ReviewBMC complementary medicine and therapies2024
Study design of herbal medicine clinical trials: a descriptive analysis of published studies investigating the effects of herbal medicinal products on human participants.
Review in BMC complementary medicine and therapies, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Randomized controlled trials of major oral traditional Chinese medicine preparations for postherpetic neuralgia: an evidence map.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Pooled it
- Review
- Ethical challenges of placebo use in herbal medicine trials: multiple stakeholder perspectives from qualitative interviews.BMC medical ethics · 2026Article
- Microbiota-mediated mechanisms of natural products in atherosclerosis: focus on metabolic and inflammatory pathways.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2026Review
- Targeting telomere dynamics with plant-derived compounds: Molecular strategies against aging.Current research in pharmacology and drug discovery · 2025Review
- Comparative study of the registration procedure of locally manufactured herbal products in selected African countries.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Article
- Unlocking the therapeutic mechanism ofFrontiers in pharmacology · 2024Review
- Navigating the regulatory landscape of herbal medicines: A global comparison of India, China, Europe, the United States and Japan.Journal of Ayurveda and integrative medicineReview
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.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIncreasing global interest in natural therapies has led to a rise in the use of herbal medicines for managing various ailments. However, concerns about scientific evaluation have prompted a study aiming to assess the study design of herbal medicine clinical trials. This study aimed to provide a descriptive overview of the study design, characteristics, and methodologies of contemporary herbal medicine clinical trials. MATERIALS AND
methodsThe study reviewed herbal medicine clinical trials published between 2019 and 2022 in five electronic databases: PubMed, Embase, Web of Sciences, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library. Data extraction included study characteristics, intervention details, study design, outcome measures, trial phases, blinding, and other relevant information, with descriptive analyses presented. The term 'herbal medicines' in this study refers to herbs, herbal materials, preparations, and finished products containing active ingredients from plant parts or their combinations.
resultsOut of the initially identified 5,918 records, 1,517 articles were eligible for inclusion in the study. The majority of herbal medicine clinical trials were conducted in Asian countries, covering a range of diseases. A randomized, double-blind, parallel design with a 1:1 allocation ratio was frequently employed, along with the common use of placebos across all trial phases. Capsules were the most common dosage form. The median number of human participants varied across trial phases, ranging from 50 in Phase 1 to 240 in Phase 4.
conclusionsThe analysis observed that herbal medicine clinical trials employed randomized, double-blind, parallel designs, and the widespread use of placebo. Our observations provided valuable insights into the evolving landscape of herbal medicine clinical trials.
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.