Our current study is about traditional herbal medicine on this topic and we encourage your experience and cooperation in this study.
For the treatment of osteoarthritis, the controversy continues as to whether glucosamine sulfate-chondroitin sulfate supplementation can be helpful. There are studies pro and con on this subject. For the treatment of RA, it appears in recent studies that fish oil supplementation can be beneficial, usually in the context of other concomitant treatments like DMARDS (disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs). Proponents of alternative therapies recommend substances such as curcumin (turmeric), asthaxanthin, natural anti-inflammatories present in pineapple, for example, other fruits like berries, etc, although I don't know if there are controlled studies to recommend or disapprove of their usage.
There are several such species used by aboriginal people of Boreal forest of Canada. Please check this database: http://mackiki.uqat.ca/
there is another plant that i think could be very good for our rheumatic disease is the berberine. why? because is an natural antiCD26. What do you think about this?
In our traditional medicine berberine has not mentioned for this disease. However other ethnomedicine may cite this plant
In our experiences & studies on Ayurveda these following plants are usefull and effective: commiphora mukul, boswellia serrata, zingiber officinale, piper longum, piper nigrum, phyllanthus emblica, terminalia belerica, terminalia chebula,vitex negundo, curcuma longa,whitania somnifera, tinospora cordifolia, nichanter arbor tristis,alium sativum, acacia nilotica, shilajit. A lot of international scientific researches particulary on commiphora mukul, boswellia serrata, zingber officinale,curcuma longa, whitania somnifera. Morever it's important to understand the synergie concerning the above botanical ingredients and the aims to follow. Diet it's also very important we mean "style of life". All my best. Himalayan Ayurveda Research Institute o.n.g. Italy - nepal, Giammichele Gravina
Dear DR. Giammichele Gravina
Thank you for your kind attention
There are some articles about joint disease in Traditional Iranian Medicine
1- http://www.jiitm.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1-14&slc_lang=fa&sid=1&sw=
2- http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/22427772
3- http://www.jiitm.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1-88&sid=1&slc_lang=fa
There are a number of herbs that can be used to treat any number of 200 or more arthritic condition. Some act as anti-inflamatory others as astringent or analgesics, it is unlikely there is one herb for all. As to the question on published papers as to efficacy, useage, contra-indications the following maybe of assistance: Traditional Herbal Medicines a guide to safer use Karalliedde L, Gawarammana I, Hammersmith Press 2007 ISBN 978-1-905140-04-6 and Rational Phytotherapy A Physcians guide to Herbal Medicine Shulz V, Hansel R , Tyler VE ISBN 3-540-67096-3 Springer-Verlag. It is important to remember that different herbs are metabolised by different patients, so a herb highly efficacious in one patient may not be so in a different patient, this is where the clinical phytherapist skills are required. Also, the eficacy of herbs is dependant upon how they are grown, when harvested and processed etc. More often than not herbal tinctures work well, a combination of herbs can be taken at one time in a drink of patients choice etc.
Mohammad Hosein Farzaei is quiite right, Berberine is not used to treat athritic pathologies, Berberine is used conventionally in cardiovascular pathologies in particular those pathologies where cardiac flow (cardiac output/index) and other haemodynamic variables are affected, for example in congestive heart failure etc.
Dear Dr. Kenneth Warring - Davies thank you for kind attention
Mohammad Hosein Farzaei I meant to add the following for your consideration: Berberine is a quaternary ammonium salt from the protoberberine group of isoquinoline alkaloids.It has been shown to be particulary affective in gastrointestinal and endocrine disorders, reduction proliferation of cancer cells (breast) It chemical characteristics are similar to that of tetracycline and this feature of Berberine may act as an anti-inflammatory agent reducing swelling of the bones/joints, but such is atypical for Berberines known usage
Have you ever heard about Zingiber cassumunar Roxb? We found that it's very effective for the treatment of arthritis and pain.
Dear Dr. Pornanong Aramwit
Many medicinal plants from this genus have been used for inflammation and arthritis and also joint pain in Iranian traditional medicine, but the species "Zingiber cassumunar Roxb" not mentioned in our sources. Have you any published article on this plant?
Dear Dr. Kenneth Warring - Davies thank you for kind attention. Bests for you
Dr. Mohammad Hosein Farzaei
The species "Zingiber cassumunar Roxb" you could not find mentioned in your sources I found some published articles on this plant for you in PubMed entitled
The Anti-inflammatory effect of Zingiber Cassumunar Roxb. and its Active Principles
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1804548
Also article about Zingiber Cassumunar Roxb and down-regulation of genes involved in joint erosion in a human synovial fibroblast cell line
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24082324
There was one other interesting article about Cox-2 inhibitory phenylbutanoids from the Rhizomes of Zingiber Cassumunar
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24082324