6 weeks in the presence of IL-3. Some of the cells (FMCMC) were further cultured with a fibroblast cell line, 3T3 for 3 weeks. FMCMC had safranin-positive granules and released histamine in response to compound 48/80, whereas ILMCMC failed to do so. MXGST and XFS at 4-40 micrograms/ml inhibited IgE-dependent histamine release from ILMCMC but not from FMCMC. On the contrary, DSCG at 10(-4) M inhibited histamine release from FMCMC but not from ILMCMC. Chinese herbal medicines and DSCG may act on different types of mast cells.