Effect of Herbal Therapy to Intensity Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting in Cancer Patients

Abstract

Background:Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting are the most important complications for cancer patients as its prevalence has been reported to be about 54-96 percent. ginger has been used for medicinal purposes including nausea and vomiting in traditional Persian, Chinese and Indian pharmacopoeia.Objectives:The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of complimentary ginger among cancer patients experiencing nausea and vomiting.Material and Methods:A randomized cross-over clinical trial was carried out on patients under chemotherapy treatment for at least 2 episodes of chemotherapy and at least 2 episodes of previous experience of nausea and vomiting. Subjects of this study received 2 different complementary regimes with 250mg ginger capsule in regime A and placebo capsule in regime B. subjects of the study were crossed over to receive the other regime during the two cycles of chemotherapy.Results:Findings of the study indicated that subjects receiving ginger showed significant reduction in frequency and intensity of nausea and vomiting compared to placebo receiving subjects.Conclusions:According to finding of this study, in accordance to most of other researches, ginger is an effective agent to reduce chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. However, there are some researches supporting ginger as a moderate antiemetic agent among cancerous patients under chemotherapy.

Psoralen reverses the P-glycoprotein-mediated multidrug resistance in human breast cancer MCF-7/ADR cells

“…A large body of literature now exists indicating that the herbal medicines or natural compounds may be feasible for use as potent chemopreventive drugs (36,37). The goal of the present study was to assess whether psoralen, an active ingredient extracted from Psoralea corylifolia, may reverse MDR by modulating the function of P-gp.…”

Is ginger beneficial for nausea and vomiting? An update of the literature

“…[12] Although this trial adds to the promising literature regarding the clinical application of ginger in the chemotherapy setting, the limitations identified in the aforementioned reviews are still present in this study.…”

Ginger in gastrointestinal disorders: A systematic review of clinical trials

“…The standard of care for chemotherapy‐induced vomiting is antiemetics, most notably serotonin (5‐HT3) receptor antagonists and glucocorticoids, such as dexamethasone; however, efforts to control nausea have not been successful (Bloechl‐Daum, Deuson, Mavros, Hansen, & Herrstedt, ; Herrstedt & Roila, ). The summary of studies evaluating the effects of ginger consumption on chemotherapy‐related nausea and vomiting is shown in Table (Ansari et al., ; Arslan & Ozdemir, ; Fahimi et al., ; Manusirivithaya et al., ; Marx et al., ; Montazeri, Raei, et al., ; Panahi et al., ; Pillai, Sharma, Gupta, & Bakhshi, ; Ryan et al., ; Sanaati, Najafi, Kashaninia, & Sadeghi, ; Sontakke, Thawani, & Naik, ; Thamlikitkul et al., ; Zick et al., ).…”