Ali Abdolahinia; Mohsen Naseri; Alireza Eslaminejad; Farzaneh Ghaffari; Aliakbar Velayati
Volume 20, Issue 12 , 2018, Pages 1-9
Abstract
Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) imposes a substantial, direct, and indirect economic burden and health complications on healthcare systems. It seems that Persian medicine could facilitate the process of new drug discoveries through reverse pharmacology for the treatment of chronic ...
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Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) imposes a substantial, direct, and indirect economic burden and health complications on healthcare systems. It seems that Persian medicine could facilitate the process of new drug discoveries through reverse pharmacology for the treatment of chronic respiratory diseases. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the preliminary efficacy of Nepeta bracteata Benth. (N. bracteata) in patients with mild to moderate COPD.Methods: In a four-week, triple-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, 78 patients with mild to moderate COPD were randomly allocated to receive either 10 ml syrup of N. bracteata or placebo three times a day, as an add-on to their routine treatment (long- acting beta2-agonist and inhaled corticosteroid). The Spirometry was performed on patients at baseline and end of the intervention to evaluate the effect of the treatment. Forced Expiratory Volume in the first second (FEV1) and FEV1/Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) ratio were considered the primary outcomes. COPD Assessment Test (CAT) was also used for the subjective evaluation of patients’ responses. Results: 64 patients completed the study. The results showed a significant improvement in the CAT score in the N. bracteata group (-9.05) compared to the placebo (-2.78) and control (-2.05) groups (P value = 0.001). The comparison of FEV1 and FEV1/FVC changes showed a significant difference in the N. bracteata group. However, when comparing the three groups, the difference was not statis- tically significant at the beginning and four weeks after the intervention. Conclusions: It seems that the appropriate response of COPD patients to this drug, especially regarding the quality of life, could make it a choice for complementary therapy in chronic respiratory diseases.
Mahmoud Babaeian; Mohsen Naseri; Mohammad Kamalinejad; Farzaneh Ghaffari; Fatemeh Emadi; Awat Feizi; Rahmatollah Rafiei; Mohammad Mazaheri; Seyed Abbas Hasheminejad; Jae-Woo Park; Peyman Adibi
Volume 19, Issue 2 , February 2017, , Pages 1-10
Abstract
Background: Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a common gastrointestinal disease that has various treatments, including medicinal plants.Objectives: The current study aimed to investigate the effect of Mentha longifolia on relieving the symptoms and improving the quality of life (QOL) in patients with functional ...
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Background: Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a common gastrointestinal disease that has various treatments, including medicinal plants.Objectives: The current study aimed to investigate the effect of Mentha longifolia on relieving the symptoms and improving the quality of life (QOL) in patients with functional dyspepsia from the subgroup of postprandial distress syndrome (PDS). Patients and Methods: This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted in a gastroenterology clinic affiliated with Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. One hundred patients diagnosed with PDS according to the ROME III criteria were assigned to two groups: the M. longifolia capsules (three times daily for four weeks) group and the placebo group. Tools for gathering data were the FD severity scale and QOL (Persian version of the SF-36 questionnaire). Assessments of FD symptoms were obtained at baseline and also at the end of weeks 2, 4, and 12. QOL was evaluated at baseline and at the end of week 12.Results: At the end of treatment period, the M. longifolia group reported a more significant improvement in the mean severity scales of FD symptoms than the placebo group (P < 0.001). A significant difference was also observed between FD symptoms and severity scores in the two groups eight weeks after the medication was stopped. At the end of the fourth week, the greatest degrees of relief regarding epigastric bloating (70.5% vs. 21.4%, P < 0.001), epigastric fullness (68.2% vs. 31%, P < 0.001), loss of appetite (34.1% vs. 9.5%, P = 0.014) and early satiety (36.3% vs. 21.4%, P = 0.02) were observed in the control group. With M. longifolia, significant improvement in the scores of QOL was observed for the dimensions of general health, role-physical, social functioning, bodily pain, vitality, and mental health.Conclusions: This study showed the efficacy of M. longifolia in relieving PDS symptoms and improving the QOL of patients with PDS.
