SynthesisThe Cochrane database of systematic reviews2007
Chinese medicinal herbs for the common cold.
Synthesis in The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 2007. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers, 13 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed, 13 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 68 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pediatric efficacy and safety in common cold treated with herbal medicine (PEACH): a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Pooled it
- Heated, humidified air for the common cold.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2017Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Oral Astragalus (Huang qi) for preventing frequent episodes of acute respiratory tract infection in children.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2016Pooled it
- Chinese patent medicines for the treatment of the common cold: a systematic review of randomized clinical trials.BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2014Pooled it
- Echinacea for preventing and treating the common cold.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2014Pooled it
- Chinese proprietary herbal medicine listed in 'China national essential drug list' for common cold: a systematic literature review.PloS one · 2014Pooled it
- Guidelines on common cold for traditional Chinese medicine based on pattern differentiation.Journal of traditional Chinese medicine = Chung i tsa chih ying wen pan · 2013Pooled it
- Acetaminophen (paracetamol) for the common cold in adults.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2013Pooled it
- Intranasal ipratropium bromide for the common cold.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2013Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Chinese herbal medicines for people with impaired glucose tolerance or impaired fasting blood glucose.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2009Pooled it
- Chinese medicinal herbs for the common cold.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2007Pooled it
- Trial
- Trial
- Trial
- Efficacy of a carrageenan nasal spray in patients with common cold: a randomized controlled trial.Respiratory research · 2013Trial
- The impact of patient age on the pharmacist's recommendation of OTC anti-common cold products before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Article
- Antiviral plant-derived natural products to combat RNA viruses: Targets throughout the viral life cycle.Letters in applied microbiology · 2022Review
- Pharmacist's recommendations of over-the-counter treatments for the common cold - analysis of prospective cases in Poland.BMC family practice · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundChinese herbal medicines are frequently used to treat the common cold in China. Until now, their efficacy has not been systematically reviewed.
objectivesTo assess the effectiveness and safety of Chinese herbal medicines for the common cold. SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library, Issue 3, 2006) which contains the Acute Respiratory Infections Group's specialised register; MEDLINE (1966 to July 2006); EMBASE (1980 to March 2006); AMED (1985 to July 2006); and the Chinese Biomedical Database (CBM) (1975 to July 2005). SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) studying the efficacy of Chinese herbal medicine(s) for the treatment of the common cold were included, irrespective of publication status or language. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Four review authors telephoned original trial authors of the RCTs identified by our searches to verify the randomisation procedure. Two review authors extracted and analysed data from the trials which met the inclusion criteria. MAIN
resultsFourteen studies involving 2440 patients were included. The methods of all studies were rated of poor quality (category C). Included studies used "effective drugs" as controls; however, the efficacy of these control drugs was not reported. Different Chinese herbal preparations were tested in nearly all trials; in only one was a Chinese herbal preparation tested twice. In six studies, five herbal preparations were found to be more effective at enhancing recovery than the control; and in the other eight studies, five herbal preparations were shown to be equal to the control. There was a strong probability of different biases in all of the included studies. AUTHORS'
conclusionsChinese herbal medicines may shorten the symptomatic phase in patients with the common cold. However, the lack of high quality clinical trials means we are unable to recommend any kind of Chinese herbal preparation for the common cold.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.