Bronchial asthma: information on phytotherapy with essential fatty acids. Interactions between essential fatty acids and steroid hormones.

Abstract The pharmacological treatment of bronchial asthma is based on the inhalation of bronchodilative β 2 agonists and steroid hormones. In view of the therapeutic successes obtained with evening primrose oil in the treatment of neurodermatitis in children, the question arises whether this phytotherapeutic substitution therapy could at least partly replace symptomatic pharmacotherapy in bronchial asthma. It is shown that this will only be successful if one dispenses with the anti-inflammatory effect of the treatment with steroid hormones.