Shin, Seungwon, Park, Soo Jung, Hwang, Minwoo · Integrative medicine research · 2021 · DOI
This study tested whether a traditional Korean herbal medicine called Sipjeondaebo-tang could help people with ME/CFS feel less tired. Ninety-six patients took either the herbal medicine or a placebo (fake medicine) for 8 weeks. While the herbal medicine did not meet the study's main success measure, it did help reduce fatigue severity on several fatigue rating scales and was safe to use.
This study addresses the need for evidence-based treatment options for ME/CFS, a condition with limited approved therapies. The findings suggest SJDBT may have modest benefits for fatigue symptoms and warrants further investigation into traditional medicine approaches for ME/CFS management.
This study does not prove that Sipjeondaebo-tang is an effective primary treatment for ME/CFS, as it failed to meet its main outcome measure. The results cannot establish optimal dosing, duration, patient subgroups most likely to benefit, or mechanisms of action. The discrepancy between the primary outcome and secondary measures raises questions about clinical meaningfulness of the observed effects.
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 →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Shin, Seungwon, Park, Soo Jung, & Hwang, Minwoo (2021). Effectiveness a herbal medicine (<i>Sipjeondaebo-tang</i>) on adults with chronic fatigue syndrome: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.. Integrative medicine research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.imr.2020.100664
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-shin-2021-effectiveness-herbal,
author = {Shin, Seungwon and Park, Soo Jung and Hwang, Minwoo},
title = {Effectiveness a herbal medicine (<i>Sipjeondaebo-tang</i>) on adults with chronic fatigue syndrome: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.},
journal = {Integrative medicine research},
year = {2021},
doi = {10.1016/j.imr.2020.100664},
note = {PubMed: 33101925},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/shin-2021-effectiveness-herbal},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-27. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/shin-2021-effectiveness-herbal
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