An official website of the United States governmentSpotlight on Herbs and Other Botanicals
Many people look for complementary health approaches—often herbs and other botanicals—to help improve their overall health and well-being and prevent disease. Many herbs and botanicals have a long history of use in traditional medicine and cuisine. This issue of the digest provides a summary of research of several herbs and other botanicals, including cranberry, cinnamon, sage, elderberry, and European mistletoe, as well as safety information and additional resources.
What the Science Says:
Spotlight on Herbs and Other Botanicals
Cranberry has a history of traditional use in dyes, food, and medicine among Native Americans and later European settlers. Cranberry products may decrease the overall risk of recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) in women who have had previous UTIs; however, it isn’t recommended as a treatment for existing UTIs. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration allows claims about this potential benefit to appear on labels of cranberry dietary supplements and cranberry juice beverages.
Cinnamon has a long history of use in traditional medicine and cuisine in many parts of the world. Currently, cinnamon is promoted for a variety of health conditions, particularly diabetes and weight loss. However, the results of the research on cinnamon are hard to interpret because it’s often unclear which species or part of the cinnamon plant was tested.
Sage has a long history of use as a spice and for health purposes. There have been a few studies of this herb for sore throat, mood, memory, diabetes, and blood cholesterol levels, but the findings are preliminary, and some of the research is of poor quality. Sage has not been clearly shown to be helpful for any health condition.
Elderberry (also called European elder) has been used in folk medicine to treat colds and flu. Some preliminary research suggests that elderberry may relieve symptoms of flu, colds, or other upper respiratory infections.
European mistletoe has been used for centuries in traditional medicine for a variety of conditions, including seizures, headaches, and menopause symptoms. There have been clinical trials of European mistletoe for cancer treatment, mostly in Europe. Although some trials indicated that European mistletoe improved survival or quality of life, many of the trials had major weaknesses that raise doubts about their findings. European mistletoe is not a proven cancer treatment and should not be used as a treatment for cancer outside of clinical trials.
Information for Your Patients
NCCIH Clinical Digest is a service of the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, NIH, DHHS. NCCIH Clinical Digest, a monthly e-newsletter, offers evidence-based information on complementary health approaches, including scientific literature searches, summaries of NCCIH-funded research, fact sheets for patients, and more.
The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health is dedicated to exploring complementary health products and practices in the context of rigorous science, training complementary health researchers, and disseminating authoritative information to the public and professionals. For additional information, call NCCIH’s Clearinghouse toll-free at 1-888-644-6226, or visit the NCCIH website at nccih.nih.gov. NCCIH is 1 of 27 institutes and centers at the National Institutes of Health, the Federal focal point for medical research in the United States.
Copyright
Content is in the public domain and may be reprinted, except if marked as copyrighted (©). Please credit the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health as the source. All copyrighted material is the property of its respective owners and may not be reprinted without their permission.