title: The active components and the pharmacological multi-target principle of STW 5 (Iberogast).
abstract: The therapeutic equivalence of the multi-herbal drug combination STW 5 (Iberogast) with two synthetic standard drugs can be explained by an additive or overadditive pharmacological synergism. A review of the different chemical constituents contained in this fixed combination of nine herbal drug extracts and their dominant mechanisms of action shows that they correlate very well with the clinically relevant overall pharmacological profile of the multi-herbal drug combination. This comprises modulatory effects on gastro-intestinal motility, anti-inflammatory action, inhibitory effects on gastric acid production and anti-oxidative and radical-inhibiting properties. As a multi-drug preparation with a multitude of therapeutic targets relevant in functional gastrointestinal diseases, its pharmacological profile of action in accordance with the multi-target principle.
authors.affiliation: Consulting Herbal Medicinal Products, Zeisigstrasse 9, 33378 Rheda-Wiedenbrück, Germany.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wegener
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wagner
mesh_terms: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000032:analysis / Q000494:pharmacology; D005769:Gastrointestinal Motility / Q000187:drug effects; D019684:Magnoliopsida / Q000737:chemistry*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D000975:Antioxidants; D010936:Plant Extracts; C039964:iberogast