Phytotherapy for osteoarthritis
- Resource Type
- Authors
- Holger Cramer; Petra Klose; Gustav Dobos; Anna K. Koch; Milena Trifunovic-König; Jost Langhorst
- Source
- Zeitschrift für Phytotherapie. 37:242-247
- Subject
- Pharmacology
medicine.medical_specialty
Traditional medicine
biology
business.industry
Alternative medicine
food and beverages
Herbal therapy
Osteoarthritis
medicine.disease
biology.organism_classification
law.invention
Clinical trial
Complementary and alternative medicine
law
Medicine
Boswellia serrata
business
Phytotherapy
Intensive care medicine
Methodological quality
Herbal treatment
- Language
- ISSN
- 1438-9584
0722-348X
Background: In order to present recent findings on the effectiveness and safety of phytotherapy for treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) we summarized the two latest Cochrane reviews (Cameron & Chrubasik, 2013; Cameron & Chrubasik, 2014). One of them included oral and the other topical herbal treatment options as a treatment for OA. Methods: We conducted a thorough evaluation of the Cochrane reviews. We assessed methodological quality of the reviews and extracted evidence. Results: Meta-analyses found evidence for effects of the oral herbal products Boswellia serrata and only partially for avocado-soybean unsaponifiable (ASU). However, they included only a small number of primary studies. The systematic review on topical herbal treatments included fewer trials and did not include a meta-analysis. Discussion: Based on the qualitative synthesis Boswellia serrata can be applied in the treatment of OA. It is not clear if ASU can be recommended. No valid recommendation can be given for or against other herbal therapies due to a lack of randomized clinical trials in the field.