Die Prävention von häufigen Erkrankungen steht immer mehr im Fokus auch des öffentlichen Interesses. Da Präventionsmaßnahmen nebenwirkungsarm und leicht durchführbar sein müssen, erscheint Phytotherapie dafür besonders geeignet. Präventionsstudien sind jedoch sehr aufwendig und zudem fehleranfällig. Qualitativ hochwertige Studien sind deshalb eher selten, dies gilt aus leicht nachvollziehbaren Gründen auch für die meisten Arzneipflanzenextrakte. Für folgende Indikationen existieren jedoch schon qualitativ gute Präventionsstudien: (Alzheimer-) Demenz (Ginkgo biloba), Erkältungskrankheit (Echinacea spec.) und - mit Einschränkung - koronare Herzkrankheit (Allium sativum).
Summary
Preventive phytotherapy options
Prevention of common diseases is increasingly becoming the focus of attention and public interest. Prevention measures should be feasible and preferably without side effects. This applies to phytotherapy, among others, which therefore could provide appropriate tools for prevention. However, studies on prevention are very time-consuming, expensive and error-prone. As a result, high quality studies are rare; this is true and comprehensible also for prevention studies on herbal medicinal drugs. Nevertheless studies were published with the following indications: Alzheimer/dementia (Ginkgo biloba), common cold (Echinacea spec.) and, with some restriction, coronary heart disease (Allium sativum).
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