Preliminary investigation of a combined herbal extract of Aruncus dioicus, Cirsium nipponicum, and Ocimum basilicum for halitosis.

BACKGROUND: Halitosis, the unpleasant odor in the oral cavity, has garnered increased attention and concern due to the growing significance of social interaction. SGE-107, a blend of 3 botanical drugs-Korean goat's beard, Cirsium tanakae, and Basil-with caffeic acid as its indicator component. This study aims to investigate the efficacy of SGE-107 in treating halitosis in patients with mild gastrointestinal symptoms. METHODS: We enrolled 25 participants with oral malodor and dyspeptic symptoms. We assessed the severity of halitosis using the visual analog scale. Throughout a 4-week period of administering SGE-107, we evaluated both objective and subjective parameters, including the halitosis-associated life-quality test, the Korean gastrointestinal symptom rating scale, levels of volatile sulfur compounds, salivary flow rate, oral moisture, tongue index, Winkel tongue coating index, and tongue temperature. RESULTS: After the intervention period, both the visual analog scale (5.88 ±â€…1.03 vs 2.38 ±â€…0.93, P < .001) and the scores of the halitosis-associated life-quality test (31.21 ±â€…11.78 vs 13.83 ±â€…6.38, P < .001) showed significant reductions. The proportion of participants with abnormal levels of methyl mercaptan (a volatile sulfur compound) also significantly decreased (17, 70.8% vs 9, 37.5%, P = .039). Furthermore, there were significant improvements in reflux, constipation, diarrhea, and the total scores on the Korean gastrointestinal symptom rating scale. Throughout the study period, only 2 participants experienced mild adverse events. CONCLUSION: SGE-107 appears to be a safe and effective treatment for halitosis-associated with gastrointestinal symptoms; nevertheless, the limited sample size necessitates further large-scale randomized, controlled studies to confirm our findings.

Safety and efficacy of Xiaoyao-san for the treatment of functional dyspepsia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Objective: Although Xiaoyao-san (XYS) is a popular herbal remedy for indigestion, there is insufficient evidence to recommend it as a treatment option for functional dyspepsia (FD). This review aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of XYS in patients with FD, compared to conventional Western medicine (WM). Methods: Two independent reviewers searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) using 11 electronic databases, including Medline and Embase, to evaluate therapeutic effects of XYS on FD up to 31 January 2023. The primary outcome was the total clinical efficacy rate (TCE), and secondary outcomes included scores of dyspepsia-related symptoms (DSS) and incidence of adverse events (AEs). The risk of bias was evaluated using the Cochrane collaboration tool, and data synthesis and subgroup analyses were performed using the Review Manager program. Results: Six studies involving 707 participants were included in the meta-analysis. XYS significantly improved TCE compared to WM (RR = 1.15, 95% CI: 1.05, 1.26, p = 0.002) with high heterogeneity (I 2 = 59%, p = 0.06). Combination therapy also showed higher TCE than WM alone (RR = 1.22, 95% CI: 1.05, 1.41, p = 0.008), and the heterogeneity was low (I 2 = 0%, p = 0.86). The results showed a greater reduction in DSS in the XYS and combination therapy groups than in the WM alone group (SMD = -0.72, 95% CI: -0.90, -0.53, p < 0.00001) with low heterogeneity (I 2 = 44%, p = 0.15), especially for abdominal distension and upper abdominal pain. AEs occurred less frequently in the XYS and combination therapy groups than in the WM alone group (RR = 0.20, 95% CI: 0.07, 0.63, p = 0.006), and the heterogeneity was low (I 2 = 45%, p = 0.18). The certainty of the evidence for each outcome was rated from "very low" to "high." Conclusion: This review suggests that XYS is effective and safe for reducing complaints in patients with FD. However, high-quality RCTs should be conducted to establish more convincing therapeutic evidence of XYS for the treatment of FD. Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero, CRD42020178842.

Safety and effectiveness of traditional herbal medicine Siho-sogan-san in functional dyspepsia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Functional dyspepsia (FD), a chronic upper gastrointestinal syndrome, seriously affects the quality of life of patients and poses a significant economic burden. Since the pathological mechanisms of FD have not been fully elucidated, conventional therapies such as prokinetics, proton pump inhibitors, and antidepressants have some limitations. Siho-sogan-san (SHS) is commonly used as a therapeutic alternative in traditional medicine; however, scientific and clinical evidence supporting its application in FD remains insufficient. AIM OF THE STUDY: This review aimed to assess the safety and effectiveness of SHS and in combined with Western medicine (WM) for the treatment of FD. METHODS: Eleven databases, including EMBASE, Medline, and Cochrane Library, were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on FD published before December 31, 2022. After two independent reveiwers sceened and selected studies according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, clinical data was pooled and synthesized via Review Manager software. The outcome parameters included total clinical effectiveness rate (TCE), time for symptom improvement, levels of motilin and corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), and adverse events. Cochrane's risk of bias tool was used for quality assessment. RESULTS: A total of 12 studies that included 867 participants comparing WM with SHS or combination therapy (SHS plus WM) were identified. Through a meta-analysis of five studies including 363 patients, SHS compared with WM showed a positive result in safely increasing TCE [risk ratio = 1.36, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.22 to 1.51, P < 0.00001]. The time for symptom improvement, including abdominal pain, belching, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal distension, was significantly more shortened in the combination therapy than WM group. Furthermore, combination therapy resulted in greater secretion of motilin than WM alone [mean difference = 67.95, 95% CI 39.52 to 96.39, P < 0.00001]. No remarkable difference was observed in CRH levels between the combination therapy and WM groups. For a subgroup analysis, the administration of SHS based on the type of pattern identification (PI) showed larger effect size than in the group that do not consider PI. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that SHS and combination therapy can be considered effective and safe options for the treatment of FD. However, owing to the low quality of the included studies, more well-designed investigational studies and RCTs with longer treatment and follow-up period are needed.

Chuna manual therapy in patients with functional dyspepsia: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a functional gastrointestinal disease that occurs without any explanatory organic disease, involving discomforts in upper abdomen such as bloating or pain after eating food. Although there is a standard treatment for FD, the disease often recurs or develops into a chronic condition, resulting in poor quality of life for the patients and high socioeconomic burden. Chuna therapy is a manual treatment commonly used in traditional Korean medicine (TKM) for musculoskeletal diseases such as intervertebral disc disorders and spinal stenosis. Recent studies have shown that Chuna therapy can be applied for the treatment of FD and is helpful in symptom improvement; however, high-quality evidence is still lacking. Therefore, this systematic review protocol intends to analyze the efficacy and safety of Chuna manual therapy for FD. METHODS: We will search 11 electronic databases, including the Embase and MEDLINE, from their inception to June 2022. Two reviewers will independently screen the relevant studies and determine their compatibility with the search eligibility of this review. The primary outcome is the total clinical effective rate, and other variables such as dyspepsia-related symptom score, quality of life score, and adverse events will be analyzed. We will evaluate the quality of the evidence and interpret the overall findings using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation tool. To reduce the heterogeneity of the included studies, subgroup analysis according to the subdivisions of FD will be conducted and operational methods of Chuna therapy will be recorded in detail. RESULTS: This protocol describes the systematic review to establish scientific evidence of Chuna manual therapy in FD patients. CONCLUSION: We will categorize various types of Chuna therapy for providing guidelines that can be applied reproducibly in clinical practice.

Herbal medicine Siho-sogan-san for functional dyspepsia: A protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Functional dyspepsia (FD) is characterized by persistent and recurrent dyspeptic symptoms, such as postprandial fullness and epigastric pain. Although it is rarely severe or life-threatening, it can degrade the quality of life and cause social and economic issues. As symptoms often persist despite the treatment with conventional Western medicine, herbal medicine can be considered as an alternative for treating FD. Siho-sogan-san (SHS) is a traditional herbal formula prescribed for dyspepsia for hundreds of years. This protocol for a systematic review was designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of SHS for the treatment of FD through a meta-analysis. METHODS: Studies will be searched from the following electronic databases up to March 2020: Embase, MEDLINE (via PubMED), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Allied and Complementary Medicine Database, Korean Medical Database, KoreaMed, Korean Studies Information Service System, National Digital Science Library, Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System, China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database, and Citation Information by Nii. Randomized controlled trials of SHS and herb-added SHS for treating FD will be selected in this review. The control groups of no-treatment, placebo, and conventional Western medicine will be compared with SHS for its efficacy. The synergetic effect of SHS with Western medicine will also be analyzed in comparison with conventional Western medicine alone. Two independent reviewers will collect the data and assess the risk of bias in individual studies. The total clinical effectiveness rate will be synthesized and evaluated as primary outcome. RESULTS: This systematic review will present an adequate clinical evidence of SHS for the treatment of FD based on specific parameters, including dyspepsia-related symptoms, gastric emptying, and adverse events. CONCLUSION: This study will provide evidence for the safety and efficacy of SHS for the treatment of patients with FD. REVIEW REGISTRY UNIQUE IDENTIFYING NUMBER:: reviewregistry952.

Safety and efficacy of Soyo-san for the treatment of functional dyspepsia: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a common condition characterized by gastrointestinal symptoms, such as abdominal fullness and epigastric pain. With the limitations of conventional Western medical treatments, symptoms often recur and lead to poor quality of life. Soyo-san (SYS) is a traditional herbal medicine that has been frequently used to treat indigestion. This protocol was designed to investigate the safety and efficacy of SYS for treating FD through a systematic review and meta-analysis. METHODS: Trials will be searched from the following 11 electronic databases, up to March 2020: EMBASE, Medline (via PubMED), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Allied and Complementary Medicine Database (AMED), Korean Medical Database (KMbase), KoreaMed, Korean Studies Information Service System (KISS), National Digital Science Library (NDSL), Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System (OASIS), China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database (CNKI), and Citation Information by Nii (CiNii). Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of SYS or modified SYS for FD will be included in this systematic review. The effects of control interventions such as placebo, no-treatment, and conventional Western medicine will be compared with those of SYS. RCTs investigating the synergetic effect of SYS and Western medicine compared with conventional Western medicine alone will also be evaluated. Two investigators will independently extract the data and assess the risk of bias in the included studies. The total clinical effective rate will be measured as the main outcome. RESULTS: This systematic review will provide data on the use of SYS in the treatment of FD, based on indicators such as dyspepsia-related symptom score, recurrence rate, and adverse events. CONCLUSION: This study will determine the safety and efficacy of SYS for the treatment of FD. REVIEW REGISTRY UNIQUE IDENTIFYING NUMBER:: reviewregistry969.