Planta Medica International Open 2017; 4(S 01): S1-S202
DOI: 10.1055/s-0037-1608050
Lecture Session – Phytopharmacology & Extract Pharmacology I
Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Complex data in herbal medcinal product research: Multi-step clustering of preclinical data for a herbal combination, STW 5

H Abdel-Aziz
1   Medical and Clinical Affairs Phytomedicines, Innovation and Development, Phytomedicines Supply and Development Center, Bayer Consumer Health Division, Steigerwald Arzneimittelwerk GmbH, Darmstadt, Germany, Darmstadt, Germany, Darmstadt, Germany
,
G Lorkowski
2   GL Pharma Consulting Research & Development, Gauting, Germany
,
O Kelber
3   Innovation and Development, Phytomedicines Supply and Development Center, Bayer Consumer Health Division, Steigerwald Arzneimittelwerk GmbH, Darmstadt, Germany
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

Publication Date:
24 October 2017 (online)

 

A multitude of causes and likewise also targets for therapeutic interventions have been identified in functional gastrointestinal diseases (FGDs) [1]. Therefore, a multi-target approach is a promising therapeutic strategy, as is exemplified by the herbal combination medicinal product STW 5 (Iberogast), which has been proven to be effective in a large number of randomized controlled clinical studies, while likewise exhibiting a highly favourable safety profile [2]. The fact, that STW 5 consists of nine plant extracts, makes the combination an ideal candidate for the use of the newly described method of step-wise cluster analysis, a standardized procedure to transfer heterogeneous pharmacological data, from different models, into effect size categories.

This method is based on a step-wise cluster formation starting from the level of single tests up to the level of different pathomechanisms involved in the development of a certain disease, in this case functional dyspepsia (FD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

The result is based on an overview on the pharmacological data on STW 5 and its single components, analysed using step-wise cluster formation. The different modes of action address multiple etiologic factors involved in functional dyspepsia and irritable bowel syndrome, like hyper- and hypomotility, acidity, inflammation and hypersensitivity, and also inflammatory gastrointestinal diseases. The results on STW 5 and the contribution of the single constituents to the overall multi-target action of this herbal combination preparation are evaluated and visualized by 2D histograms.

Thus, by making the allocation of specific actions to the different components of STW 5 manageable, the results also give support to the clinical use of the combination in patients with different symptom clusters.

[1] Allescher et al. 2006, Phytomedicine 13 SV: 2 – 11;

[2] Storr et al. 2016, Pharmakon 4: 356 – 364