Clinical efficacy, mechanisms of action, and adverse effects of complementary and alternative medicine therapies for asthma.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) therapies such as herbal therapy, acupuncture, yoga, homeopathy, chiropractic medicine, and massage therapy, continue to gain popularity as modalities for the treatment of asthma. In the Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, and Western cultures, herbal therapies appear to be commonly used for allergies. Although well-controlled scientific studies have not been performed on many of the Asian herbal therapies and some basic studies have been performed on various herbal components (active ingredients), more needs to be done to assess the composite effects of many herbal remedies.

Complementary and alternative medicine herbal therapies for atopic disorders.

More than 42% of patients with atopic disorders use some type of complementary or alternative medicine, underscoring the importance of determining the scientific validity of such treatments. This review summarizes herbal therapies from China, Japan, Korea, and India, and provides an introduction to some Western preparations. Although well-controlled scientific studies of many of the Asian herbal therapies have been carried out, and some basic studies have been performed for various herbal components (active ingredients), additional research is needed to assess the composite effects of many of these remedies.