A study design to evaluate folkloric medicinal plants in a mouse model for allergic asthma

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory respiratory disease with increasing incidence worldwide. Acute attacks account for 10 percent of admissions to the a Port-of-Spain General Hospital's A&E Department in Trinidad. In Barbados the incidence in children is between 12 and 16 percent. The Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) guidelines recommend the use of inhaled corticosteroids and beta-blockers for disease management. We have found high levels of noncompliance (40 percent) at the major chest clinic in Trinidad due to unavailability of inhalers at the clinic's pharmacy and high cost at private pharmacies. A recent report in Trinidad showed a high prevalence of usage of medicinal herbs (86 percent) for chronic diseases in a surgical outpatient group. Such data support the imperative to determine the efficacy of these plants. Numerous medicinal plants have folkloric use in the treatment of asthma and wheezing. We have chosen a few local species including Eclipta alba (L.) Hassk, Cecropia peltata (L.), Eryngium foetidum (L.), Lippia alba (N.E. Brown) and Sambucus simpsonii (Rehder) to determine their pharmacological efficacy in reducing respiratory inflammation in a mouse model for allergic asthma

The need to monitor the usage of traditional herbal remedies

In the Caribbean, remedies made from Chenopodium ambrosioides are commonly used internally to treat many medical conditions such as: asthma, dysentry, fatigue and worms. The bioactive component found in the oil of this plant is ascaridole, which causes severe gastro-intestinal discomfort if used excessively. Other hazardous plants include Datura stramonium and Abrus precatorius. It is, therefore, imperative for awareness programs to be set up to educate the population about the use of herbal remedies. Assistance from the Chemistry, Food and Drugs Division of the Ministry of Health in Trinidad and Tobago is needed to formulate guidelines for the proper use of of herbal remedies by patients. A database of tropical poisonous herbs should be made available to hospitals and other health facilities around the country. It is imperative for physicians to ask about their use of herbal supplements and remedies as they are ideally situated to give good counseling and to even help in integrating herbal modalities into conventional care