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Mrudula Jakkula, MD, MS; Tacey A. Boucher, PhD; Ulrich Beyendorff, Lic Ac, Dipl CH; Shirley M. Conn, RN; Jennifer E. Johnson, MA; Christopher J. Nolan; Craig J. Peine, MD; Jeffrey H. Albrecht, MD

Arch Intern Med. 2004;164:1341-1346.

Background  Many patients with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) cannot be successfully treated with interferon-based regimens. Chinese herbal medicines have been widely prescribed for HCV in Asia, and many infected patients in the United States have used these agents. However, data to support the efficacy of these medications are limited and, to our knowledge, no published trials have been conducted in a US population.

Methods  In a double-blinded design, 45 patients with HCV and fatigue were randomized to receive a combination of Chinese herbal medications or a matched placebo for 12 weeks. The main outcome measures were changes in health-related quality of life using the role physical and vitality scale scores from the validated Hepatitis Quality of Life Questionnaire and alanine aminotransferase levels. In addition, other Hepatitis Quality of Life Questionnaire variables, HCV load, and adverse effects were monitored.

Results  In patients with HCV, the herbal medications had no effect on any quality-of-life variables, as measured by the Hepatitis Quality of Life Questionnaire. In addition, no significant changes in alanine aminotransferase or serum HCV RNA levels were noted. No significant adverse effects were observed.

Conclusions  In this study, a regimen of Chinese herbal medicines did not improve quality of life, liver chemistry results, or viral load in a cohort of patients with HCV. Patients and practitioners should remain cautious about the use of herbal medicines for HCV, because studies have not shown a clear benefit of these agents.

From the Department of Medicine, Hennepin County Medical Center (Drs Jakkula, Peine, and Albrecht) and the Center for Addiction and Alternative Medicine Research, Minneapolis Medical Research Foundation (Drs Jakkula, Boucher, and Albrecht, Messrs Beyendorff and Nolan, and Mss Conn and Johnson), Minneapolis, Minn. The authors have no relevant financial interest in this article.

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