Chinese herbs have been used for thousands of years to treat asthma. Traditional Chinese medical descriptions of symptoms are quite accurate, but explanations of the underlying physiology of asthma are often at variance with modern science. However, physicians at the Mayo Clinic acknowledge many benefits, citing scientific research that validates use of some traditional herbs.
Ma Huang
The Chinese herb Ma Huang (Ephedra sp.) has been used to treat asthma for more than 5,000 years. Ma Huang has many other names, including desert tea and Mormon tea. It is now known to contain a group of chemicals called ephedrine alkaloids. These relieve asthma but can over-stimulate your heart and nervous system. The U.S. government has banned its over-the-counter sale as herb, tea or supplement. Pharmaceutical-grade, purified ephedra medications can be prescribed by your physician.
Chinese Licorice Root
The National Institutes of Health published a Mount Sinai Medical School of Medicine study in 2005 comparing ASHMI (anti-asthma herbal medicine intervention) containing gan-cau, licorice root (glycyrrhizae) and kushen (Sophora flavescens) with prednisone, a standard anti-inflammatory drug, in the treatment of asthma. They find that the Chinese herbal remedy reliably and significantly relieves asthma symptoms, without dangerous side effects. They attribute the effect to anti-inflammatory properties decreasing swelling and mucous production.
Mixed Herbs
Dr. Shen, clinic director of Shen Herb, practicing in the U.S., treats asthma according to ancient Chinese medical lore attributing four kinds of asthma to four organ-system deficiencies: spleen, liver, insufficient lung Qi (energy) and lung-kidney Qi mismatch. Each type of asthma is identified by its symptoms, including dry or wet cough, wheezing, weakness, shortness of breath and body temperature. Traditional Chinese medicine usually compounds and prescribes complex herb mixtures, not individual herbs, for each type of asthma and the organs associated with it. These also sometimes contain animal products such as dried earthworm extract.
Single Herbs
Catherine Brown, an accredited master herbalist practicing in North Carolina, acknowledges three of the traditional Chinese medical sources of asthma: spleen, kidney and lung deficiencies. She prescribes individual herbs for each condition, though not always with herbs native to China.
To stop asthmatic wheezing, Brown says kidneys must "grasp the Qi." Herbs she prescribes include: hu lu ba (fenugreek seed), shu di huang (Rehmannia glutinosa) or bu gu zhi (Psoraleae corylifolia).
Spleen-related asthma is treated with xiao hu xiang (fennel seed) or dang shen (Codonopsis pilosula).
Asthma
If you take Chinese herbs without accurately diagnosing asthma by modern, scientific diagnostic methods, you will take medically potent substances, sometimes in unknown doses, without relieving symptoms, while leaving a different condition untreated. Traditional Chinese medicine describes many symptoms of four types of asthma, but many of those are not specific to what is now known to be asthma and may point to other diseases deserving their own diagnosis and treatment.
Chinese herbs like licorice root and ephedra do relieve some asthmatic symptoms, but that does not mean all traditional treatments are real cures. Consult your doctor for accurate diagnosis and proven treatments, while you investigate useful complementary treatments with Chinese herbs.
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