The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
Volume 123, Issue 2 , Pages 283-294.e10, February 2009

Complementary and alternative medicine: Herbs, phytochemicals and vitamins and their immunologic effects

  • Timothy Mainardi, MD, MS
    • ,
  • Simi Kapoor, MD
    • ,
  • Leonard Bielory, MD

      Affiliations

    • Corresponding Author InformationReprint requests: Leonard Bielory, MD, Professor, Department of Medicine, Pediatrics, Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, Division of Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology, Asthma and Allergy Research Center, 90 Bergen Street, Suite 4700, Newark, NJ 07103-2499.

Received 11 November 2008; received in revised form 18 December 2008; accepted 19 December 2008.

Complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs) are used in more than 80% of the world's population and are becoming an increasing component of the US health care system, with more than 70% of the population using CAM at least once and annual spending reaching as much as $34 billion. Since the inception of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, there has been an enormous increase in the number of basic science and therapy-based clinical trials exploring CAM. The subspecialty of allergy and immunology represents a particularly fertile area with a large number of CAM therapies that have been shown to affect the immune system. Recent work has uncovered potential biochemical mechanisms involved in the immunomodulatory pathway of many supplemental vitamins (A, D, and E) that appear to affect the differentiation of CD4+ cell TH1 and TH2 subsets. Other research has shown that herbs such as resveratrol, quercetin, and magnolol may affect transcription factors such as nuclear factor-κB and the signal transducer and activator of transcription/Janus kinase pathways with resultant changes in cytokines and inflammatory mediators. Clinically, there have been hundreds of trials looking at the effect of CAM on asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis. This article reviews the history of CAM and its use among patients, paying special attention to new research focusing on herbals, phytochemicals, and vitamins and their potential interaction with the immune system.

Key words: Complementary and alternative medicine, immunology, herbal medicines, vitamin, NIH—National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, asthma, allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis

Abbreviations used: CAM, Complementary and alternative medicine, FDA, US Food and Drug Administration, NCCAM, National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, NF-κB, Nuclear factor-κB, STAT, Signal transducer and activator of transcription, TCM, Traditional Chinese medicine

 

 Series editors: Donald Y. M. Leung, MD, PhD, and Dennis K. Ledford, MD

PII: S0091-6749(08)02439-1

doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2008.12.023

The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
Volume 123, Issue 2 , Pages 283-294.e10, February 2009