Document Detail


Complementary medicine: a review of immunomodulatory effects of Chinese herbal medicines.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  9394679     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Popular demand for and scientific interest in complementary or alternative medicine, particularly medicinal botanicals, has increased considerably in recent years. The medicinal botanicals with the longest tradition, and for which extensive data are available, are Chinese herbal medicines and their Japanese counterparts--Kampo medicines. This review focuses on some representative examples of studies examining the effects of some traditional Chinese medicines on various aspects of the immune response. In vitro as well as in vivo studies are cited, the latter including not only animal experiments but also clinical trials. Although by no means exhaustive, this review attempts to show that much research has focused on the specific beneficial effects of Chinese herbal medicines. Studies examining the mechanisms by which they exert their immunomodulatory actions, however, are found much less frequently. Nonetheless, even the limited number of mechanistic experiments presented here reveal that numerous mechanisms are likely involved in the various actions of even a single medicine. It will be the elucidation of such mechanisms that will provide the scientific basis for establishing the efficacy and safety of not only Chinese herbal medicines but all forms of medicinal botanicals.
Authors:
A T Borchers; R M Hackman; C L Keen; J S Stern; M E Gershwin
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.; Review    
Journal Detail:
Title:  The American journal of clinical nutrition     Volume:  66     ISSN:  0002-9165     ISO Abbreviation:  Am. J. Clin. Nutr.     Publication Date:  1997 Dec 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  1998-01-06     Completed Date:  1998-01-06     Revised Date:  2007-11-14    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  0376027     Medline TA:  Am J Clin Nutr     Country:  UNITED STATES    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  1303-12     Citation Subset:  AIM; IM    
Affiliation:
Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Clinical Immunology, University of California at Davis 95616, USA.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Animals
Complementary Therapies*
Drugs, Chinese Herbal / classification,  therapeutic use*
Humans
Medicine, Chinese Traditional
Plant Extracts / immunology*
Grant Support
ID/Acronym/Agency:
1 U24 AI37627/AI/NIAID NIH HHS
Chemical
Reg. No./Substance:
0/Drugs, Chinese Herbal; 0/Plant Extracts

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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