Kwon, Da-Ae, Kim, Yong Sang, Kim, Seul-Ki et al. · Pharmaceutical biology · 2021 · DOI
Researchers tested an herbal supplement called HemoHIM, made from three plants used in traditional medicine, to see if it could help reduce fatigue and improve antioxidant protection in the body. In laboratory and animal studies, HemoHIM appeared to restore protective enzymes that fight cellular damage and helped mice perform better on physical tests, suggesting it may have antifatigue properties.
ME/CFS is characterized by abnormal fatigue and evidence of mitochondrial and oxidative stress. This study identifies a potential mechanism—enhanced antioxidant defense—that could theoretically benefit fatigue pathophysiology, and herbal preparations offer an alternative or complementary approach worth investigating in human patient cohorts.
This study does not demonstrate that HemoHIM is effective in humans with ME/CFS; mouse models of citrinin-induced or exercise-induced fatigue do not fully recapitulate the complex pathophysiology of ME/CFS. It also does not establish which active compound(s) in the herbal mixture are responsible, nor does it prove efficacy would translate to clinical benefit in patients without human trials.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
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