Table 1.

Summary of trials using herbal therapy for patients with ulcerative colitis

Ref.	Herbal medicine	Patient number	Trial design	Treatment method	Duration of treatment	Remission on herb	Remission on placebo
Langmead et al[22]	Aloe vera gel	44	Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study	Oral	4 wk	30%	7%
Vernia et al[34]	Butyrate	25	Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study	Oral	6 wk	58.3%	38.4%
Huber et al[39]	Tormentil extracts	16	Individually controlled cohort study	Oral	3 wk	-	-
Ben-Arye et al[42]	Wheat grass juice	23	Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study	Oral	4 wk	Not stated, but wheat grass improved symptoms and bleeding more than placebo	Not stated
Singla et al[45]	Curcumin	45	Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study	Enema	8 wk	43.4%	22.7%
Hanai et al[46]		89	Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study	Oral	6 mo	95.3%	79.5%