Artichoke leaf extract reduces symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome in a post-marketing surveillance study

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a problem reported to affect 22% of the g eneral population. It is characterized by abdominal pain and altered bowel habit, but has so far defied elucidation of its pathogenesis and proved dif ficult to treat. There is a growing body of evidence which indicates therap eutic properties for artichoke leaf extract (ALE), Dyspepsia is the conditi on for which the herb is specifically indicated, but the symptom overlap be tween dyspeptic syndrome and IBS has given rise to the notion that ALE may have potential for treating IBS as well. A sub-group of patients with IBS s ymptoms was therefore identified from a sample of individuals with dyspepti c syndrome who were being monitored in a postmarketing surveillance study o f ALE for 6 weeks. Analysis of the data from the IBS sub-group revealed sig nificant reductions in the severity of symptoms and favourable evaluations of overall effectiveness by both physicians and patients. Furthermore, 96% of patients rated ALE as better than or at least equal to previous therapie s administered for their symptoms, and the tolerability of ALE was very goo d. These results provide support for the notion that ALE has potential valu e in relieving IBS symptoms and suggest that a controlled trial is justifie d. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.