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

ABSTRACT

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