Effects of Rosmarinus officinalis and Platanus orientalis extracts on asthmatic subjects resistant to routine treatments

OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to determine the effects of Rosmarinus officinalis (R. officinalis) and Platanus orientalis (P. orientalis) extracts on asthma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, active-comparator study to evaluate the effect of P. orientalis and R. officinalis extracts on asthmatic patients resistant to routine treatment. The subjects were randomly divided into three groups receiving P. orientalis and R. officinalis extracts alone or in combination. The primary endpoints were clinical findings, spirometry, exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) and Asthma Control Test (ACT) assessed over the one-month treatment period. RESULTS: ACT score showed significant improvement after treatment with R. officinalis (p<0.05) but not with P. orientalis. Clinical evaluations showed that cough, sputum production and wheezing were significantly improved in R. officinalis group (p<0.05 to p<0.001) while in P. orientalis group only improvement of cough and chest tightness were shown. Spirometry results showed significant improving in FEV1/VC values for subjects treated with P. orientalis and those who received the combination of extracts as well as significant decrease in FEF25-75 value only for P. orientalis group (p<0.05 for all cases). FENO was decreased in both groups but the results were statistically significant only for R. officinalis group (p<0.05). Abdominal pain and skin rash were the most frequent side effects of the treatments which led to discontinuation of the intervention. CONCLUSION: R. officinalis extract showed promising results in treatment of resistant asthma. Further studies to find the most effective components of these herbal medicines are recommended.