• Indigestion
• Stomach ulcers
• Gall stones
• Diarrhea
• Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and colitis
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Piles
• Food allergies

Chinese herbs and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

A team of researchers led by Alan Bensoussan of the University of Western Sydney Macarthur in Australia has confirmed that Chinese herbal medicine can ease the symptoms of patients with irritable bowel syndrome. It is estimated that about 10% to 20% of adults suffer from irritable bowel syndrome. The Australian research placed 116 patients with irritable bowel syndrome on one of three treatment regimens: i. individually tailored Chinese herbal therapy; ii. a standard Chinese herbal formulation; or iii. a placebo.

Patients were not informed as to which of the three formulations they were receiving. The authors report that after four months of treatment, standard or individualised herbal therapies were associated with "significant improvement in bowel symptom scores". 76% of patients on standard herbal therapy and 64% of those on individualised therapy reported symptom improvement, compared with just 33% of patients in the placebo group. The researchers found little difference in initial improvement rates between those patients receiving either individualised or standard Chinese herbal therapies. But Bensoussan and colleagues suggest that individual therapies may work better over the long-term. At 14 weeks after the end of treatment "patients in the individualised treatment group ... maintained more substantial improvement" than patients in the other two groups, they report.

(The Journal of the American Medical Association 1998;280:1585-1589. 2)

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Food allergies and Chinese herbal medicine

Twenty patients participated in this study. There were twelve men and eight women ranging in ages between 6-67 years old. They have all complained of food allergy gastritis after eating certain foods. The main symptoms were abdominal pain and distention, indigestion and diarrhea. A few had nausea and vomiting and some had complained of hives after eating the allergenic food. There were reports of asthma and joint pain. Some of the offending foods were shellfish, cow’s milk, walnuts, lamb and pork.
A daily formula was decocted and administered to each patient that consisted of Huang Qi, Bai Jiang Cao, Ma Chi Xian, Di Ku Dan, stir-fried Shan Zha, Bai Zhu, Fu Ling, Huang Qin, Hou Po, Huang Lian and Huo Xiang with some modifications for particular presenting symptoms.

According to the study, a cure was defined as a complete disappearance of symptoms, a negative skin patch test, a lowering of IgE levels to normal, and the ability to eat the offending foods without presenting symptoms for up to one year. Fourteen out of twenty were considered cured. Five patients improved and one patient did not improve. Improvement was defined as the disappearance of symptoms, lowering of IgE levels to normal, a positive skin patch test and some allergic symptoms after eating allergenic foods. Overall, there was a 95% effective rate.

Zhang Xin-Cheng, et al. Xin Zhong Yi (New Chinese Medicine). #9 pp.59-60. 2002

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