Although complementary wellness is often seen as second best to big bad Western medicine, a traditional Chinese herbal treatment has been found to be just as bad-ass as prescription medication for reducing fever from swine flu. This is according to a new study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, which has found that that herbal recipe — known as maxingshigan-yinqiaosan (M-Y) – reduced fever from H1N1 influenza just as well as the prescription medication Tamiflu.
Study co-authors Dr. Chen Wang and Dr. Bin Cao, of Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, in China, explained, ‘For thousands of years, Chinese herbs have been used to treat influenza. The pandemic influenza 2009 gave us the opportunity to evaluate a standard Chinese herb formula’ designed to target the flu. As specialists in infectious diseases and clinical microbiology, the study authors commented that M-Y is easily accessible throughout China and much less expensive than Tamiflu (oseltamivir), but as it contains the stimulant ephedra the herbal medicine is far more difficult to find elsewhere. This is because Western medical authorities have reservations about the compound, as using ephedra as a weight loss supplement may possibly put your wellbeing at risk to complications, such as heart attack, stroke and even death.
According to the Wang and Cao, when swine flu hit in 2009, the H1N1 pandemic sparked cases of influenza around the globe, resulting in nearly 18,000 deaths. Where available, Tamiflu was the treatment of choice in most instances – as recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO). However, in less developed parts of the world (including rural China) where such prescription drugs are often out of reach, the likely default treatments are traditional herbal medicines. This certainly includes the M-Y flu preparation, as it is composed of no less than 12 herbs: ephedrae, zhimu, qinghao, shigao, yinhua, huangqin, chaoxingren, lianqiao, bohe, zhebeimu, niubangzi and gancao.
For the study, the researchers looked at 410 previously healthy patients with an average age of 19, who were diagnosed with a “very mild” form of the illness. During the height of the pandemic – between July and November 2009 – the patients were treated in 11 different medical facilities across four Chinese provinces. This was to prevent spreading the flu, rather than because their symptoms were severe. Every patient was assigned to one of four five-day treatment groups within 72 hours of the onset of symptoms. The first group was given 75 milligrams of Tamiflu twice a day in capsule form, while the second group received 200 milliliters of M-Y four times a day in liquid form. The third group had the same dosages of each medicine, taken together, and the fourth group received no treatment.
The results of the study showed that both M-Y and Tamiflu were effective at eliminating fever, regardless of whether they were administered on their own or in combination. The authors noted that although the fever disappeared fastest in the group given both treatments, those in the first two groups were still cleared of fever far sooner than those who had received no treatment. In all cases, the side effects were minimal so neither drug posed a severe wellness risk despite Western fears over ephedra’s use as a weight-control agent.
Duffy MacKay, vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs at the Council for Responsible Nutrition, which represents the dietary supplement industry, commented that Western fears overlook ‘its more traditional and much safer’ role as a medicine against lung inflammation. He added, ‘these two treatments actually work very differently. Tamiflu works to stop viral replication. But the herbal formula is working on symptoms to help people become more comfortable. And those are two very different goals. So our advice is that because H1N1 can be very serious, it’s very important to see your doctor. And once you’re under the care of your licensed physician there’s certainly a lot of things in the world of botanicals that might help.’