A study conducted by researchers from Mount
Sinai School of Medicine and Weifang School of Medicine in China has
shown that a combination of three Chinese herbs is effective in treating
asthma symptoms without the side effects that can occur with the use of
corticosteroid and prednisone therapy.
The three Chinese herbs used in the study
were Ku Shen (Sophora flavensis), Ling Zhi (Ganoderma lucidum) and Gan
Cao (Glycyrrhiza uralensis). The researchers called this combination,
Antiasthma Herbal Medicine Intervention or ASHMI.
The study was conducted over a period of four weeks. 91 patients with
moderate to severe asthma were separated into two groups: one group
(about 46 patients) ingested 12 ASHMI capsules daily. That equaled to be
about 20g of raw Ling Zhi, 9g of Ku Shen and 3g of Gan Cao. This same
group also received placebo tablets that looked like prednisone. The
other group ingested 20mg of prednisone daily and a placebo of ASHMI.
The following were measured by the researchers:
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Lung function – both groups had
improved lung function, but the effects of prednisone were slighter
greater. |
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Cytokine levels
|
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IgE levels
|
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Serum cortisol
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Side effects (before and after)
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The results of the study have shown that
both while both prednisone and ASHMI were effective in treating the
patient’s asthma, the ASHMI group did not present with the negative side
effects on adrenal function, nor did they have any gastric discomfort,
nor any weight gain. In fact, the ASHMI group showed beneficial effects
on TH1 and TH2 cytokine levels.
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