EDITORIAL

Natural medicines for alcoholism treatment

Readers of this issue of the journal are in for a treat.

The review article on natural medicines for alcoholism

treatment by Bao-Jun Xu, Yi-Nan Zheng and Khang-

Keun Sung from South Korea and China [1] provides

us with a window on the use of traditional and folk

natural medicines for the treatment of alcohol pro-

blems. This article draws our attention to the long

history of use of natural medicines for the treatment of

alcoholism in Asian countries, especially China, Japan

and Korea. Indeed, Pueraria lobata (also known as

kudzu) has been used as a medication in China since

200 BC and is noted in the Chinese pharmacopoeia of

AD 600 as a remedy for combating drunkenness.

The recent interest of western medicine in medicinal

approaches to the treatment of alcoholism over the past

half-century seems fleeting in comparison. However,

while these natural medicine approaches from Asian

cultures have a long history, scientific examination of

their method of action and their efficacy has only

become the focus of attention over the past two

decades. Fortunately, we are now seeing a synergy

between western medicine and traditional and natural

medicine approaches to the treatment of alcohol

dependence and abuse. The article by Xu and

colleagues provides a timely overview of this field of

endeavour.

The article looks at five main areas: the role of

traditional medicines as hangover remedies; the effect

of natural medicines on alcohol intake and craving; the

role of natural medicines on reducing alcohol absorp-

tion from the gut; the effect of natural medicines on

increasing alcohol metabolism in the liver and lowering

blood alcohol concentrations; and the protective effect

of natural medicines on tissue injury caused by alcohol.

A rich description of herbs and other natural com-

pounds fill the pages of this part of the article. A final

note is provided on the potential toxic effects of natural

medicines used for alcohol treatment. This part of the

paper does raise some concerns; little work has been

conducted so far to evaluate the toxicity and safety of

natural remedies used for alcoholism. Clearly, more

work is needed.

After reading this article one feels that we are on the

cusp of an important advance in understanding the role

of traditional and folk medicine in the treatment of

alcohol problems. At the moment, much of the work

described is of animal studies. Studies on humans using

these preparations is just beginning. The value of this

article as a review is its comprehensive approach to a

wide range of literature on the topic. It taps material

beyond standard western medical literature databases

such as Medline. A Medline search I conducted with

terms such as ‘natural medicine’ and ‘alcohol depen-

dence’ accessed only about 20 articles, of which only a

small number covered natural therapies reviewed in this

paper. Finally, this article allows us to enjoy the

scholastic fruits of our north Asian colleagues while

providing them with a journal forum to present their

work. We are all enriched in the process.

PHILIP MORRIS

Consultant psychiatrist

Reference

[1] Xu BJ, Zheng YN, Sung CK. Natural medicines for

alcoholism treatment: a review. Drug Alcohol Rev 2005;

24:525 – 36.

Drug and Alcohol Review (November 2005), 24, 473

ISSN 0959-5236 print/ISSN 1465-3362 online/05/060473–01 � Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and Other Drugs

DOI: 10.1080/09595230500341990