Phytotherapy in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD)

Phytotherapy is one of the major fields in “Klassischer Naturheilkunde” in Germany and it is the most frequented one. In 2003 more than 2 billion dollar was spent for over-the-counter herbal treatment.

In Germany more than 300,000 patients suffer from IBD, mainly Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

In IBD every other patient has personal experience with CAM. Almost 44% of these patients had experience in the field of Herbal therapy, mainly as an adjunct to conventional therapy in an integrated medical treatment approach.

One way to implement herbs in the treatment is self-help strategies such as tea. Moreover, there are various herbal preparations with promising results in the treatment of IBD. In Germany there is major interest in the herbs isphagula, frankinsence, myrrh and camomile for the treatment of IBD. Moreover, ginger, curcumin, tormentill, wormworth and green tea have shown first promising results.

The different herbs will be introduced and existing data or ongoing research will be presented.