ArticleEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM2011
Treatment of upper respiratory tract infections in primary care: a randomized study using aromatic herbs.
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 23 papers, 2 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
23 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 77 citations in OpenAlex.
- Modulation of transient receptor potential (TRP) channels by plant derived substances used in over-the-counter cough and cold remedies.Respiratory research · 2023Pooled it
- Chinese medicinal herbs for sore throat.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2012Pooled it
- Adelmidrol to fight upper airways inflammation in children: a pilot case control study to safety and efficacy.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Intranasal essential oils in therapy: advances in clinical applications and delivery mechanisms.Journal of traditional Chinese medicine = Chung i tsa chih ying wen pan · 2026Review
- Well-Established and Traditional Use of Vegetal Extracts as an Approach to the "Deep Roots" of Cough.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Parents in the Use of Antibiotics: A Case Study in a Mexican Indigenous Community.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Effects of aromatherapy on sore throat, nasal symptoms and sleep quality in adults infected with COVID-19: A randomized controlled trial.Integrative medicine research · 2023Article
- Remnants from the Past: From an 18th Century Manuscript to 21st Century Ethnobotany in Valle Imagna (Bergamo, Italy).Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- An In Vitro and In Silico Characterization ofPharmaceutics · 2023Article
- Natural Products for the Prevention and Treatment of Common Cold and Viral Respiratory Infections.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- The treatment of mild upper respiratory tract infections - a position paper with recommendations for best practice.Drugs in context · 2023Review
- Review
- Antioxidant Mechanisms Underlying the Gastroprotective Effect of Menthofuran on Experimentally Induced Gastric Lesions in Rodents.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2023Article
- Screening of Antimicrobial Activity of Essential Oils against Bovine Respiratory Pathogens - Focusing on Pasteurella multocida.Planta medica · 2022Article
- Safety and Efficacy of Medicinal Plants Used to Manufacture Herbal Products with Regulatory Approval in Uganda: A Cross-Sectional Study.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2022Article
- Aromatic ointments for the common cold: what does the science say?Drugs in context · 2022Review
- Virtual screening of functional foods and dissecting their roles in modulating gene functions to support post COVID-19 complications.Journal of food biochemistry · 2021Article
- Appropriate use of essential oils and their components in the management of upper respiratory tract symptoms in patients with COVID-19.Journal of herbal medicine · 2021Review
- Back to Nature: CombatingAntibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 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
6 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
This study is a prospective randomized double-blind controlled trial whose aim was to investigate the clinical effects of aromatic essential oils in patients with upper respiratory tract infections. The trial was conducted in six primary care clinics in northern Israel. A spray containing aromatic essential oils of five plants (Eucalyptus citriodora, Eucalyptus globulus, Mentha piperita, Origanum syriacum, and Rosmarinus officinalis) as applied 5 times a day for 3 days and compared with a placebo spray. The main outcome measure was patient assessment of the change in severity of the most debilitating symptom (sore throat, hoarseness or cough). Sixty patients participated in the study (26 in the study group and 34 in the control group). Intention-to-treat analysis showed that 20 minutes following the spray use, participants in the study group reported a greater improvement in symptom severity compared to participants in the placebo group (P = .019). There was no difference in symptom severity between the two groups after 3 days of treatment (P = .042). In conclusion, spray application of five aromatic plants reported in this study brings about significant and immediate improvement in symptoms of upper respiratory ailment. This effect is not significant after 3 days of treatment.
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.