Patients with osteoarthritis who routinely turn to
devil’s claw, Indian frankincense, ginger, and other herbal medicines
for symptom relief may want to think twice about this practice.
According to a review of these products that appears in the January 2012 issue of Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin, a publication of the London-based BMJ Group, there is little conclusive evidence to justify their widespread use by patients with the disease (DTB 2012: 50:8-12). A press release
about the review points out that few robust studies on the use of
herbal medicines for osteoarthritis have been carried out. "And those
that have frequently contain design flaws and limitations, such as
variations in the chemical make-up of the same herb, all of which
comprise the validity of the findings."
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Courtesy Flickr/anolobb/Creative Commons License
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Herbal
medicines commonly used to treat osteoarthritis includes vegetable
extracts of avocado or soybean oils (ASUs), cat’s claw, devil’s claw,
Indian frankincense, ginger, rosehip, turmeric and willow bark.
According to the review, the best available clinical evidence suggests
that ASUs, Indian frankincense, and rosehip may work, "but more robust
data are needed."
Some herbal medicines may cause adverse reactions in
patients taking other medicines and prescription drugs. For example,
chronic use of nettle can interfere with drugs used to treat diabetes,
lower blood pressure, and depress the central nervous system while
willow bark can cause digestive symptoms and renal problems.
The review characterized the use of herbal medicines
for osteoarthritis as "generally under-researched, and information on
potentially significant herb-drug interactions is limited."
Although the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency
has approved Traditional Herbal Registrations for several herbal
medicinal products containing devil’s claw for rheumatic symptoms, "the
trial results for this herb are equivocal," the review states. "There
is little conclusive evidence of benefit from other herbs commonly used
for symptoms of osteoarthritis, such as cat’s claw, ginger, nettle,
turmeric and willow bark. Healthcare professionals should routinely ask
patients with osteoarthritis if they are taking any herbal products."
The review did not include data on glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate.
— Doug Brunk
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