The efficacy of an herbal medicine, Carmint, on the relief of abdominal pain and bloating in patients with irritable bowel syndrome: a pilot study.
Carmint contains total extracts of Melissa officinalis, Mentha spicata, and Coriandrum sativum, which have antispasmodic, carminative, and sedative effects. As abdominal pain/discomfort and bloating are commonly observed in patients with irritable bowel syndrome, we decided to evaluate the effectiveness of Carmint in relieving these symptoms in irritable bowel syndrome patients. We randomly assigned 32 irritable bowel syndrome patients to receive either Carmint or placebo, plus Loperamide or psyllium (based on their predominant bowel function), for 8 weeks. T-test analysis of the results showed that the severity and frequency of abdominal pain/discomfort were significantly lower in the Carmint group than the placebo group at the end of the treatment (P=0.016 and P=0.001, respectively), as were the severity and frequency of bloating (P=0.02 and P=0.002, respectively). This pilot study suggests that Carmint plus loperamide or Carmint plus psyllium (depending on the irritable bowel syndrome subtype) might be effective in these patients.
Vejdani
Reyhaneh
R
The Research Center for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases (RCGLD), Shaheed Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. vejdani_r@yahoo.com
Shalmani
Hamid Reza Mohaghegh
HR
Mir-Fattahi
Mina
M
Sajed-Nia
Faranak
F
Abdollahi
Morteza
M
Zali
Mohammad Reza
MR
Mohammad Alizadeh
Amir Houshang
AH
Bahari
Ali
A
Amin
Gholamreza
G
D015746:Abdominal Pain / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D043183:Irritable Bowel Syndrome / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D028321:Plant Preparations / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D028321:Plant Preparations