The effect of a modified classic herbal formula, Bupleurum and dragon bone (Chai Hu Long Gu Mu Li Tang Jia Jian), on stress: a small sample non-randomized human clinical trial

Abstract

Contemporary society has seen stress reaching epidemic proportions. Pharmaceutical drugs used to treat stress, although effective, run the risk of physical dependence and addiction, prompting stress sufferers to seek other therapies. Chinese medicine, and in particular herbal medicine, presents a reasonable and effective treatment for stress management. Human clinical trials of Chinese herbal formulas are sorely lacking in Western medical literature. The present small sample, non-randomized clinical trial was conducted to test the efficacy of the herbal formula Bupleurum and Dragon Bone (Chai Hu Long Gu Mu Li Tang Jia Jian) in lowering participant scores on the standardized Perceived Stress Scale. The result of this clinical trial yielded a highly significant p-value of .001. The results were discussed in terms of theory and practice.