Synergistic effects of Chinese herbal medicine: A comprehensive review of methodology and current research

Zhou, X; Seto, SW; Chang, D; Kiat, H; Razmovski-Naumovski, V; Chan, K; Bensoussan, A

Synergistic effects of Chinese herbal medicine: A comprehensive review of methodology and current research

Zhou, X Seto, SW Chang, D Kiat, H Razmovski-Naumovski, V Chan, K Bensoussan, A

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Frontiers in Pharmacology, 2016, 7 (JUL)
Issue Date:: 2016-07-12

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Zhou, X	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Seto, SW	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Chang, D	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Kiat, H	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Razmovski-Naumovski, V	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Chan, K	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Bensoussan, A	en_US
dc.date.issued	2016-07-12	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Frontiers in Pharmacology, 2016, 7 (JUL)	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/100717
dc.description.abstract	© 2016 Zhou, Seto, Chang, Kiat, Razmovski-Naumovski, Chan and Bensoussan. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an important part of primary health care in Asian countries that has utilized complex herbal formulations (consisting 2 or more medicinal herbs) for treating diseases over thousands of years. There seems to be a general assumption that the synergistic therapeutic effects of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) derive from the complex interactions between the multiple bioactive components within the herbs and/or herbal formulations. However, evidence to support these synergistic effects remains weak and controversial due to several reasons, including the very complex nature of CHM, misconceptions about synergy and methodological challenges to study design. In this review, we clarify the definition of synergy, identify common errors in synergy research and describe current methodological approaches to test for synergistic interaction. We discuss the strengths and weaknesses of these models in the context of CHM and summarize the current status of synergy research in CHM. Despite the availability of some scientific data to support the synergistic effects of multi-herbal and/or herb-drug combinations, the level of evidence remains low, and the clinical relevancy of most of these findings is undetermined. There remain significant challenges in the development of suitable methods for synergistic studies of complex herbal combinations.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Frontiers in Pharmacology	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.3389/fphar.2016.00201	en_US
dc.title	Synergistic effects of Chinese herbal medicine: A comprehensive review of methodology and current research	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	JUL	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	7	en_US
utslib.for	1115 Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health
utslib.copyright.status	open_access
pubs.issue	JUL	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	7	en_US

Abstract:

© 2016 Zhou, Seto, Chang, Kiat, Razmovski-Naumovski, Chan and Bensoussan. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an important part of primary health care in Asian countries that has utilized complex herbal formulations (consisting 2 or more medicinal herbs) for treating diseases over thousands of years. There seems to be a general assumption that the synergistic therapeutic effects of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) derive from the complex interactions between the multiple bioactive components within the herbs and/or herbal formulations. However, evidence to support these synergistic effects remains weak and controversial due to several reasons, including the very complex nature of CHM, misconceptions about synergy and methodological challenges to study design. In this review, we clarify the definition of synergy, identify common errors in synergy research and describe current methodological approaches to test for synergistic interaction. We discuss the strengths and weaknesses of these models in the context of CHM and summarize the current status of synergy research in CHM. Despite the availability of some scientific data to support the synergistic effects of multi-herbal and/or herb-drug combinations, the level of evidence remains low, and the clinical relevancy of most of these findings is undetermined. There remain significant challenges in the development of suitable methods for synergistic studies of complex herbal combinations.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/100717