ArticleEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM2011
Systematic review of clinical trials assessing the effectiveness of ivy leaf (hedera helix) for acute upper respiratory tract infections.
Article in Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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
20 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Phytotherapy for acute respiratory tract infections in children: a systematically conducted, comprehensive review.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2025Pooled it
- Ivy leaf (Hedera helix) for acute upper respiratory tract infections: an updated systematic review.European journal of clinical pharmacology · 2021Pooled it
- Randomized, Double-Blind, Multicenter, Phase 3 Study of AG NPP709 Compared With Ivy Leaf Extract in Patients With Acute or Chronic Respiratory Symptoms.Journal of Korean medical science · 2026Trial
- From Traditional Remedy to Evidence-Based Phytotherapeutic Agent:Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Antiparasitic Activity ofVeterinary sciences · 2026Article
- An Updated Comprehensive Review of Plants and Herbal Compounds with Antiasthmatic Effect.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2024Review
- Mechanistic Evidence ofPharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Bioactive phenolics fraction ofHeliyon · 2022Article
- Safety of English ivy (Hedera helix) leaf extract during pregnancy: retrospective cohort study.Daru : journal of Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences · 2021Article
- Efficacy and Safety of GHX02 in the Treatment of Acute Bronchitis and Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Bronchitis: A Phase Ⅱ, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Multicenter Trial.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2021Article
- The effects ofAdvances in integrative medicine · 2020Article
- COVID-19: Is There Evidence for the Use of Herbal Medicines as Adjuvant Symptomatic Therapy?Frontiers in pharmacology · 2020Review
- Article
- Complementary And Alternative Medicine Practitioner's Management Of Acute Respiratory Tract Infections In Children - A Qualitative Descriptive Study.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2019Article
- Article
- Principles of pharmacological research of nutraceuticals.British journal of pharmacology · 2017Article
- Article
- Expectorant and antitussive effect of Hedera helix and Rhizoma coptidis extracts mixture.Yonsei medical journal · 2015Article
- The diagnosis and treatment of acute cough in adults.Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2014Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction. Among nonantibiotic cough remedies, herbal preparations containing extracts from leaves of ivy (Hedera helix) enjoy great popularity. Objective. A systematic review to assess the effectiveness and tolerability of ivy for acute upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs). Methods. We searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs), nonrandomized controlled clinical trials and observational studies evaluating the efficacy of ivy preparations for acute URTIs. Study quality was assessed by the Jadad score or the EPHPP tool. Results. 10 eligible studies were identified reporting on 17463 subjects. Studies were heterogeneous in design and conduct; 2 were RCTs. Three studies evaluated a combination of ivy and thyme, 7 studies investigated monopreparations of ivy. Only one RCT (n = 360) investigating an ivy/thyme combination used a placebo control and showed statistically significant superiority in reducing the frequency and duration of cough. All other studies lack a placebo control and show serious methodological flaws. They all conclude that ivy extracts are effective for reducing symptoms of URTI. Conclusion. Although all studies report that ivy extracts are effective to reduce symptoms of URTI, there is no convincing evidence due to serious methodological flaws and lack of placebo controls. The combination of ivy and thyme might be more effective but needs confirmation.
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.