Is herbal therapy better than rifaximin for treating small intestinal bacterial overgrowth?

Rifaximin is the antibiotic of choice for treating small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO).  However, many patients prefer to avoid antibiotic therapy and use natural remedies.  This study looked at the efficacy of using a herbal capsules BID containing following commercial herbal preparations: Dysbiocide^®, FC-Cidal^TM, Candibactin-AR^®, Candibactin-BR^® versus using rifaximin.  Three hundred and ninety six (396) subjects were tested using the lactulose hydrogen breath test.  In this group 104 patients became the focus of the study because they tested positive for SIBO and had a follow-up breath test to determine the outcome of the therapy.  The study group had 37 subjects taking the herbal therapy and 67 elected to use rifaximin.  After a month of therapy the subjects were tested and 46% taking the herbal treatment tested negative whereas only 34% of the rifaximin subjects tested negative.  Adverse side effects for rifaximin affected 6 subjects but only 1 subject had an adverse reaction from the herbal therapy.  More study is necessary to confirm the results but these findings a promising for patients looking for an alternative to antibiotic therapy.

Ref: Glob Adv Health Med 2014 May

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24891990