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Complementary Therapies in Clinical... Aug 2022This systematic review aimed to update the evidence of ginseng on menopausal women's health care. (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
PURPOSE
This systematic review aimed to update the evidence of ginseng on menopausal women's health care.
METHODS
We searched six databases (PubMed, AMED, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, RISS, and KoreaMed) from their inception to April 2022 and included all placebo-controlled RCTs comparing any type of ginseng in menopausal women. The methodological quality of all studies was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool 2.0.
RESULTS
We included 15 RCTs with our inclusion criteria. The majority of studies considered bias a concern. Ginseng reduced menopausal symptoms in three studies (n = 515; standardized mean difference (SMD): -0.40, 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.73 to -0.07, P = 0.02) and lowed hot flashes (n = 515; SMD: -0.34, 95% CI: -0.66 to -0.01, P = 0.04). The meta-analysis of three other studies failed to show that ginseng was beneficial for sexual function (n = 491; SMD: 0.31, 95% CI: -0.30 to 0.92, P = 0.32). Three RCTs showed positive effects of ginseng on the quality of life score (n = 515, SMD: -0.31, 95% CI: -0.61 to -0.01, P = 0.05). In two studies, ginseng failed to produce significant effects on the vaginal maturation index and vaginal pH. Another three RCTs failed to demonstrate a beneficial effect of Korean red ginseng (KRG) on endometrial thickness.
CONCLUSION
This study demonstrated that ginseng can significantly reduce hot flashes, menopausal symptoms, and quality of life in menopausal women. In contrast, neither KRG nor ginseng appeared to have any direct effect on sexual dysfunction, hormones or biomarkers, or endometrial thickness. More rigorous RCTs are needed to overcome the current limitations.
Topics: Female; Hot Flashes; Humans; Menopause; Panax; Quality of Life; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Women's Health
PubMed: 35691259
DOI: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2022.101615 -
Nutrients May 2022Various neurocognitive and mental health-related conditions have been associated with the gut microbiome, implicating a microbiome-gut-brain axis (MGBA). The aim of this... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Various neurocognitive and mental health-related conditions have been associated with the gut microbiome, implicating a microbiome-gut-brain axis (MGBA). The aim of this systematic review was to identify, categorize, and review clinical evidence supporting medicinal plants for the treatment of mental disorders and studies on their interactions with the gut microbiota.
METHODS
This review included medicinal plants for which clinical studies on depression, sleeping disorders, anxiety, or cognitive dysfunction as well as scientific evidence of interaction with the gut microbiome were available. The studies were reported using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement.
RESULTS
Eighty-five studies met the inclusion criteria and covered thirty mental health-related medicinal plants with data on interaction with the gut microbiome.
CONCLUSION
Only a few studies have been specifically designed to assess how herbal preparations affect MGBA-related targets or pathways. However, many studies provide hints of a possible interaction with the MGBA, such as an increased abundance of health-beneficial microorganisms, anti-inflammatory effects, or MGBA-related pathway effects by gut microbial metabolites. Data for , , and indicate that the interaction of their constituents with the gut microbiota could mediate mental health benefits. Studies specifically assessing the effects on MGBA-related pathways are still required for most medicinal plants.
Topics: Anxiety; Anxiety Disorders; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Humans; Mental Health; Plants, Medicinal
PubMed: 35631252
DOI: 10.3390/nu14102111 -
Journal of Ginseng Research Mar 2022is a medicinal plant is a material with various pharmacological activities and research suggests that it is particularly effective in representative metabolic diseases... (Review)
Review
is a medicinal plant is a material with various pharmacological activities and research suggests that it is particularly effective in representative metabolic diseases such as hyperglycemia, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. Therefore, in this study, systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to investigate the comprehensive effect of on metabolic parameters representing these metabolic diseases. A total of 23 papers were collected for inclusion in the study, from which 27 datasets were collected. The investigational products included and Korean Red ginseng. Across the included studies, the dose ranged from 200 mg to 8 g and the supplementation period lasted from four to 24 weeks. The study subjects varied from healthy adults to those with diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and/or hyperlipidemia. As a result of the analysis, the levels of glucose and insulin area under the curves, % body fat, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, total cholesterol, triglycerides, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol were significantly reduced in the group as compared with in the placebo group. In conclusion, supplementation may act as an adjuvant to prevent the development of metabolic diseases by improving markers related to blood glucose, blood pressure, and blood lipids.
PubMed: 35509826
DOI: 10.1016/j.jgr.2021.10.002 -
Nutrients Mar 2022Many studies that use food containing Panax genus plants (PGPs) have been conducted but most of them have not mentioned the effective compounds ginsenosides and their... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
BACKGROUND
Many studies that use food containing Panax genus plants (PGPs) have been conducted but most of them have not mentioned the effective compounds ginsenosides and their composition. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of time to exhaustion as an index of exercise endurance with ingestion of PGPs or ginsenosides to reveal their effects.
METHODS
We performed a systematic review with a comprehensive and structured literature search using seven literature databases, four clinical trial databases, and three general web search engines during 15-22 March 2021. A random-effects model was applied to calculate the standardized mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI) as the difference between the mean in the treatment and placebo groups. We evaluated the risk of bias of individual studies along with the risk of bias tool in the Cochrane handbook. This study was funded by Maruzen Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. (Hiroshima, Japan). The protocol for this study was registered with the UMIN-CTR (No. UMIN000043341).
RESULTS
Five studies met the inclusion criteria. The number of total participants was 90, with 59 in the ingestion-PGPs group and 64 in the control group, because three studies were crossover-design trials. We found that ingestion of PGPs or ginsenosides significantly improved exercise endurance (SMD [95% CI]: 0.58 [0.22-0.95], I = 0%). It was suggested that ginsenoside Rg (Rg) and PGPs extract containing Rg were significantly effective in improving exercise endurance (SMD [95% CI]: 0.70 [0.14-1.27], I = 30%) by additional analysis.
CONCLUSIONS
This systematic review suggests that the ingestion of PGPs or ginsenosides, especially Rg, is effective in improving exercise endurance in healthy adults. However, further high-quality randomized controlled trials are required because imprecision and publication bias cannot be ignored in this systematic review.
Topics: Adult; Eating; Exercise; Humans; Japan; Nutritional Status; Panax
PubMed: 35334841
DOI: 10.3390/nu14061185 -
Pharmaceutical Biology Dec 2021Previous studies indicate that compound Danshen Dripping Pill (CDDP) improves the adaptation to high-altitude exposure. However, its mechanism of action is not clear. (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study Meta-Analysis
CONTEXT
Previous studies indicate that compound Danshen Dripping Pill (CDDP) improves the adaptation to high-altitude exposure. However, its mechanism of action is not clear.
OBJECTIVE
To explore the protective effect of CDDP on hypobaric hypoxia (HH) and its possible mechanism.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A meta-analysis of 1051 human volunteers was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of CDDP at high altitudes. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized into 5 groups ( = 6): control at normal pressure, model, CDDP-170 mg/kg, CDDP-340 mg/kg and acetazolamide groups. HH was simulated at an altitude of 5500 m for 24 h. Animal blood was collected for arterial blood-gas analysis and cytokines detection and their organs were harvested for pathological examination. Expression levels of AQP1, NF-κB and Nrf2 were determined by immunohistochemical staining.
RESULTS
The meta-analysis data indicated that the ratio between the combined RR of the total effective rate and the 95% CI was 0.23 (0.06, 0.91), the SMD and 95% CI of SO was 0.37 (0.12, 0.62). Pre-treatment of CDDP protected rats from HH-induced pulmonary edoema and heart injury, left-shifted oxygen-dissociation curve and decreased P50 (30.25 ± 3.72 vs. 37.23 ± 4.30). Mechanistically, CDDP alleviated HH-reinforced ROS by improving SOD and GPX1 while inhibiting pro-inflammatory cytokines and NF-κB expression. CDDP also decreased HH-evoked D-dimer, erythrocyte aggregation and blood hemorheology, promoting AQP1 and Nrf2 expression.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
Pre-treatment with CDDP could prevent HH-induced tissue damage, oxidative stress and inflammatory response. Suppressed NF-κB and up-regulated Nrf2 might play significant roles in the mechanism of CDDP.
Topics: Acetazolamide; Altitude Sickness; Animals; Blood Gas Analysis; Camphanes; Cytokines; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drugs, Chinese Herbal; Humans; Inflammation; Male; NF-E2-Related Factor 2; NF-kappa B; Oxidative Stress; Panax notoginseng; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Salvia miltiorrhiza
PubMed: 34808069
DOI: 10.1080/13880209.2021.1998139 -
Annals of Palliative Medicine Oct 2021The Compound Danshen Dripping Pills have been widely used in the treatment of diabetic retinopathy (DR), but there is a lack of systematic review of reports on this... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
Efficacy of Compound Danshen Dripping Pills combined with western medicine in the treatment of diabetic retinopathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
BACKGROUND
The Compound Danshen Dripping Pills have been widely used in the treatment of diabetic retinopathy (DR), but there is a lack of systematic review of reports on this topic. To explore the efficacy of Compound Danshen Dripping Pills combined with western medicine in the treatment of diabetic retinopathy, we conducted a meta-analysis.
METHODS
Randomized controlled trials published in the Chinese Medical Literature Database (CBM), Embase, PubMed, and Medline databases from January 2010 to August 2021 were searched. After screening the qualified literature, literature quality was evaluated by the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. Meta-analysis was performed on outcome measures including effective rate, visual field gray value, hemangioma volume, hemorrhagic plaque area, and visual acuity after diabetic retinopathy treatment with Compound Danshen Dripping Pills using Revman 5.3 analysis software to comprehensively evaluate the utility of Compound Danshen Dripping Pills.
RESULTS
A total of 167 documents were preliminarily searched, and 8 studies involving 524 patients were included for meta-analysis. Meta-analysis showed that the statistical value of the effective rate of diabetic retinopathy treatment in the intervention group and control group was OR =5.00, 95% CI: 2.84, 8.83, P<0.0001. The statistical value of visual field gray value comparison was MD =-0.93, 95% CI: -0.98, -0.89, P<0.00001. The statistical value of hemangioma volume was MD =-3.16, 95% CI: -3.48, -2.84, P<0.00001. The statistical value of hemorrhagic plaque area comparison was MD =-0.65, 95% CI: -0.97, -0.32, P<0.0001. The statistical value of visual acuity comparison was MD =0.15, 95% CI: 0.10, 0.19, P<0.00001.
DISCUSSION
The Compound Danshen Dripping Pills combined with western medicine are effective and safe in the treatment of diabetic retinopathy.
Topics: Camphanes; Diabetes Mellitus; Diabetic Retinopathy; Drugs, Chinese Herbal; Humans; Panax notoginseng; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Salvia miltiorrhiza
PubMed: 34763458
DOI: 10.21037/apm-21-2563 -
Annals of Translational Medicine Sep 2021Sanqi injection and safflower yellow injection were Chinese traditional medicine injections for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases and were used to treat acute...
BACKGROUND
Sanqi injection and safflower yellow injection were Chinese traditional medicine injections for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases and were used to treat acute cerebral infarction patients in public hospital widely. The aim of this study was to compare and analyze the published reports of efficacy and safety of Sanqi injection and safflower yellow injection for the treatment of acute cerebral infarction. The cost-effectiveness of these drug formulations was also evaluated.
METHODS
China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang, SinoMed, VIP, PubMed, Embase, and the Chinese Biomedical Literature (CBM) were searched with the restrictions keywords in Chinese and English between 2006 and 2019 to obtain RCTs. A meta-analysis and a meta-regression analysis were undertaken in Reviewer Manager 5.3 software to compare the efficacy and safety of Sanqi and safflower yellow injection. This study used a decision tree model to analyze the cost-effectiveness of the two treatments. The TreeAge Pro software was used to comprehensively evaluate the economics of these medications.
RESULTS
Twelve papers were all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in which Sanqi injection was applied in the control group, while safflower yellow injection was applied in the experimental group and the quality of them were good. The results of the 12 papers were compared, and the total effective rate of the treatment group (91.18%) was significant and showed no significant difference with the control group (74.83%) (RR =1.24, 95% CI: 1.19, 1.30, P<0.00001). From the perspective of pharmacoeconomics, compared with Sanqi group, the ICER of safflower yellow injection is 3,885.75 RMB. The sensitivity analysis results were consistent with the basic analysis results, indicating that the basic analysis results were relatively stable.
CONCLUSIONS
Comparing with Sanqi injection, safflower yellow injection and related combination therapy can improve the total effective rate and are safer with fewer adverse reactions. It is also more cost-effective than the use of Sanqi injection.
PubMed: 34733959
DOI: 10.21037/atm-21-782 -
Cells Aug 2021Despite the progressive advances, current standards of treatments for peripheral nerve injury do not guarantee complete recovery. Thus, alternative therapeutic...
Despite the progressive advances, current standards of treatments for peripheral nerve injury do not guarantee complete recovery. Thus, alternative therapeutic interventions should be considered. Complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs) are widely explored for their therapeutic value, but their potential use in peripheral nerve regeneration is underappreciated. The present systematic review, designed according to guidelines of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols, aims to present and discuss the current literature on the neuroregenerative potential of CAMs, focusing on plants or herbs, mushrooms, decoctions, and their respective natural products. The available literature on CAMs associated with peripheral nerve regeneration published up to 2020 were retrieved from PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. According to current literature, the neuroregenerative potential of , , , , and are the most widely studied. Various CAMs enhanced proliferation and migration of Schwann cells , primarily through activation of MAPK pathway and FGF-2 signaling, respectively. Animal studies demonstrated the ability of CAMs to promote peripheral nerve regeneration and functional recovery, which are partially associated with modulations of neurotrophic factors, pro-inflammatory cytokines, and anti-apoptotic signaling. This systematic review provides evidence for the potential use of CAMs in the management of peripheral nerve injury.
Topics: Animals; Biological Products; Complementary Therapies; Humans; Nerve Regeneration; Peripheral Nerve Injuries; Peripheral Nerves; Signal Transduction
PubMed: 34571842
DOI: 10.3390/cells10092194 -
Arab Journal of Urology 2021: To systematically review and discuss the current evidence from placebo-controlled clinical trials that investigated the use of alternative medicines and herbal... (Review)
Review
: To systematically review and discuss the current evidence from placebo-controlled clinical trials that investigated the use of alternative medicines and herbal remedies in the management of erectile dysfunction (ED). : A Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA)-based systematic review using specific keyword combinations was conducted on the PubMed and Scopus databases. Randomised controlled trials investigating herbal medicine in at least one group and using the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) as an outcome in patients primarily diagnosed with ED were included for review. : Following the literature search, screening and eligibility analysis, a total of 42 articles were included. The 42 articles were categorised as single herb extractions ( = 14), combination herbal formula ( = 5), combination of herbal formula and non-herbal nutraceuticals ( = 7), non-herbal nutraceuticals ( = 5), acupuncture and moxibustion ( = 2), diet and nutrition ( = 3), exercise ( = 5), and topical treatments ( = 1). Based on the results, Korean ginseng, Pygnogenol and Prelox, , L-arginine, acupuncture and lifestyle interventions were the more predominantly investigated treatments interventions for ED. : , Pygnogenol, Prelox and have promising evidence as herbal products, alongside L-arginine as a nutritional supplement, for ED based on IIEF outcomes, and warrant further clinical investigation. The mechanisms of action remain unclear, but each of these appears to in part increase nitric oxide synthesis. Importantly, improved diet and exercise should be considered, particularly in patients with obesity or diabetes mellitus.
PubMed: 34552783
DOI: 10.1080/2090598X.2021.1926753 -
Nutrients Aug 2021Adaptogens are synthetic compounds (bromantane, levamisole, aphobazole, bemethyl, etc.) or plant extracts that have the ability to enhance the body's stability against... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
Adaptogens are synthetic compounds (bromantane, levamisole, aphobazole, bemethyl, etc.) or plant extracts that have the ability to enhance the body's stability against physical loads without increasing oxygen consumption. Extracts from , , , , and are considered to be naturally occurring adaptogens and, in particular, plant adaptogens. The aim of this study is to evaluate the use of plant adaptogens in the past and now, as well as to outline the prospects of their future applications. The use of natural adaptogens by humans has a rich history-they are used in recovery from illness, physical weakness, memory impairment, and other conditions. About 50 years ago, plant adaptogens were first used in professional sports due to their high potential to increase the body's resistance to stress and to improve physical endurance. Although now many people take plant adaptogens, the clinical trials on human are limited. The data from the meta-analysis showed that plant adaptogens could provide a number of benefits in the treatment of chronic fatigue, cognitive impairment, and immune protection. In the future, there is great potential to register medicinal products that contain plant adaptogens for therapeutic purposes.
Topics: Adaptation, Physiological; Adolescent; Adult; Animals; Female; History, 20th Century; History, 21st Century; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Phytotherapy; Plant Extracts; Stress, Physiological; Young Adult
PubMed: 34445021
DOI: 10.3390/nu13082861