Chinese herbal medicines for type 2 diabetes mellitus

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http://www.cochrane.org/cochrane/revabstr/ab003642.htm

 

From The Cochrane Library, Issue 3, 2004. Chichester,

UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chinese herbal medicines for type 2 diabetes mellitus

(Cochrane Review)

 

Liu JP, Zhang M, Wang WY, Grimsgaard S

 

ABSTRACT

 

 

A substantive amendment to this systematic review

was last made on 26 May 2002. Cochrane reviews are

regularly checked and updated if necessary.

 

Background: Traditional Chinese herbal medicines

have been used for a long time to treat diabetes, and

many controlled trials have been done to investigate

their efficacy.

 

Objectives: To assess the effects of Chinese

herbal medicines in patients with type 2 diabetes

mellitus.

 

Search strategy: We searched the following

electronic databases: The Cochrane Library (CENTRAL),

the Chinese BioMedical Database, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and

LILACS, combined with hand searches on Chinese

journals and conference proceedings. Date of last

search was April 2004. No language restriction was

used.

 

Selection criteria: Randomised trials of herbal

medicines (with at least two months treatment

duration) compared with placebo, pharmacological or

non-pharmacological interventions were included.

 

Data collection and analysis: Data were extracted

independently by two reviewers. The methodological

quality of trials was evaluated using the parameters

of randomisation, allocation concealment, double

blinding, and drop-out rates. Meta-analyses were

performed where data were available.

 

Main results: Sixty-six randomised trials,

involving 8302 participants, met the inclusion

criteria. Methodological quality was generally low.

Sixty-nine different herbal medicines were tested in

the included trials, which compared herbal medicines

with placebo, hypoglycaemic drugs, or herbal medicines

plus hypoglycaemic drugs. Compared with placebo, Holy

basil leaves, Xianzhen Pian, Qidan Tongmai,

traditional Chinese formulae (TCT), Huoxue Jiangtang

Pingzhi, and Inolter showed significantly

hypoglycaemic response. Compared with hypoglycaemic

drugs including glibenclamide, tolbutamide, or

gliclazide, seven herbal medicines demonstrated a

significant better metabolic control, including Bushen

Jiangtang Tang, Composite Trichosanthis, Jiangtang

Kang, Ketang Ling, Shenqi Jiangtang Yin, Xiaoke Tang,

and Yishen Huoxue Tiaogan. In 29 trials that evaluated

herbal medicines combined with hypoglycaemic drugs, 15

different herbal preparations showed additional better

effects than hypoglycaemic drugs monotherapy. Two

herbal therapies combined with diet and behaviour

change showed better hypoglycaemic effects than diet

and behaviour change alone. No serious adverse effects

from the herbal medicines were reported.

 

Reviewers' conclusions: Some herbal medicines show

hypoglycaemic effects in type 2 diabetes. However,

these findings should be carefully interpreted due to

the low methodological quality, small sample size, and

limited number of trials. In the light of some

positive findings, some herbal medicines deserve

further examination in high-quality trials.

 

Citation: Liu JP, Zhang M, Wang WY, Grimsgaard S.

Chinese herbal medicines for type 2 diabetes mellitus

(Cochrane Review). In: The Cochrane Library, Issue 3,

2004. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

 

 

This is an abstract of a regularly updated,

systematic review prepared and maintained by the

Cochrane Collaboration. The full text of the review is

available in The Cochrane Library (ISSN 1464-780X).