Anti-inflammatory herbs may help people with bronchitis. Often these herbs contain complex polysaccharides and have a soothing effect; they are also known as demulcents. Chinese scullcap might be useful for bronchitis as an anti-inflammatory. However, the research on this herb is generally of low quality.³

The Chinese herb bupleurum, as part of the herbal formula sho-saiko-to, has been shown to have beneficial immune effects on white blood cells taken from people infected with HIV.⁴ Sho-saiko-to has also been shown to improve the efficacy of the anti-HIV drug lamivudine in the test tube.⁵ One preliminary study found that 7 of 13 people with HIV given sho-saiko-to had improvements in immune function.⁶ Double-blind trials are needed to determine whether bupleurum or sho-saiko-to might benefit people with HIV infection or AIDS. Other herbs in sho-saiko-to have also been shown to have anti-HIV activity in the test tube, most notably Asian scullcap.⁷ Therefore studies on sho-saiko-to cannot be taken to mean that bupleurum is the only active herb involved. The other ingredients are peony root, pinellia root, cassia bark, ginger root, jujube fruit, Asian ginseng root, Asian scullcap root, and licorice root.