A systematic review of the evidence for use of herbal medicine for the treatment of acute diarrhea

Background. Acute diarrhea (AD) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality among both children and adults. An ideal antidiarrheal treatment should be safe, effective, compatible with Oral Rehydration Solution, and inexpensive. Herbal medicines, if effective, should fit these criteria as well or better than standard treatment. ^ Objective. The objective of the present study was to assess the effectiveness of plant preparations in patients with AD in reports of randomized and non-randomized controlled trials. ^ Aims. The aims of the present study were to identify effective antidiarrheal herbs and to identify potential antidiarrheal herbs for future studies of efficacy through well designed clinical trials in human populations. ^ Methods. Nineteen published studies of herbal management of AD were examined to identify effective plant preparations. Ten plant preparations including Berberine (Berberis aristata), tormentil root ( Potentialla tormentilla), baohauhau (from the baobaosan plant), carob (Ceratonia siliqua), pectin (Malus domestica), wood creosote (Creosote bush), guava (Psidium guajava L.), belladonna (Atropa belladonna), white bean (Phaseolis vulgaris), and wheat (Triticum aestivum) were identified. ^ Results. Qualitative data analysis of nineteen clinical trials indicated berberine’s potentially valuable antisecretory effects against diarrhea caused by Vibrio cholerae and enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli. Tormentil root showed significant efficacy against rotavirus-induced diarrhea; carob exhibited antidiarrheal properties not only by acting to detoxify and constipate but by providing a rich source of calories; guava and belladonna are antispasmodics and have been shown to relieve the symptoms of AD. Finally, white bean and wheat yielded favorable clinical and dietary outcomes in children with diarrhea. ^ Conclusion. The present study is the first to review the evidence for use of herbal compounds for treatment of AD. Future randomized controlled trials are needed to evaluate their efficacy and safety.^

FEASIBILITY OF CORRELATING INCIDENCE OF DIARRHEA WITH CHARACTERISTICS OF RURAL EGYPTIAN HOUSEHOLDS BY MEANS OF AN ENVIRONMENTAL SURVEY

Few, if any studies, have attempted to identify the specific environmental factors associated with the incidence of diarrheal disease and to rank these by their contribution to the total incidence of diarrheal illness. Potentially those factors with the greatest contribution are the variables on which intervention could be expected to have the greatest impact on the incidence of diarrhea.^ In 317 rural Egyptian households participating in a longitudinal study of diarrheal disease, selected environmental characteristics were observed and recorded on a questionnaire. Characteristics of the environment were classified into seven categories including water usage, proximity of animals to the house, waste management, food preparation area, toilet area, the household structure and hygiene. The variables from each of the seven major groupings most associated with the incidence of diarrhea in infants were selected through the application of stepwise multiple regression. Each area was then ranked by the portion of the incidence of diarrhea in infants that each composite group of area-specific variables alone would explain. The groups of household structure and water usage variables were found to be more associated with the incidence of diarrhea in infants than variables describing the toilet area, proximity to animals or others. It was also found that 24.7% of the total variance in incidence of diarrheal illness was explained by environmental variables. ^

Seasonal cycles of monthly means of ground truth wind speed of METAR station GVAC and of area-averaged TMI wind speed at 37 GHz for the Cape Verde Island Sal

In the present paper ground truth and remotely sensed datasets were used for the investigation and quantification of the impact of Saharan dust on microwave propagation, the verification of theoretical results, and the validation of wind speeds determined by satellite microwave sensors. The influence of atmospheric dust was verified in two different study areas by investigations of single dust storms, wind statistics, wind speed scatter plots divided by the strength of Saharan dust storms, and wind speed differences in dependence of microwave frequencies and dust component of aerosol optical depth. An increase of the deviations of satellite wind speeds to ground truth wind speeds with higher microwave frequencies, with stronger dust storms, and with higher amount of coarse dust aerosols in coastal regions was obtained. Strong Saharan dust storms in coastal areas caused mean relative errors in the determination of wind speed by satellite microwave sensors of 16.3% at 10.7 GHz and of 20.3% at 37 GHz. The mean relative errors were smaller in the open sea area with 3.7% at 10.7 GHz and with 11.9% at 37 GHz.