Huangqi Injection (a Traditional Chinese Patent Medicine) for Chronic Heart Failure: A Systematic Review

Abstract

BackgroundChronic heart failure (CHF) is a global public health problem. Therefore, novel and effective drugs that show few side-effects are needed. Early literature studies indicated that Huangqi injection is one of the most commonly used traditional Chinese patent medicines for CHF in China. As a large number of clinical studies has been carried out and published, it is essential to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of Huangqi injection. Therefore, we carried out this systematic review under the support of the framework of the Joint Sino-Italian Laboratory (JoSIL).ObjectivesTo evaluate the efficacy and safety of Huangqi injection for CHF according to the available scientific knowledge.MethodsAn extensive search including PubMed, EMBASE, CBM, the Cochrane Library and Chinese literature databases was performed up to July 2008. Clinical trials regarding Huangqi injection for the treatment of CHF were searched for, irrespective of languages. The quality of each trial was assessed according to the Cochrane Reviewers' Handbook 5.0, and RevMan 5.0 provided by the Cochrane Collaboration and STATA 9.2 were used for data analysis.ResultsAfter selection of 1,205 articles, 62 RCTs and quasi-RCTs conducted in China and published in Chinese journals were included in the review. The methodological quality of the trials was low. In most trials inclusion and exclusion criteria were not specified. Furthermore, only one study evaluated the outcomes for drug efficacy after an adequate period of time. For these reasons and because of the different baseline characteristics we did not conduct a meta-analysis.ConclusionsAlthough available studies are not adequate to draw a conclusion on the efficacy and safety of Huangqi injection (a traditional Chinese patent medicine), we hope that our work could provide useful experience on further studies on Huangqi injections. The overall level of TCM clinical research needs to be improved so that the efficacy of TCM can be evaluated by the international community and possibly some TCM can enter into the international market.

Lycium barbarum polysaccharides restore adverse structural remodelling and cardiac contractile dysfunction induced by overexpression of microRNA‐1

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“…It has been recognized that TCM effectively treats symptoms, reduce side effects and reverse resistance via targeting multiple pathways. TCMs such as Shengmai [9], Sini decoction [10], Shuanglong formula [11], and Huangqi injection have been reported to exhibit potential pharmacological activities against cardiovascular diseases [12]. Draba nemorosa stimulates blood circulation, thus eliminating blood stasis.…”

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“…Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has played a significant role in clinical application for thousands of years in China due to the steady effect, low toxicity and unique advantages in treating difficult miscellaneous diseases [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. As for the study of TCM, it is always necessary and significant to develop advanced and practical method to discover the medical material basic.…”