Korean scientists develop herbal pill KIOM-C to treat H1N1 swine flu

KIOM-C, a combination of a dozen herbal extracts to treat H1N1 swine flu infection has been developed by South Korean scientists.

South Korean scientists have developed an herbal medicine for treatment of the A/H1N1 flu, The Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine (KIOM), a state-run research institute announced, reported Yonhap news agency.

The researchers have successfully extracted materials commonly used in traditional herbal remedies that showed immediate results of recovery when injected to mice infected with the disease, the Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine (KIOM) said.

KIOM-C medicine has been developed by combining extracted materials from a dozen of common herbal substances, according to KIOM.

“Laboratory tests conducted at the local company BioLeaders Corp. revealed the strong anti-viral qualities of the drug made from a substance found in oriental medicine,” Yonhap cited Ma Jin-yeul, head of KIOM’s Center for Herbal Medicine Improvement Research, was qouted as saying.

The Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine plans more detailed tests studies on KIOM-C to establish the findings.

KIOM-C will be formulated in pill form like the currently available oseltamivir (Tamiflu) anti-viral drug.

The Korean researchers expect KIOM-C to be available in the market in about three years,

In December, Chinese media reported that Jin Hua Qing Gan Fang, a Chinese herbal remedy, is found effective in A/H1N1 swine flu patients.

Jin Hua Qing Gan Fang, also called “Jin Hua” is being hailed as the world’s first traditional Chinese medicine to treat the A/H1N1 swine flu by the Chinese news papers.

Clinical studies spanning seven months have come out with adequate scientific evidence that the Chinese herbal remedy Jin Hua Qing Gan Fangan can shorten patients’ fever period and improve their respiratory systems, reports said quoting medical experts from China.

Jin Hua Qing Gan Fangan has no adverse side-effects.

Above all, Jin Hua Qing Gan Fangan is also very cheap. The medication cost only about a quarter of the cost of Tamiflu -  the widely used anti-flu drug of Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the treatment of the A/H1N1 swine flu.

The clinical studies using Jin Hua Qing Gan Fangan lasted for almost five months and were conducted by experts from the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Beijing University of Technology.

Chinese medical experts picked Jin Hua Qing Gan Fangan from among more than 100 classic anti-flu prescriptions based on traditional Chinese herbal medicine.

Jin Hua Qing Gan Fangan prescription had been adopted in many local traditional Chinese medicine hospitals.

Now backed by new clinical data, the Chinese health authorities are considering to develop Jin Hua Qing Gan Fangan further as an alternative to treat the A/H1N1 swine flu nott only in China but to the whole world.

In November, a Chinese traditional medicine claiming to relieve all H1N1 swine flu symptom in two or three days, especially in children has been launched in China, reports said.

The Chinese traditional medicine called “No 2 Cold Medicine” is capable of curing the H1N1 swine flu in a single dose treatment in most of the cases, the maker of the medicine was quoted as saying in local press.

“Some children will be cured with only one dose, while others might need two,” the company official has stated.

The Chinese traditional “No 2 Cold Medicine” is not only fast-acting but it safer also with no side-effects. “No 2 Cold Medicine” does not harm the stomach, unlike its western counterparts.

No 2 cold medicine is an upgrade of former anti-flu medicines.