Item	Authors’ judgement	Support for judgement
Adequate sequence generation?	Yes	A random table was used to divide the sample into 3 groups (40 in each group).
Allocation concealment?	Unclear	No information provided in the report on allocation concealment.
Blinding?	No	Not reported, unlikely given the design of the trial consisting of a chinese herbal powder, western pharmaceutical tablet and a group taking no medication.
Incomplete outcome data addressed?	Yes	No missing data. 5 withdrawals: 2 from intervention I; reason given: could not continue with medication; 2 from intervention II reason given: could not continue with medication; 1 from the control; reason given: participant left the area.
Free of selective reporting?	Unclear	No protocol provided and all nominated outcomes reported.
Free of other bias?	Yes	None reported.