herbs – Page 3 – American ME and CFS Society

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor combined with dengzhanshengmai capsule improves the fatigue symptoms: a 12-week open-label pilot study

Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: This study was to assess the efficacy and safety of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) plus Dengzhanshengmai capsule in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).

METHODS: SSRI at a moderate dose plus Dengzhanshengmai (n = 134) with SSRI alone (n = 134) were compared for the efficacy and safety in the treatment of CFS. The therapeutic efficacy and safety were evaluated.

RESULTS: As compared to monotherapy group, the efficacy in combined therapy group was better and characterized by the improvement of general fatigue (0.8±0.6 vs. 1.3±0.7), physical fatigue (0.6±0.3 vs. 1.0±0.4) and reduced activity (1.0±0.5 vs. 1.3±0.6) since the 2nd week (P<0.01) and in reduced motivation (2.1±0.8 vs. 2.4±1.0) since the 8th week (P<0.01) and the improvement continued thereafter. The mental fatigue score and HAD score were comparable between two groups (P>0.05). No significant difference was found in the drop-out rate between SSRI group (15.7%) and SSRI plus Dengzhanshengmai group (18.0%). The reasons for drop out were adverse events (7.5% vs. 9.7%), requests of the patients or career requirement (3.7% vs. 4.5%), loss to follow-up and others (2.2% vs. 3.0%) and lack of efficacy (2.2% vs. 0.7%). Although the patients in combined therapy group experienced a higher rate of hypertension than (5.8% vs. 1.5%), no significant difference was observed (P = 0.08).

CONCLUSION: SSRI combined with Dengzhanshengmai capsule may significantly improve the general fatigue, physical fatigue, reduced activity and reduced motivation of CFS patients as compared to monotherapy with SSRI. Furthermore, this combined therapy is safe and tolerable.

Source: Li DQ, Li ZC, Dai ZY. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor combined with dengzhanshengmai capsule improves the fatigue symptoms: a 12-week open-label pilot study. Int J Clin Exp Med. 2015 Jul 15;8(7):11811-7. eCollection 2015. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4565405/ (Full article)

Yang/Qi invigoration: an herbal therapy for chronic fatigue syndrome with yang deficiency?

Abstract:

According to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theory, Yang and Qi are driving forces of biological activities in the human body. Based on the crucial role of the mitochondrion in energy metabolism, we propose an extended view of Yang and Qi in the context of mitochondrion-driven cellular and body function.

It is of interest that the clinical manifestations of Yang/Qi deficiencies in TCM resemble those of chronic fatigue syndrome in Western medicine, which is pathologically associated with mitochondrial dysfunction. By virtue of their ability to enhance mitochondrial function and its regulation, Yang- and Qi-invigorating tonic herbs, such as Cistanches Herba and Schisandrae Fructus, may therefore prove to be beneficial in the treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome with Yang deficiency.

Source: Leong PK, Wong HS, Chen J, Ko KM. Yang/Qi invigoration: an herbal therapy for chronic fatigue syndrome with yang deficiency? Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2015;2015:945901. doi: 10.1155/2015/945901. Epub 2015 Feb 11. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4339790/ (Full article)

The effective mechanism of the polysaccharides from Panax ginseng on chronic fatigue syndrome

Abstract:

Ginseng acidic polysaccharide WGPA isolated from the root of Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer was fractionated into WGPA-A and WGPA-N by anion-exchange chromatography. The antifatigue activity of ginseng acidic polysaccharide WGPA has been reported in our previous research. This present study was designed to identify its active component and elucidate the mechanism for preventing chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).

WGPA, WGPA-A and WGPA-N were orally administered to mice once daily for 15 days. The effects of these compounds on physiological biomarkers of oxidative stress and on the morphology of the mitochondria in striated skeletal muscle were assessed. The results of forced swimming test-induced indicated that WGPA and WGPA-A could lengthen the swimming time, while WGPA-N could not. In addition, malondialdehyde and lactate dehydrogenase levels in serum were enhanced; while those of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase were lowered. Interestingly, the structural degeneration of mitochondria were all ameliorated.

These findings suggested that WGPA-A is the active component of WGPA, it might have potential therapeutic effects for CFS and the oxidative stress might be involved in the pathogenesis. Our results also provided essential data for a better understanding of the antifatigue effects of P. ginseng extracts.

Source: Wang J, Sun C, Zheng Y, Pan H, Zhou Y, Fan Y. The effective mechanism of the polysaccharides from Panax ginseng on chronic fatigue syndrome. Arch Pharm Res. 2014 Apr;37(4):530-8. doi: 10.1007/s12272-013-0235-y. Epub 2013 Aug 21. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23963977

Effects of a Chinese traditional formula Kai Xin San (KXS) on chronic fatigue syndrome mice induced by forced wheel running

Abstract:

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: In traditional medicine, Kai Xin San (KXS), composed of ginseng (Panax ginseng), hoelen (Wolfiporia cocos), polygala (Polygala tenuifolia) and Acorus gramineus, is famous for the treatment of emotion-thought disease, such as settling fright, quieting the spirit and nourishing the heart.

AIM OF THE STUDY: The present study investigated the effect of KXS on chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) mice induced by forced wheel running.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seventy two healthy adult male Kunming mice were randomly divided into six groups: home cage control group, CFS group, CFS group with Modafinil treatment at 13 mg/kg/d doge, KXS treatment at 175 mg/kg/d, 350 mg/kg/d and 700 mg/kg/d doge. CFS mice were induced by forced wheel running with higher speed for 4 weeks and then taken an exhausted exercise. The biochemical parameters including serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), serum urea nitrogen (SUN), serum testosterone (T), liver glycogen (LG), muscle glycogen (MG) and muscle lactic acid (MLA) were determined by using commercially available kits. The splenocytes proliferation from mice was examined by MTT method. The levels of interleukin-2 (IL-2) and interleukin-4 (IL-4) secreted by splenocytes were determined by ELISA.

RESULTS: CFS mice with KXS administration exhibited less electric shock time when compared with CFS group without drug treatment. The effect of KXS has after demonstrated reduction in SUN, LDH and MLA levels and an increase in T, LG and MG levels. CFS mice with KXS could improve the proliferation of splenocytes compared with CFS group without drug treatment. The cultured splenocytes from CFS mice without KXS supplementation produced more interleukin-2 (IL-2) but less interleukin-4 (IL-4) when compared with home cage control mice. The cultured splenocytes of CFS mice with KXS supplementation produced more interleukin-2 (IL-2) but less interleukin-4 (IL-4) when compared with CFS group without drug treatment.

CONCLUSIONS: The results of this preliminary study provide evidence that KXS could ameliorate CFS by affecting the physiological markers for fatigue. This study also supported the use of KXS against CFS by improving the proliferation of splenocytes from CFS mice and modulating the disturbance of cytokines induced by CFS.

Source: Cao Y, Hu Y, Liu P, Zhao HX, Zhou XJ, Wei YM. Effects of a Chinese traditional formula Kai Xin San (KXS) on chronic fatigue syndrome mice induced by forced wheel running. J Ethnopharmacol. 2012 Jan 6;139(1):19-25. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2011.08.030. Epub 2011 Aug 22. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21884774

A Chinese herbal decoction, Danggui Buxue Tang, improves chronic fatigue syndrome induced by food restriction and forced swimming in rats

Abstract:

Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT), a Chinese medicinal decoction that contains Radix Angelicae sinensis (Danggui) and Radix Astragali (Huangqi) at a ratio of 1:5, is used commonly for treating women’s ailments. The present study explored the effects of this preparation on chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).

Rats were subjected to a combination of food restriction and forced swimming to induce CFS, and rats were gavaged once daily with either 12 or 24 g/kg DBT for 28 days. Body weights, T-cell subset counts, (3) H-TdR incorporation measurements and mRNA levels of IL-1β, TNF-α, NF-кB, p38MAPK and JNK were determined on days 14 and 28. The swimming endurance capacity was measured on day 28.

Rats that received DBT exhibited increased body weight and endurance capacity, corrected T cell subsets counts, increased (3) H-TdR incorporation and decreased mRNA levels of IL-1β, TNF-α, NF-кB, p38MAPK and JNK compared with rats that did not receive DBT. The results indicate that DBT can ameliorate CFS through immune modulation and may act to normalize cytokines and their related signaling pathways.

Source: Liu Y, Zhang HG, Li XH. A Chinese herbal decoction, Danggui Buxue Tang, improves chronic fatigue syndrome induced by food restriction and forced swimming in rats. Phytother Res. 2011 Dec;25(12):1825-32. doi: 10.1002/ptr.3499. Epub 2011 Apr 15. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21495102

Polysaccharide of radix pseudostellariae improves chronic fatigue syndrome induced by poly I:C in mice

Abstract:

Radix Pseudostellariae is used as a tonic drug in traditional Chinese medicine with immunomodulating and anti-fatigue activities, and the polysaccharide is considered as the main active component. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of the polysaccharide isolated from Radix Pseudostellariae (PRP) on mouse chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) induced by intraperitoneal injection of polyriboinosinic:polyribocytidylic acid (poly I:C), a double-stranded synthetic RNA.

It has shown that the fatigue symptom of mice lasted at least 1 week as evaluated by forced swimming time. PRP (100, 200, 400 mg kg(-1)), orally administered 3 days before poly I:C injection, showed dose-dependent anti-fatigue effects.

In addition, poly I:C led to evident alterations in neuroendocrine and immune systems of mice, such as reduced spontaneous activity and learning ability, declined serum level of corticosterone, increased weight indexes and T lymphocyte numbers in thymuses and spleens, and increased CD4(+)/CD8(+) ratio but decreased proliferation ability of T lymphocytes in spleens. PRP alleviated the abnormalities caused by poly I:C, and restored the function of hosts to normal conditions.

The findings suggest that PRP is beneficial to CFS, and the underlying mechanisms of action involve neuroendocrine and immune systems.

Source: Sheng R, Xu X, Tang Q, Bian D, Li Y, Qian C, He X, Gao X, Pan R, Wang C, Luo Y, Xia Y, Dai Y. Polysaccharide of radix pseudostellariae improves chronic fatigue syndrome induced by poly I:C in mice. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2011;2011:840516. doi: 10.1093/ecam/nep208. Epub 2011 Jun 23. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3137695/ (Full article)

Traditional Chinese medicinal herbs for the treatment of idiopathic chronic fatigue and chronic fatigue syndrome

Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Chronic fatigue is increasingly common. Conventional medical care is limited in treating chronic fatigue, leading some patients to use traditional Chinese medicine therapies, including herbal medicine.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine herbal products in treating idiopathic chronic fatigue and chronic fatigue syndrome.

SEARCH STRATEGY: The following databases were searched for terms related to traditional Chinese medicine, chronic fatigue, and clinical trials: CCDAN Controlled Trials Register (July 2009), MEDLINE (1966-2008), EMBASE (1980-2008), AMED (1985-2008), CINAHL (1982-2008), PSYCHINFO (1985-2008), CENTRAL (Issue 2 2008), the Chalmers Research Group PedCAM Database (2004), VIP Information (1989-2008), CNKI (1976-2008), OCLC Proceedings First (1992-2008), Conference Papers Index (1982-2008), and Dissertation Abstracts (1980-2008). Reference lists of included studies and review articles were examined and experts in the field were contacted for knowledge of additional studies.

SELECTION CRITERIA: Selection criteria included published or unpublished randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of participants diagnosed with idiopathic chronic fatigue or chronic fatigue syndrome comparing traditional Chinese medicinal herbs with placebo, conventional standard of care (SOC), or no treatment/wait lists. The outcome of interest was fatigue.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: 13 databases were searched for RCTs investigating TCM herbal products for the treatment of chronic fatigue. Over 2400 references were located. Studies were screened and assessed for inclusion criteria by two authors.

MAIN RESULTS: No studies that met all inclusion criteria were identified.

AUTHORS’ CONCLUSIONS: Although studies examining the use of TCM herbal products for chronic fatigue were located, methodologic limitations resulted in the exclusion of all studies. Of note, many of the studies labelled as RCTs and conducted in China did not utilize rigorous randomization procedures. Improvements in methodology in future studies is required for meaningful synthesis of data.

Source:Adams D, Wu T, Yang X, Tai S, Vohra S. Traditional Chinese medicinal herbs for the treatment of idiopathic chronic fatigue and chronic fatigue syndrome. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2009 Oct 7;(4):CD006348. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD006348.pub2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19821361

Effect of lixu jieyu recipe in treating 75 patients with chronic fatigue syndrome

Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effective Chinese medicine treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).

METHODS: Seventy-five CFS patients meeting the inclusive criteria were enrolled from March 2007 to April 2008 and randomized into two groups. The 40 patients in the treated group were orally treated with Lixu Jieyu Recipe (LJR, consisted of milkvetch root 30 g, kudzuvine root 30 g, asiabell root 15 g, red sage root 10 g, aizoon stonecrop 15 g, epimeddium herb 10 g, curcuma root 10 g, and grassleaved sweetflag rhizome 10 g, made into 200 mL of decoction), for 100 mL twice a day. The 35 patients in the control group were treated with vitamin B tablets (10 mg twice a day), adenosine triphosphate (ATP, 20 mg, thrice a day) and Oryzanol tablets (20 mg thrice a day). The laboratory indicators including serum immunoglobulins (IgG, IgA, IgM, IgE), blood immune cells, as T-cells (Th and Ts), B-cells, natural killer cells, as well as CD4/CD8 ratio were measured before and after 3-month treatment.

RESULTS: After treatment the difference in scores of fatigue symptoms between the two groups was significant (P < 0.01), the scores of various SCL-90 factors and the total score significantly reduced in the treated group after treatment (P < 0.01). Levels of the immunoglobulins measured before treatment were in an equilibrium state, they all were unchanged after treatment in both groups (P > 0.05), and showed no significant difference between groups either before or after treatment. As for the immune cells, significant increase of the lowered Th, Ts cells, and decrease of CD4/CD8 ratio were found in both groups after treatment (P < 0.05), but the improvement was more significant in the treated group, so the difference between groups in these indices after treatment also showed statistical significance (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION: LJR shows superiority in treating CFS.

Source: Zhang ZX, Wu LL, Chen M. Effect of lixu jieyu recipe in treating 75 patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. Zhongguo Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Za Zhi. 2009 Jun;29(6):501-5. [Article in Chinese] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19702080

The role of antioxidant properties of Nardostachys jatamansi in alleviation of the symptoms of the chronic fatigue syndrome

Abstract:

An experimental model of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is utilized for evaluation of antidepressant, anti-stress effects, wherein the rat is forced to swim in water for 15 min/day on 21 consecutive days. Rats were divided into stressed control, stressed plus standard drug (Panax ginseng) and stressed plus 200 and 500 mg/kg of test drug, i.e., Nardostachys jatamansi extract (NJE) given orally.

The immobility during each 5 min periods of 0-5, 5-10 and 10-15 min of stress were noted. Similarly the climbing (struggling) behaviour was noted in the above four groups of rats in intervals of 5 min. The locomotor activity and also the anxiety state in animals were evaluated in an elevated plus maze after CFS in all the four groups. There was a significant increase in despair behaviour and anxiety in stressed control animals on successive days of CFS. Locomotor activity gradually decreased in stressed control group. Treatment with NJE (200 and 500 mg/kg) significantly reversed both paradigms.

Biochemical analysis showed that CFS significantly increased lipid peroxidation, nitrite and superoxide dismutase levels and decreased catalase level in rat brain. Administration of NJE (200 and 500 mg/kg) tended to normalize both augmented lipid peroxidation, nitrite, superoxide dismutase activities and catalase level significantly. NJE per se has an antioxidant effect. The results indicate that CFS may lead to oxidative stress, which is mitigated by NJE and so its antioxidant property may be responsible for anti-stress effect of NJE.

Source: Lyle N, Gomes A, Sur T, Munshi S, Paul S, Chatterjee S, Bhattacharyya D. The role of antioxidant properties of Nardostachys jatamansi in alleviation of the symptoms of the chronic fatigue syndrome. Behav Brain Res. 2009 Sep 14;202(2):285-90. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2009.04.005. Epub 2009 Apr 16. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19375459

Astragalus membranaceus flavonoids (AMF) ameliorate chronic fatigue syndrome induced by food intake restriction plus forced swimming

Abstract:

AIM OF THE STUDY: Alteration of immune function may be associated with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and this study reveals the immunoregulatory effect of Astragalus membranaceus flavonoids (AMF).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: CF rats were induced by food intake restriction plus forced swimming for 6 weeks.

RESULTS: An atrophied spleen associated with a significantly decreased spleen/body weight ratio and a reduced spleen cells proliferation was found in CF rats when compared with home cage controls. AMF given orally at 20, 50 and 100 mg/kg body weight once a day consecutively for 6 weeks could recover the reduced cell proliferation. A switch to Th1-dominated immune regulation was observed in CF rats as the cultured splenocytes produced more interleukin-2 (IL-2) but less IL-4 when compared with controls. Supplementation with AMF could significantly counteract the aberrant cytokine production and rats received AMF exhibited higher endurance capacity to swim when compared with those without AMF administration. Checking the spectrum signals confirmed that the three major isoflavones contained in AMF were ononin, formononetin, and demethylhomopterocarpin.

CONCLUSION: Alterations of immune function may be associated with CFS and the tonic effects of AMF against CF may be attributable to balance the abnormal cytokine level by isoflavones.

Source: Kuo YH, Tsai WJ, Loke SH, Wu TS, Chiou WF. Astragalus membranaceus flavonoids (AMF) ameliorate chronic fatigue syndrome induced by food intake restriction plus forced swimming. J Ethnopharmacol. 2009 Feb 25;122(1):28-34. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2008.11.025. Epub 2008 Dec 6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19103273