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WHO programme to standardise herbal medicines

The World Health Organisation (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Drug Monitoring has announced a global standardisation programme for herbal medicines.

The programme is being set up in an effort to standardise information about herbal medicines, including their names and therapeutic implications, which can vary widely in different countries.

The WHO group will collaborate with the University of Exeter and the Royal Botanic Gardens in the UK, and with several international experts, in the standardisation programme.

The programme will provide a list of herbal medicines that are believed to be most successful throughout the world.

Pharmaceutical versions A new technology, PharmaPrinting, was also

announced by the WHO group. PharmaPrinting will produce pharmaceutical versions of herbal medicines that could not be standardised, patented, or approved by government authorities previously. This advance is expected to increase the use of successful herbal medicines as government-approved pharmaceutical versions become available for prescription. - PR Newswire, http://www.newspage.com; 5 Dec 1996

Complementary medicine for asthma: research needed

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The 'clear clinical benefit' that some complementary medicines have produced in selected groups of patients with asthma 'warrant further investigation in larger, better designed and controlled studies performed in sceptical centres of excellence' maintain Drs GT Lewith and AD Watkins from the University of Southampton, Southampton, UK. However, it would be 'premature' to recommend complementary therapies as more than an auxiliary to conventional medicine in patients with inadequately controlled symptoms of asthma, they say.

Some significant results There is a reasonable volume of research on the

effectiveness of complementary therapies in asthma, note Drs Lewith and Watkins. Acupuncture has been shown to acutely improve airway function, but its long-term efficacy in asthma remains to be established.

Homeopaths have made many claims regarding the efficacy of homeopathy in asthma, but these have 'never realistically been put to the test', note Drs Lewith and Watkins.

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Improvements with yoga Several well designed studies have shown

significant improvement in the number of asthma attacks, medication use and PEFR after training in yoga, especially breathing techniques. There is good evidence to show that simple relaxation and hypnosis can also significantly improve airway calibre in some asthmatics.

Some herbal medicines have been studied in controlled trials. Coleus forskholii has been shown to have a powerful bronchodilating effect and fewer adverse effects than fenoterol, and Ginkgo bi/oba has been shown to improve lung function. The most widely studied herb saiboku-to (TJ-96) has demon-strated dramatic clinical improvements and cortico-steroid-sparing effects after being taken for 6-12 months.

'Urgent need' The researchers note that the widespread

popUlarity, comparative cheapness compared with conventional medicine, and the sense of control patients achieve over their disease with the use complementary medicines signifies that there is an 'urgent need for research' if physicians are going to make adequate recommendations to their patients. Lewith GT, Watkins AD. Unconventional therapies in asthma: an overview. Allergy 51: 761-769. Nov 1996 ......, .. ,

'Ii'aditional Chinese medicine encounters sceptics

While the Chinese Government is planning to expedite the sale of traditional Chinese medicines to Western countries, some scientists in China are seeking the assistance of their counterparts in the West to investigate the 'more remarkable claims' associated with such medicines, reports lAMA.

One such exchange between Chinese scientists and US representatives from CSICOP* was set up to share information on how to promote scientific literacy 'while combating pseudoscience and quackery', adds the lAMA report.

Avoid 'uncritical acceptance' Although these scientists agree that traditional

healers have made significant contributions to the health of the Chinese people, 'the health of the world is not going to be improved by the uncritical acceptance of unproven health claims from either the East or the West', according to CSICOP representatives.

They add however, that the Chinese government is supporting efforts to determine the efficacy of herbal medications, and to isolate any active ingredients, using scientific techniques. * Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal Skolnick AA. China is eager to export its traditional medicine, but some Chinese scientists urge more skepticism. Journal of the American Medical Association 276: 1707-1709.4 Dec 1996 ...... ,41

Inphanna-14 Dec 1996 No. 1067

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