Antipyretic effect of Mao-to, a Japanese herbal medicine, for treatment of type A influenza infection in children

Mao-to is a Japanese traditional herbal medicine which has been used since ancient times for the treatment of influenza-like illness. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of oral Mao-to administration in children with type A influenza, in comparison to Oseltamivir. We performed a controlled trial of 60 children, from 5 months through 13 years of age, with fever and influenza-like symptom of up to 48 h duration. Diagnosis of influenza type A was performed by virus isolation or detection of a viral gene by RT-PCR. Patients assigned into the following 3 groups: oral Mao-to powder (TJ-27) 0.06 g/kg body wt./dose three times daily (n=17n=17), Oseltamivir 2 mg/kg body wt./dose twice daily (n=18n=18) or both oral Mao-to plus Oseltamivir (n=14n=14). The median duration of fever after treatment was significantly shorter in the Mao-to and Mao-to plus Oseltamivir groups, compared with the Oseltamivir only group (15 h [95%CI 13.2–22.1] p<0.01; 18 h[15.2–27.7] p<0.05; 24 h[23.5–43.0], respectively). Oral Mao-to administration was effective in the control of fever due to type A influenza infection in children.