Effectiveness of Mao-bushi-saishin-to in Treating Common Cold Syndrome. Controlled Comparative Study Using the Sealed Envelope Method.

Abstract

To investigate the effectiveness of Maobushisaishin-to (traditional Japanese herbal medicine; Tsumura TJ-127) in treating the common cold, a clinical comparison between Maobushisaishin-to and a general common cold drug was conducted using the sealed envelope method. The study involved 83 patients in the TJ-127 group and 88 patients in the general cold drug group. No differences in age, gender or the period from the onset of the disease to the beginning of treatment were observed between the two groups. The results indicated greater than moderate improvement in 81.9% of the TJ-127 group, compared with 60.3% of the compound cold drug group (p<0.01). Further analysis of symptom diaries kept by the patients indicated that TJ-127 provided more rapid relief for symptoms such as fever, feeling feverish, coughing and phlegm than did the general cold drug. No side effects were observed for the TJ-127. These results suggest that TJ-127 is effective in the treatment of the common cold.