TABLE 3.
Summary of the trials of complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) with significant positive outcomes
| CAM | Intervention group | Control group | Treatment duration | Sample size n | Positive outcome# | Intervention group | Control group | p-value | Overall risk of bias score¶ | First author [ref.] | Country |
| Curcumin | “Standard” asthma treatment + 500 mg curcumin twice daily | “Standard” asthma treatment | 4 weeks | 60 | Change in FEV1 | −0.72±0.69 | −0.83±0.63 | <0.05 | Low | Abidi [11] | India |
| New Zealand green-lipped mussel | Two 150 mg capsules of New Zealand green-lipped mussel twice daily | Two 150 mg placebo capsules twice daily | 8 weeks | 46 | Mean morning PEFR | 47.0±11.7 | −33.4±6.2 | <0.001 | Low | Emelyanov [12] | Russia |
| Solanum xanthocarpum | Solanum xanthocarpum 300 mg orally once daily | Salbutamol 4 mg once daily or deriphylline 220 mg | N/A (1 day) | 60 | % increase predicted FVC, % increase predicted FEV1, % increase PEFR | 22.4±2.3 25.3±2.7 20.8±2.4 |
32.2±3.7 41.9±6.9 37.5±6.0 |
<0.05 <0.05 <0.01 |
Unclear | Govindan [13] | India |
| Aqueous extract of propolis | 13% aqueous extract of propolis in water orally once daily + oral theophylline | Placebo sachet in water orally once daily + oral theophylline | 8 weeks | 45 | % increase FVC, % predicted FEV1, % increase PEFR | 18.7% 29.5% 29.8% |
Not available Not available Not available |
0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 |
Unclear | Khayyal [18] | Egypt |
| n-3 Polyunsaturated fatty acids | 10–20 g of perilla seed oil daily (n-3 fatty acids) | 10–20 g of corn oil daily (n-6 fatty acids) | 4 weeks | 14 | FVC, % predicted FEV1 | Exact data not available 96.7 (85.4–108.0) |
Exact data not available 90.9 (75.9–105.8) |
<0.05 <0.05 |
Unclear | Okamoto [28] | Japan |
| ASHMI | Four oral ASHMI capsules 3 times a day + prednisone placebo | Prednisone 20 mg once daily + ASHMI placebo | 4 weeks | 91 | Mean change in FEV1 and PEFR |
19.4±5.5 20.1±5.6 |
23.2±8.9 23.0±7.5 |
0.02 0.04 |
Unclear | Wen [30] | China |
ASHMI: anti-asthma herbal medicine intervention; FEV1: forced expiratory volume in 1 s; PEFR: peak expiratory flow rate; FVC: forced vital capacity. #: lung function only; ¶: the risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Assessment Tool [10]. An “unclear” judgement was made if insufficient detail was provided. The mean judgement from the seven domains was used to determine the “overall” score.