title: Review of the effects of the traditional Chinese medicine Rehmannia Six Formula on diabetes mellitus and its complications.
abstract: Rehmannia Six Formula (RF) is a formula that is commonly used in Traditional Chinese Medicine to treat patients with diabetes. A literature search was performed in PubMed for the years 2000-2009 using the key words RF, Rehmannia glutinosa, Fructus Corni, Dioscorea sp. (D. alata, D. opposita, D. batatas), Poria cocos, Alisma sp. (A. orientalis, A. plantago aquatica), and Paeonia suffruticosa/Cortex Moutan. On the basis of the publications found, RF appears to have beneficial effects on blood glucose, neuropathy, and nephropathy. There is also evidence of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Although there are many studies on compounds extracted from individual herbs, there are not many studies on RF as a whole. Because there is preliminary evidence that RF may be a useful supplement for the prevention of diabetic complications, clinical studies are warranted. For future clinical studies, it is recommended that details are provided regarding the preparation of RF and that the ratio of the individual components in RF is standardized so that results across studies can be compared.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Terry Yam Chuen
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Poon
authors.forename: Kwok Leung
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Ong
authors.forename: Bernard Man Yung
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Cheung
mesh_terms: D034902:Alisma / Q000737:chemistry; D000818:Animals; D001688:Biological Products / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D029768:Cornus / Q000737:chemistry; D048909:Diabetes Complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000188:drug therapy*; D027742:Dioscorea / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D029596:Paeonia / Q000737:chemistry; D055441:Poria / Q000737:chemistry; D032267:Rehmannia / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D001688:Biological Products