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HERO ID
3017938
Reference Type
Journal Article
Title
The Immunoregulatory Effects of Traditional Chinese Medicine on Treatment of Asthma or Asthmatic Inflammation
Author(s)
Li, J; Zhang, F; Li, J
Year
2015
Is Peer Reviewed?
1
Journal
The American Journal of Chinese Medicine
ISSN:
0192-415X
Volume
43
Issue
6
Page Numbers
1059-1081
Language
English
PMID
26364661
DOI
10.1142/S0192415X15500615
Web of Science Id
WOS:000362666600001
Abstract
Asthma is a chronic respiratory symptoms with variable airflow limitation and airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR), and causes high economic burden. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has a long-lasting history of using herbal medicine in the treatment of various respiratory diseases including asthma. In the last several decades, an increasing number of herbs have been shown to be effective in the treatment of asthma in clinical trials or asthmatic inflammation in animal models. Literature about the effects of TCM on the immune system were searched in electronic databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar and Scopus from 2000 to 2014. 'TCM' and 'asthma' were used as keywords for the searches. Over 400 literatures were searched and the literatures about the immune system were selected and reviewed. We only reviewed literatures published in English. Accumulating evidence suggests that TCM can directly inhibit the activation and migration of inflammatory cells, regulate the balance of Th1/Th2 responses, and suppress allergic hyperreactivity through inducing regulatory T cells or attenuating the function of dendritic cells (DCs). These studies provided useful information to facilitate the use of TCM to treat asthma. This review was conducted to classify the findings based on their possible mechanisms of action reported.
Keywords
Traditional Chinese Medicine; Asthma; Th1; Th2; Regulatory T Cells; Dendritic Cells; Review
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