GENERAL MEDICINE
‘Herbal treatments don’t work’
October 4, 2007
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Researchers have shown there is no evidence that individually tailored herbal medicine treatment works.
In a new study, published in the Postgraduate Medical Journal, the authors found no convincing evidence that proves that individualised herbal medicine is effective for anything.
The authors added that using herbal medicine could be dangerous, as there is a high risk that the herbs will react with other prescription medication.
The researchers from the University of Exeter, Devon, UK, reviewed more than 1,300 trials to draw the conclusions. The trials looked at conditions from knee osteoarthritis, to irritable bowel syndrome and cancer.
The authors found that tailored herbal medicine only made a slight difference for irritable bowel syndrome sufferers, compared to the inactive treatment. But the herbal remedy was still not as effective as commonly used standard preparations.
The UK is currently reviewing the law in relation to the regulation of tailored herbal medicine treatments.