Early intervention with Kan Jang® to treat upper-respiratory tract infections: A randomized, quadruple-blind study

10.1016/j.jtcme.2021.06.001

Mikayel Narimanyan；Kristina Jamalyan；Anna Balyan；Anders Barth；Staffan Palm；Georg Wikman；Alexander Panossian

Kan Jang® ； Andrographis paniculata ； Eleutherococcus senticosus ； Clinical trial ； Upper-respiratory tract infections ； Inflammation

Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine

11卷6期（2021 / 11 / 01）

552 - 562

英文

Background and aim: Andrographis paniculata and Eleutherococcus senticosus preparations and their fixed combination, called Kan Jang®, are traditionally used for relieving symptoms of upper-respiratory tract infections (URTIs). This study aimed to assess the efficacy of early intervention with Kan Jang® on the relief and duration of inflammatory symptoms during the acute phase of the disease. Experimental procedure: A total of 179 patients with URTI symptoms received six Kan Jang® (daily dose of andrographolides: 60 mg) or placebo capsules a day for five consecutive days in this randomized, quadruple-blinded, placebo-controlled, two-parallel-group phase II study. The primary efficacy outcomes were the decrease in the acute-phase duration and the mean URTI symptoms score (sore throat, runny nose, nasal congestion, hoarseness, cough, headache, and fatigue). Results: Early intervention with Kan Jang® significantly increased the recovery rate and reduced the number of sick leave days by ＞21% (0.64/day) relative to that observed in the placebo group (2.38 vs. 3.02 days, p = 0.0053). Kan Jang® significantly alleviated all URTI symptoms starting from the second day of treatment. A superior anti-inflammatory effect of Kan Jang® to that of placebo was also observed on the white blood cell count (p = 0.007) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (p = 0.0258). Treatment with Kan Jang® was tolerated well. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that early intervention with Kan Jang® capsules reduces the recovery duration of patients by 21% and significantly relieves the severity of typical URTI symptoms.

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