Traditional Chinese herbal remedies for asthma and food allergy

The increasing prevalence of allergic diseases in Westernized countries is a significant health problem. Curative therapies for these diseases are not available. There are also significant concerns regarding the potential side effects from the chronic use of conventional drugs such as corticosteroids, especially in children. Many patients with chronic allergic conditions seek complementary and alternative medicine therapies including traditional Chinese medicines. This trend has begun to attract interest from mainstream health care providers and scientific investigators and has stimulated government agencies in the United States to provide support and guidance for the scientific investigation of complementary and alternative medicine. This effort may lead to improved therapies and better health care/patient outcomes. This review presents an update on the most promising Chinese herbal remedies for asthma and food allergy.

Key words: Asthma, TCM, food allergy-induced anaphylaxis, herbal remedies, CAM, clinical trials, animal study

Abbreviations used: AHR, Airway hyperresponsiveness, ASHMI, Antiasthma herbal medicine intervention, CAM, Complementary and alternative medicine, DCT, Ding Chuan Tang, classic formula, FAHF-1, Food allergy herbal formula, FAHF-2, Food allergy herbal formula, refined, LWDHW, Lui-Wei-Di-Huang Wan, classic formula, mMMDT, Modified Mai Men Dong Tang, modified classic formula, PNA, Peanut allergy, TCM, Traditional Chinese medicine, WMW, Wu Mei Wan, traditional herbal formula