Chinese medicine for pain relieve research
Use of Herbal Therapies to Relieve Pain: A Review of Efficacy and Adverse Effects
James H. Wirth BA, J. Craig Hudgins BA† and Judith A. Paice PhD, RN
Department of Psychology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University and the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois
Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University and the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois
To find holistic treatment with effective pain relief and few side effects, Americans spend billions of dollars annually on complementary and alternative medicine, including herbal therapies. Despite extensive use, the lack of regulatory scrutiny of these herbal supplements contributes to the paucity of reliable clinical data assessing their efficacy and safety. This review summarizes the existing studies investigating the efficacy of herbal therapies as a treatment for pain. Possible side effects, potential drug–herb interactions, and information about common herbal therapies are also summarized. MEDLINE, AMED, and the Cochrane Library databases were searched for the period from January 1966 to June 2005. Uses, dosages, routes of administration, and side effects were summarized. Strength of empirical evidence also was evaluated. This review found few well-controlled clinical studies. Furthermore, these studies documented limited efficacy of herbal therapies to treat pain. The information presented here may be used to further educate nurses and patients on the use of herbal therapies as well as direct future research efforts.

Interaction between Shaoyao-Gancao-Tang and a laxative with respect to alteration of paeoniflorin metabolism by intestinal bacteria in rats.
He JX, Goto E, Akao T, Tani T.
Institute of Natural Medicine, Toyama, Japan.
Shaoyao-Gancao-Tang (SGT), a traditional Chinese herbal medicine (Kampo formulation) containing Shaoyao (Paeoniae Radix) and Gancao (Glycyrrhizae Radix), is co-administered with laxative sodium picosulfate as a premedication for relieving the pain accompanying colonoscopy. Paeoniflorin (PF), an active glycoside of SGT, is metabolized into the antispasmodic agent paeonimetabolin-I (PM-I) by intestinal bacteria after oral administration. The objective of the present study was to investigate whether the co-administered laxative (sodium picosulfate) influences the metabolism of PF to PM-I by intestinal bacteria. We found that the PF-metabolizing activity of intestinal bacteria in rat feces was significantly reduced to approximately 34% of initial levels by a single sodium picosulfate pretreatment and took approximately 6 days to recover. Repeated administration of SGT after the sodium picosulfate pretreatment significantly shortened the recovery period to around 2 days. Similar results were also observed for plasma PM-I concentration. Since PM-I has muscle relaxant activity, the present results suggest that repetitive administration of SGT after sodium picosulfate pretreatment might be useful to relieve the pain associated with colonoscopy.

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