Complementary and alternative medicine in inflammatory bowel diseases: what is the future in the field of herbal medicine?

Abstract

The use of complementary and alternative medicine is wide-spread not only in Eastern countries, but also in the Western world. Despite the increasing evidence on the harmful effects induced by several naturopathic/homeopathic products, patients seem to appreciate these remedies, in particular because they consider them to be absolutely safe. This same phenomenon is common among inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients. As a result there is a significant request for scientific data to evaluate both the efficacy and safety of these remedies, and to support the use of such medications as adjuvant treatments to biological and synthetic drugs. We aimed to review the current evidence on efficacy and safety of some natural products that are believed to be effective in inflammatory bowel disease. Further perspectives for the clinical use of herbal products and strategies for improving knowledge about herbal products in IBD are also discussed.

Keywords::

• boswellic acid
• complementary and alternative medicine
• Crohn’s disease
• curcumin
• herbal medicine
• inflammatory bowel disease
• pomegranate
• ulcerative colitis

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors acknowledges FIRMAD for an unrestricted grant. The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Key issues

• The use of complementary and alternative medicine is increasing worldwide.

• Since they perceive complementary and alternative medicines as safe, patients are more favorable to complementary and alternative medications than to conventional treatments.

• Herbal products can play an anti-inflammatory role in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

• Clinical data on curcumin, pomegranate and boswellia in IBD demonstrate a possible role as complementary therapies in IBD.

• The safety profile of herbal products appears to be favorable.

• More evidence on the role of herbal products in IBD is needed through randomized clinical trials.

Notes