Posted by ed_uk on August 26, 2005, at 14:39:42 [reposted on August 29, 2005, at 18:45:39 | original URL]
Data support use of butterbur in treatment of allergic rhinitis (hay fever)
Further evidence to support use of butterbur extract to treat allergic rhinitis has emerged.
Researchers from Germany and Switzerland compared Butterbur Ze339 with 180mg fexofenadine (an antihistamine) in a randomised, double-blind, parallel group study involving 330 patients. They found that butterbur extract was as effective as fexofenadine at combating symptoms of intermittent allergic rhinitis (both treatments were superior to placebo, P<0.001) and that it did not cause drowsiness.
“Butterbur Ze339 has now been subject to a series of well controlled trials and should be considered as an alternative treatment for [intermittent allergic rhinitis],” Andreas Schapowal, of the Allergy Clinic in Landquart, Switzerland, and one of the researchers, said.
He explained that butterbur (Petasites hybridus) has been shown to inhibit the production of leukotrienes associated with spasmolytic activity and type-1 hypersensitivity and that it can help stimulate production of prostaglandins.
poster:ed_uk
thread:548385
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/health/20050411/msgs/548385.html