Data support use of butterbur in treatment of allergic rhinitis
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 (Telfast) 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. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
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