Pharmaceutical-Grade Herbal Products: Are They Clinically Superior?

JG: I understand you have information on a new clinical trial on Xiao Chai Hu Tang.

DW: "Yes. It’s a study at New York’s Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center with 31 subjects with Hepatitis C who did not respond to or could not tolerate interferon therapy due to its severe side effects. This study is an FDA-approved clinical phase II trial. The subjects will be on Kampo formula H09/Sho-Saiko-To [Xiao Chai Hu Tang] for a full year. Previous studies have shown that Sho-Saiko-To demonstrates anti-fibrotic effects in hepatocytes in animals and has stopped cirrhosis from progressing to cancer in humans. You know, there are more than three million Hepatitis C sufferers in the US today. Statistically, 15% of them will go on to have liver cirrhosis, and 5% of the three million will have liver cancer, so stopping the progress of Hepatitis C is of paramount importance, especially if you’re one of the sufferers who can’t tolerate interferon therapy."

JG: I should say so. You have a lot of Japanese research referred to in your product manual. But most of the studies are in vitro or on animals. Why not on humans?

DW: "People ask me this a lot. The reason is that Chinese medicine has been used on humans for thousands of years. The urgency for Asian countries is not to perform studies to show efficacy but to understand the mechanisms behind the herbal medicines’ efficacy. In America we are doing well-designed studies with institutions to extend more research to humans in order to convince Westerners of the human efficacy of Chinese herbal medicine. By the way, we have created a very useful research tool in our website, www.Honso®USA.com. In the “Research” area, visitors can fine all published research specifically related to a Kampo formula from the PubMed database."

JG: Well, in our clinic we certainly have lots of anecdotal successes to report. I used H12/Chai Hu Jia Long Gu Mu Li Tang very successfully for a case of severe sudden-onset vertigo in a retired bus driver. And by the way, the numbering system on the products makes it easy for patients to remember and ask me about. She came into the office the first time and had to brace herself on the hallway walls to get to my back office. I did acupuncture on her and gave her H12 at the normal dosage. A week later she came into the waiting room dancing and singing, she was so much better. After four or five boxes of H12, her vertigo was gone. I’ve also used H12 successfully for severe migraines, severe anxiety and depression, insomnia and menopausal syndrome with anxiety. I’ve found it so useful for so many stress-related ills, as long as the pattern diagnosis is appropriate, that I call it “The American Formula.”

DW: "That’s wonderful. We have research studies on H12 relating to platelets, cholesterol plaque and atherosclerotic lesions as well as tachycardia and CNS overstimulation. Can you tell me about some other clinical successes you’ve had with Honso® products?"

DW: "There have been a great deal of research studies on our H07/Ba Wei Di Huang Wan product, showing such things as anti-aging effect in aged animals, slowing bone loss, preventing memory impairment and much more."

DW: "Actually, I do the same thing. Only I take two packets of H41 and one packet of H19 twice a day each, and my allergies don’t bother me anymore. And of course we have seen lots of research on H19 relating to asthma, allergic rhinitis, nasal inflammation and flu virus, along with centuries of use in treating these illnesses."

JG: Cool. Lately I have a patient with chronic fatigue, anxiety and dampness-related muscle pain. With her I’ve used H12/Chai Hu Jia Long Gu Mu Li Tang, H07/ Ba Wei Di Huang Wan and H79/Ping Wei San, and she loves this combination. The Ping Wei San has not only helped with her muscle pain but also with weight loss. Speaking of weight loss, my same office colleague uses your tablet product SlenderSoft, which is Fang Feng Tong Sheng San, all the time for weight loss and reports very good results. But her personal favorite formula is H24/Jia Wei Xiao Yao Wan. She says that when she takes that, life is good, no worries, no hurries, she just feels good.

DW: "The research studies on H24 show anxiety relief in animals, and there even has an interesting study showing efficacy in treating tremors in Parkinsonism."

JG: Wow, I didn’t know that. I’ve never tried it for tremors. Anyway, speaking of clinical cases in our office, I remember a time when my other office colleague had a case of acute appendicitis. Her doctor wanted to operate, but she first took H15/Huang Lian Jie Du Tang, then switched to H13/San Huang Xie Xin Tang both at the doubled dosage, and her appendicitis was cured without an operation. That’s a real success in my book.

DW: "Mine too. The specific inhibition of cyclooxygenase (COX-2) by H15/Huang Lian Jie Du Tang is probably the main mechanism behind this anti-inflammatory effect. We’ve seen research on H15 showing usefulness in treating gastric lesions, inflammatory bowel disease, and even possible clon cancer prevention."

JG: And once again, that’s all we have time for. See you another time.