In a UC Irvine-led study published in Integrative Cancer Therapies, researchers analyzed the impact of a traditional Chinese medicine herbal concoction on fatigue, cognition, and overall quality of life among participants who are cancer survivors.
Entitled “HEalth-Related Quality of Life-Intervention in Survivors of Breast and Other Cancers Experiencing Cancer-Related Fatigue and Associated Cognitive Symptoms Using TraditionAL Chinese Medicine: The ‘HERBAL’ Trial,” the study was authored by Chan Lab principal investigator and researchers Dr. Alexandre Chan, Daniella Chan, and Ding Quan (Quinton) Ng, along with several researchers from international universities. The study was funded by the Singapore Ministry of Health.
“We have collaborated with traditional Chinese medicine practitioners to evaluate the efficacy of a herbal concoction, which consists of 15 herbal components (namely Xiang Bei Yang Rong Tang [XBYRT]), for managing cancer-related fatigue and related symptoms,” said Daniella Chan. “Our prior work has shown that the concoction had little impact on drug-metabolizing enzymes (CYP3A4 and CYP2D6) and a low risk of liver toxicity.”
Ingredients in the concoction used in this study included Radix Astragaliseu Hedysari, Rhizoma atractylodis, and Codonopsis Pilosula (for fatigue); Fructus Lycii, Fructus Ligustri Lucidi, and Fructus Alpinia (to provide neuroprotective effects); and Radix Polygalae (for protection against oxidative stress and apoptosis); among others.
The research team conducted a randomized placebo-controlled trial in which 15 participants took the XYBRT concoction and 13 participants took the placebo concoction once daily over the course of eight weeks. Participants who took the XYBRT concoction reported improved fatigue and cognition following the completion of treatment. Additionally, the research team evaluated the blood-based biomarkers of those who took the XYBRT concoction and observed increasing levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein that is associated with nerve growth and improved cognition. Side effects were minimal among those receiving XYBRT, suggesting that this concoction is safe for use among cancer survivors.
“Overall, this study demonstrated XBYRT as a potentially safe and effective integrative oncology therapy that produced encouraging improvements in fatigue and cognitive symptoms in cancer survivors,” Chan stated.
