Table 2.
Changes in asthma-related outcomes and immunological parameters as compared to the control group for the herbs, herbal mixtures and extracts cluster.
| First Author (Year) | Jadad Score *** | Intervention and Dose | Asthma-Related Outcomes | Immunological Parameters | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lung Function | Asthma Control | QoL | |||||||||||
| FEV1 | FVC | PEF | ACT | (P)AQLQ | FeNO | Cells (Sputum, Blood) | Th1 | Th2, IgE | Treg | Pro-Inflammatory Markers | |||
| Barlianto (2017) * Barlianto (2018) * [34,35] |
2 |
Nigella sativa oil 15–30 mg/kg/day |
↑ 1 | ↑ | ↓ | ||||||||
| Hosseini (2018) ** Zilaee (2019) ** [36,37] |
5 | Saffron 100 mg/day |
↑ | ↑ | = | ↓ | |||||||
| Khayyal (2003) [38] | 2 | Aqueous extract of propolis 13% solution, equivalent to active constituents in 2 mL of aqueous extract of propolis per day |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |||||
| Koshak (2017) [39] | 5 |
Nigella sativa oil 1 g/day |
= | = | ↑ | ↓ | = | ||||||
| Salem (2017) [40] | 3 |
Nigella sativa (low dose) 1 g/day |
= | = | ↑ | ↑ | = | ↑ | = | = | = | ||
|
Nigella sativa (high dose) 2 g/day |
= | = | ↑ | ↑ | = | ↑ | = | = | = | ||||
| Yugandhar (2017) [41] | 4 | Extract of B. serrata gum resin and A. marmelos fruit 200 mg/day |
= | ↑ | ↑ | ↑ | ↓ | ||||||
Abbreviations: FEV1 = forced expiratory flow in one second; FVC = forced vital capacity; PEF = peak expiratory flow; ACT = asthma control test; (P)AQLQ = (pediatric) asthma quality of life questionnaire; FeNO = fractional exhaled nitric oxide; Th = T helper cell; IgE = immunoglobulin E; Treg = regulatory T cell; QoL = quality of life; ↑ = significant increase as compared to the control group; ↓ = significant decrease as compared to the control group; = = no change as compared to the control group; N/A = between-group changes not reported; * = based on the same study; ** = based on the same study; *** = Jadad score was calculated to assess the methodological quality of the RCTs. The calculation of the Jadad score can be found in Supplemental Table S1; 1 = both articles presented ACT data; only between-group changes are shown here since comparing changes results in less bias than comparing scores at the final time point. Quantitative data showing the within-group changes is presented in Supplemental Tables S3–S7.