Australian Journal of Medical Herbalism

Background/aim: The complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) workforce is the third largest occupational group in the Australian health sector. Yet the profile of this workforce is not well understood. This study aims to provide new insight into the Australian CAM workforce by exploring the demographic and practice characteristics of this occupational group. Methodology: Members of the National Herbalists Association of Australia (NHAA) were invited to participate in a descriptive, online survey. The NHAA, comprising of 1,125 members, is a professional association representing both Western herbalists and naturopaths, although nearly half of members primarily practice in another CAM discipline. The 82-item survey consisted of demographic questions (e.g. gender, age, highest qualification, place of residence, location of business), questions related to CAM practice (e.g. main occupation practiced, years in practice, employment type, number of clients consulted per week, fees charged and annual taxable income for practice), and questions relating to NHAA membership. Results: A response rate of 35.4% (n=399) was obtained. Participants were primarily female (86.7%), aged between 41-60 years (56.1%) and resided in a major city (61.7%). The majority of respondents (37.1%) held an undergraduate degree as their highest qualification, with 34.6% holding a postgraduate qualification and 27.6% holding an advanced diploma or lower-level qualification. Respondents most commonly practiced naturopathy (61.6%), herbal medicine (51.9%), nutrition (15.2%), massage therapy (14.4%) or another discipline (20.2%), with the majority of participants being in practice in their main modality for less than 10 years (47.6%). The number of years in practice, initial consultation fee and employment type were found to be statistically significantly associated with a higher income from clinical practice (p<0.001). Conclusion: The CAM workforce is a significant part of the healthcare landscape in Australia. Findings from this study suggest that the profile of this occupational group is changing, with signs of a shift toward a more female-dominant, part-time and highly qualified workforce. A more comprehensive investigation of the CAM workforce is now needed to corroborate these findings and to explore the implications of these results on CAM practice and policy.

Matthew J Leach

Erica McIntyre

Jane Frawley

Australian journal of medical herbalism

Characteristics of the Australian complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) workforce

澳大利亚补充与替代医学(CAM)从业人员的特征

Editorial: Herbal medicine use in pregnancy by Australian women: High rates of self-prescription and low rates of disclosure?

社论：澳大利亚孕妇使用草药：自我处方率高而披露率低？

Introduction: Insomnia disorder is prevalent throughout societies and places an immense burden on the individual and the wider community. Currently the main conventional treatment is with hypnotic/sedative drugs that may cause undesirable side effects and rebound insomnia. Consequently herbal medicine has become a popular alternative with some patients. Methods: The search strategy sought the terms 'insomnia' and 'herbal medicine' and 'clinical trials' across multiple databases with additional hand searches conducted from reference lists. Double-blind randomised controlled trials (RCT) with a placebo group, conducted between January 2003 and May 2014, were included for review if the participants were diagnosed with either primary insomnia or transient insomnia and used ingested Western herbal medicine to treat their insomnia. Results: Nine RCTs matched the inclusion criteria of which five examined Valeriana officinalis with inconclusive results warranting further research. Two trials examined Valeriana officinalis in combination with Humulus lupulus, one of which reached statistical significance in subjective sleep parameters. Two individual trials examined Matricaria chamomilla and Passiflora incarnata indicating some promise for efficacy and safety, thus warranting further research. Conclusion: Due to the multi-factorial causes attributed to insomnia disorder, it may be difficult to find a single herb for this treating this complex condition. Current research has not incorporated a broad and 'holistic' approach for the treatment of insomnia. Future research that focuses on this area, including the evidence for herbal medicine and further exploring the 'synergy' of herbs used in combination, may be advantageous proving a safe and viable treatment option.

Megan Taslaman

The efficacy and safety of herbal medicine for insomnia in adults: An overview of recent research

草药治疗成人失眠的疗效与安全性：近期研究综述

The National Institute of Complementary Medicine (NICM) is Australia's national agency for complementary medicine research and policy. Since its establishment in 2007, NICM has played a unique and changing role in Australia's national research and innovation system for natural medicine. We provide here an overview of the context for NICM's establishment, its early achievements, and how the rationale informing NICM's initial funding continues to influence its program of activities. NICM's current and future focus in building the evidence base for complementary medicine - and its integration into mainstream medicine - is discussed.

Janice Besch

Syvilla Boon

Alan Bensoussan

The National Institute of Complementary Medicine : past, present, future

国家补充医学研究所：过去、现在、未来

Extracts of Moringa oleifera Lam. (Moringaceae), a medicinal plant used in complementary and alternative medicine for the treatment of diverse ailments, were studied for antiviral activity on poliomyelitis virus. The dried and powdered leaves of the plant, Moringa oleifera, were extracted with methanol, water and petroleum ether using standard methods. Cytotoxicity of the extracts was evaluated using the end-point cytopathic effect assay on L20B cell lines. Phytochemical evaluations of the extracts were also carried out. The poliovirus was titrated and determination of the 50% tissue culture infective dose (TCID 50) done on L20B cells. Antiviral properties were determined against the three sero-types of poliovirus (SL1, SL2 and SL3) using the end-point cytopathic effect assay on L20B cell lines. Phytochemical analysis of the extracts revealed the presence of saponins, alkaloids, glycosides, tannins, flavonoids, carbohydrates, reducing sugar, resins, fats and oil, acidic compounds and proteins. Poliomyelitis viral infectivity was inhibited by the extracts giving a range of specificity indices of 2.47 - >125. This shows that the extracts selectively inhibited the virus and that their activity against the virus was not just a consequence of toxicity to the cells. The research has shown that the plant possesses potent antiviral potentials and could serve as a possible source of lead antiviral drug against poliomyelitis since the disease has no known drug for treatment.

Ebele L Okoye

Inhibition of the poliomyelitis viral-induced cytopathic effect by extracts of Moringa oleifera Lam.

辣木叶提取物对脊髓灰质炎病毒诱导的细胞病变效应的抑制作用

David Casteleijn

Ian Breakspear

Around the colleges, institutes and universities

围绕学院、研究所和大学

Futures, by their very nature, are inevitable. Managing how our own future may unfold takes some thought, and how naturopathic and Western herbal medicine projects its existence into a changing global healthcare context is relatively unexplored. As we are a philosophically rich healthcare service, it is inevitable that this will require a presence within this future. So how may this manifest, and where might we ground our knowledge when technoscientific advances and artificial intelligence increasingly challenge what it is to be human? Where may our holism and engagement with a purposeful nature lie? This commentary explores such questions through a discussion on philosophical rigour and some suggestions on how we may strengthen, assess, test and articulate this through reasoned action in the future world.

Jeff Flatt

Our future: What story will we share?

我们的未来：我们将分享怎样的故事？

Reflecting on how we make clinical decisions may highlight our strengths and limitations, and reveal a path forward. Evidence-based practice may define naturopathic expertise in terms of transparency and validity, develop a common language between naturopaths and conventional providers and enhance our patient-centred practices. Who would have thought!

Susan Arentz

Bursting the bubble of 'no evidence' by reframing the foundations of Naturopathy

通过重塑自然疗法的基础来戳破“无证据”的泡沫

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a significant global public health issue with few treatments currently available that effectively reverse the disease or prevent its progression. Diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and acute kidney disease are the major contributors to CKD. These co-morbidities cause the destruction of glomeruli resulting in blood flow changes, activation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, systemic hypertension, proteinuria, inflammation and oxidative stress. Pharmaceutical interventions, including angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers, calcium channel blockers and diuretics, are used as mono- or combination therapies to achieve blood pressure control and improve the condition. However, combinations of pharmaceuticals increase the risk of adverse events and in many patients does not prevent progression to renal failure. Salvia miltiorrhiza radix (Danshen) is a traditional Chinese herb that shows considerable potential in ameliorating the effects of CKD. A computer-based search of Cinahl, The Cochrane Library, Embase, Medline and TRIP databases was performed to appraise the scientific literature on this herb. While there is little evidence for the use of Danshen in CKD and no human studies have been located, this review provides a summary of the research to date that may reveal a novel treatment for this disease.

Jenny Care

Evaluation of Salvia miltiorrhiza radix (Danshen) in the treatment of chronic kidney disease: a literature review

丹参治疗慢性肾病的评价：文献综述

An international symposium on traditional medicine (TM) and complementary medicine (CM), Tradmed International, took place in Sri Lanka on 23-25 November 2017. Organised by the Ministry of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine of the Government of Sri Lanka, the World Health Organization and the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, the symposium was a multinational platform where the latest research and production of TM and CM was presented and discussed. It ushered in the establishment of an integrative, evidence-based TM system in Sri Lanka. A wide scope of TM- and CM-related issues were covered under the two broad themes of 'TM and CM service delivery for health promotion, disease prevention and management' and 'Safety, quality, efficacy and regulation of TM and CM products'. Experts shared their research findings through oral and poster presentations. It was proposed that this initiative would pave the way towards multidisciplinary research, bringing together academia and industry from the region and beyond in an innovative platform.

Christine Thomas

Report from Tradmed International Conference, Sri Lanka 2017: Multidisciplinary research bringing together academia, clinical practice and industry from the region and beyond

2017年斯里兰卡Tradmed国际会议报告：多学科研究汇聚地区内外学术界、临床实践与产业

出版信息	出版商: National Herbalists Association of Australia，出版周期: ，期刊类型: journal，开源期刊: 否
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