Zhang HP, et al. - Researchers intended to determine the efficacy and safety of Chinese herbal medicine formula entitled PingchuanYiqi (PCYQ) granule, in patients with acute asthma. The possible mechanisms were also investigated. PCYQ or placebo was randomly assigned to subjects with acute mild-to-moderate asthma recruited from seven centers in China. The primary outcomes were peak expiratory flow (PEF; L/min) and total asthma symptom scores. Using ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay), a panel of cytokines was detected. They found that possibly through decreasing inflammatory biomarkers such as IL(interleukin)-5, IL-8, IL-1β and PGD₂ (prostaglandins D2), significantly improved lung function and symptoms of acute asthma and reduction in SABA (short-acting β2-agonist) dosage were provided by the use of PCYQ as the Chinese herbal medicine formula in these subjects.