1. Serafeim Zisis 1, Giagkos Lavranos1, Demetris Lamnisos1
Alternative herbal medicine for hemorrhoids. Effect of Arum Maculatum on the quality of life of patients: A randomized controlled trial
Serafeim Zisis 1, Giagkos Lavranos1, Demetris Lamnisos1
1Department of Health Sciences, School of Science, European University of Cyprus, Cyprus.
Introduction
Hemorrhoids are a common disorder and leading cause of rectal bleeding, with unpleasant discomfort and pain for the patient. The diagnosis may reduce morbidity with the use of appropriate treatment. In the constant search for new methods of relief of symptoms and cure of hemorrhoid it is included the use of herbs (Herbal therapy) [1].
In this study, we are investigating an alternative herbal treatment of hemorrhoids using the Arum Maculatum plant (known also as Drakontia or “fidochorto” – food of the Snake). (Picture 1)
Objective
The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy, success rate and improvement in quality of life of people with Haemorrhoidal disease, after the use of the plant's root Drakontia (Picture 2). For this purpose, a randomized controlled trial was carried out using this herb (Dragontia - Arum Maculatum) [2].
Methods
At baseline, patients were asked to answer questions about their demographic characteristics and lifestyle. The primary outcome was the health related quality of life measured by the Short Form-36 health survey at the baseline and one month after the end of treatment [3]. The SF-36 is a 36-item, patient-reported survey of patient health and It yields an eight-scale profile of scores as well as physical and mental health summary measures.
In order to compare the improvement of patient health between interventions, a mixed Analysis of Variance (mixed ANOVA) was performed. In this analysis, independent variables were the patient groups (control-intervention) and the time (before and after), whereas dependent variables were the eight-scales of SF-36 as well as physical and mental health summary measures.
Picture 2. Dried root of Drakontia
Results
Treatment with Arum Maculatum improves the health related quality of life of patients with hemorrhoids. Particularly the treatment effect for the overall physical summary was 5.0 (95% CI: ) while for the overall mental summary was 4.7 (95% CI: ).
Material
The present study was conducted in a 6 months period (October 2016 to March 2017). There were 53 patients with Haemorrhoidal disease from the Central and North Greece with an average age of 46.5 years (range, 20-74). Patients who responded to the survey were of all levels of education and the majority of them were married (77%). Successive selection and exclusion criteria were met for selection of the sample, and a prerequisite for the participation was a written consent. Subsequently, the selected sample of patients considered eligible to participate in the study was divided into two groups by randomization method. The first group received Dracontia as the treatment, and the second group received a common commercial cream-ointment (the active substance Acetonide of Fluoroquinolone and Lidocaine). The treated group consumed the dried root of Arum Maculatum (Picture 2) after grinded and mixed with milk. The liquid mixture of 3gr of the herbal and 1L of milk was boiled and then conserved in the fridge. Participants were instructed to drink 250ml/day for two weeks.
Picture 1. Anatomy of Drakontia.
Conclusions
A comparison of the results between the two groups revealed that the patients of the intervention group, after the intake of the plant with the “root of the dragon”, seem to appreciate their psychosocial and physical health more positively than the patients in the control group.
References
[1] Lohsiriwat V., (2012), Hemorrhoids: from basic pathophysiology to clinical management. World J Gastroenterol.; 18:2009–2017.
[2] Kozuharova E., Kochmarov V., Naychov Z., Momekov G. and Mincheva I., (2015), Ethnobotany and ethnopharmacology of Arum Maculatum L. (Araceae) in Bulgaria with an emphasis on its effect against hemorrhoids. International Journal of Pharmaceutical, Chemical and Biological Sciences 2015, 5(2),
[3] Ware, J.E. Jr and Gandek, B. (1998). Overview of the SF-36 Health Survey and the International Quality of Life Assessment (IQOLA) Project. J Clin Epidemiol Vol. 51, pp. 903–912