Botanical Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Pruritus: a Systematic Review

Current Dermatology Reports December 2017, Volume 6, Issue 4, pp 248–255 | Cite as Authors Authors and affiliations Jonathan G. BonchakEmail authorShalini TharejaSuephy C. ChenCassandra L. Quave 1. 2. 3. Itch (E Lerner, Section Editor) First Online: 19 October 2017 2 Shares 10 Downloads Part of the following topical collections: Topical Collection on Itch Abstract Purpose of Review Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is widely used by patients who suffer from chronic pruritus, but there is little data on the efficacy or antipruritic mechanism of these interventions. This review assesses the current understanding of the clinical efficacy and purported mechanisms of CAM therapy for pruritic skin disease, and serves as a basis for further investigation into the pharmacological basis of plant-based CAM for pruritus and patient motivations in the adoption of these types of therapies. Recent Findings To assess the current state of the literature, we queried multiple databases for reports of botanical CAM therapies for pruritic skin conditions. Numerous in vitro and animal studies show positive results, but antipruritic effects in human trials are varied. Many of these topical and systemic therapies have demonstrated measurable impact on inflammatory pathways, including some that are known to be crucial in transmission of itch signaling. Summary CAM is a frequently utilized but somewhat poorly understood intervention for chronic pruritus, though our understanding of the impact of these therapies on pruritus has improved in recent years. Further studies into the mechanism and efficacy of CAM-based therapies for chronic pruritus, and patient attitudes towards these practices, are warranted. Keywords Pruritus Itch CAM Complementary Alternative Botanical Permissions Tables contained herein are original and not previously published elsewhere. This article is part of the Topical Collection on Itch Notes Compliance with Ethical Standards Conflict of Interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors. References Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance 1. Sirois FM. Motivations for consulting complementary and alternative medicine practitioners: a comparison of consumers from 1997–8 and 2005. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2008;8:16. CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentralGoogle Scholar 2. Testerman J, Patient K. Motivations for using complementary and alternative medicine. Complement Health Pract Rev. 2004;9:81–92. CrossRefGoogle Scholar 3. Caspi O, Koithan M, Criddle MW. 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