Ground-breaking local research on Iberogast - 15 May 2005 |
A HERBAL extract promising pain relief for as much as 30 per cent of people who visit GPs will be trialled in Adelaide.
The compound, Iberogast, already has undergone numerous clinical trials overseas to prove it is effective in soothing symptoms but now researchers at the Hanson Institute hope to unlock its secrets by seeing exactly how and why it works.
The blend of nine herbs developed in Germany has proved effective in treating the various belly aches that people suffer, of which many have only vague explanations.
Director of the Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and General Medicine at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, Professor Gerald Holtmann, said studies showed such gut pains accounted for up to 30 per cent of visits to GPs.
"About a quarter of the population will have such symptoms at some time and half of these will seek medical attention," he said.
"We want to see what changes to gut function are involved in using this compound.
"Lots of chemical treatments only work on a small number of such patients – this is clearly more efficacious than many PBS-listed compounds currently being used."
Prof Holtmann noted in Australia large numbers of patients use herbal medicines that are not properly tested and may come from dubious sources.
"People often don't know what is really in them, and that can be dangerous," he said.
"This compound comes from Germany where there is a long tradition of using herbal remedies and there are strict regulations governing them.
"It has been subject to 14 clinical trials showing it works.
"In a majority of patients with troublesome belly aches the symptoms have no known cause.
"This herbal medicine relieves symptoms in a considerable proportion of affected patients, but why is still unknown.
"I want to know why it is working."
The study needs about 60 people who regularly suffer gut pain, including indigestion, willing to participate in a-two week study involving non-invasive tests after they drink a liquid meal containing the compound (phone 1300 793 650).
Prof Holtmann, regarded as a world leader in his field, took the job in Adelaide last year from Germany after turning down several other job offers including one from the US Mayo Clinic.
He said his decision to come to SA was largely due to the opportunity to work closely with clinical and basic researchers side by side at the RAH and Hanson Institute.
"There is ground-breaking research being done here that might not be fully recognised locally," he said. "The ability to collaborate so closely opens up all sorts of potential."
Iberogast is a blend of herbs made up of peppermint (5 per cent), lemon balm (10 per cent), liquorice (10 per cent), chamomile (20 per cent), milk thistle (10 per cent), celandine (10 per cent), iberis amara (15 per cent), angelica (10 per cent) and caraway (10 per cent).