Randomized, Double-Blind Clinical Trial to Assess the Acute Diuretic Effect ofEquisetum arvense(Field Horsetail) in Healthy Volunteers

Abstract

In this double-blind, randomized clinical trial, 36 healthy male volunteers were randomly distributed into three groups (n = 12) that underwent a three-step treatment. For four consecutive days, we alternately administered a standardized dried extract of Equisetum arvense (EADE, 900 mg/day), placebo (corn starch, 900 mg/day), or hydrochlorothiazide (25 mg/day), separated by a 10-day washout period. Each volunteer served as his own control, and the groups' results were compared. We repeated the same evaluation after each stage of treatment to evaluate the safety of the drug. The diuretic effect of EADE was assessed by monitoring the volunteers' water balance over a 24 h period. The E. arvense extract produced a diuretic effect that was stronger than that of the negative control and was equivalent to that of hydrochlorothiazide without causing significant changes in the elimination of electrolytes. There was no significant increase in the urinary elimination of catabolites. Rare minor adverse events were reported. The clinical examinations and laboratory tests showed no changes before or after the experiment, suggesting that the drug is safe for acute use. Further research is needed to better clarify the mechanism of diuretic action and the other possible pharmacological actions of this phytomedicine.

Phytochemicals from fern species: potential for medicine applications

“…Alcoholic extracts of the plant's stem reportedly induce anticonvulsant, sedative, anxiolytic, and neuroprotective effects in rodents Santos-Junior et al 2005;Samura and Dovzhenok 2002;Singh et al 2011), while methanolic extracts have shown antidiabetic activity in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats (Soleimani et al 2007); and the ethyl acetate extract reportedly exerts antiproliferative effect in tumor cell lines (Č etojević-Simin et al 2010). The only clinical data for such extracts relates to the induction of diuretic effects by a standardized dried extract (Carneiro et al 2014). It has been suggested that E. arvense extracts could be beneficial silicon supplements, but this has been questioned based on the limited quantities of water-extractable silicon in the plant's tissues (Bey et al 2010).…”

Promising Medicinal Plants with Diuretic Potential Used in Brazil: State of the Art, Challenges, and Prospects

“…This study also demonstrated that the flavonoid kaempferitrin appears to be the main component responsible for the diuretic effect found. E. arvense, known as "cavalinha", is one of the few species whose effects have been evaluated in clinical studies, as described by Carneiro et al [15], which confirmed its diuretic effect on healthy individuals. Tago et al [16] evaluated the preclinical toxicity of E. arvense in the diet at concentrations of 0.3 %, 1 %, and 3 % for 13 wk in male and female rats.…”

A 2-Week Course of Enteral Treatment with a Very Low-Calorie Protein-Based Formula for the Management of Severe Obesity

“…Details of the composition of the formula are provided in Table 1 . The enteral nutritional treatment was also complemented by the daily oral administration of a complete (100% of recommended dietary allowances) multivitamin-multimineral supplement, alkalizing substances (calcium carbonate, 1500 mg daily; magnesium carbonate, 850 mg daily; potassium bicarbonate, 500 mg daily; sodium bicarbonate, 1500 mg daily; potassium citrate, 500 mg daily), and herbal remedies commonly marketed for their diuretic, antioxidant, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, and detoxifying properties (equisetum, nettle, hawthorn, silymarin, Orthosiphon , and fucoxanthin) [ 15 – 20 ]. All patients were also prescribed treatment with a proton pump inhibitor and ursodeoxycholic acid: 900 mg daily and 450 mg daily for those with and without documented (by ultrasonography) cholestatic liver disease, respectively.…”