Topical herbal preparation with anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects: Qualitative review of evidence

Background@#In the past musculoskeletal complaints were treated with topical preparations from medicinal plants until the advent of NSAIDs. However, because of the side effects of NSAIDs, interest has increased on going back to the use of topical traditional herbal medicines in patients with musculoskeletal pain.@*Objective@#This review was conducted to identify the active substance, its mechanism of action, pre-clinical and clinical studies and propose a topical herbal formulation balancing its analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect with skin care effect among patients with various somatic pain conditions.@*Methods@#This is a qualitative review of both local and international published medical literature to identify and summarize information on the use of topical herbal preparation for the treatment of musculo-skeletal pain.@*Results@#After the initial review, the authors identified six herbal preparations that have been investigated for its analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties in clinical trials. They eventually arrived at a consensus to consider the final combination of ginger, capsaicin, peppermint and virgin coconut oil. Gingerol, a naturally occurring plant phenol, is one of the major components of ginger known to have diverse pharmacologic effects including anti-oxidant, anti-apoptotic, and anti-inflammatory activities in vitro and in vivo. Capsaicin is a highly selective agonist for the transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 receptor expressed in nociceptive sensory nerves. The mechanisms underlying capsaicin-induced analgesia likely involve reversible ablation of nociceptor terminals. Local application of peppermint oil generates a long-lasting cooling effect on the skin and result to muscle relaxation. Ginger, capsicum and peppermint have been shown in clinical trials to relieve musculoskeletal pain and inflammation. Virgin coconut oil on the other hand has no analgesic effect but has been shown in some studies to be favorable for skin conditions and facilitate skin penetration of some substances. @*Conclusion@#Using combined preparation may have the advantage of complementation of its effect i.e. analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect of ginger, warm sensation of capsicum and the cold sensation of peppermint.

Herbal supplements for diabetes: A qualitative review of current evidence on local indigenous plants

Background@#Herbal supplementation has been used by diabetic patients, unfortunately it has regulatory, safety, and efficacy concerns.@*Objective@#This review was conducted to determine the best evidence in terms of the identified active substance, mechanism of action, pre-clinical and clinical studies of commonly used local herbal preparations.@*Methods@#This is a qualitative review of both local and international published medical literature to identify and summarize information on the use of herbal supplementation in diabetes. @*Results@#After the initial review, the authors identified thirteen herbal preparations that have been investigated for its anti-diabetic properties. Six have extensive studies including randomized controlled trials but cinnamon and fenugreek seed are not readily available locally. Their detailed review eventually focused on four locally available herbal preparations i.e. bitter melon, turmeric, aloe vera and banaba. They decrease glucose absorption and gluconeogenesis, improve glucose utilization and insulin production. Unlike conventional anti-diabetics, herbal preparations also have favorable effect on lipid metabolism and anti-oxidant effect. Bitter melon seems to be the best herbal preparation. But human studies of bitter melon showed it is inferior to conventional anti-diabetic drugs in terms of its anti-diabetic effect but better in terms of its effect on lipid metabolism and anti-oxidant properties. Turmeric, aloe vera and banaba have also been shown to have anti-diabetic effects. @*Conclusion@#In summary, herbal preparation may have multiple beneficial effect for patients with diabetes. Use of combined preparations can produce complementation of the effects and may be a promising approach to the use of herbal supplementation as treatment standard among patients with diabetes.