This is a recent review of ADHD treatment focusing on nutritional and herbal supplementation.
This review included 16 studies about ADHD treatment that met the inclusion criteria:
- Sample consisting of children or adolescents (aged 5—17) or adults (aged 18—65)
- Primary diagnosis of ADHD, or marked level of attention or hyperactivity on recognised scale
- Randomised and controlled design, or CAMs vs. a positive control (e.g. a psychostimulant)
- Sample size ≥20 (10 if a cross-over study)
- Duration of intervention ≥1 week
- Have measurable outcomes on attention or hyperactivity scale
- Rating on quality scale of 5 (see below for details of scale)
- Full paper in English
ADHD treatment support was found for
- zinc
- iron
- Pinus marinus (French maritime pine bark)
- Chinese herbal formula (Ningdong)
Mixed ADHD treatment evidence was found for
- omega-3
- L-acetyl carnitine.
They found no data that supports ADHD treatment with
- Ginkgo biloba
- Hypercium perforatum
The researchers felt that ADHD treatment could be addressed with combinations of herbs and minerals:
- to address mineral deficiency
- provide antioxidant and GABA-ergic effects
- modulate prefrontal cortex activity
Although the 2 ADHD treatment herbs looked at, St John's Wort and Ginkgo, did not show strong evidence they suggested other botanicals may provide a beneficial effect because of their GABA_ergic and antioxidant effects.
- kava (Piper methysticum)
- Bacopa monniera.
The researchers noted that 5 of the studies used some form of Continuous Performance Test and in all of these studies this test found no significant effects. It is possible that this kind of testing is not sensitive enough and can pick-up only strong effects.
Zinc for ADHD treatment
Arnold LE, Disilvestro RA, Bozzolo D, Bozzolo H, Crowl L, Fernandez S, et al. Zinc for attention-deficit/hyperactivity dis- order: placebo-controlled double-blind pilot trial alone and combined with amphetamine. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology 2011;21(February (1)):1—19.
Bilici M, Yildirim F, Kandil S, Bekaroglu M, Yildirmis S, Deger O, et al. Double-blind, placebo-controlled study of zinc sulfate in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychi- atry 2004;28(1):181—90.
Akhondzadeh S, Mohammadi MR, Khademi M. Zinc sulfate as an adjunct to methylphenidate for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children: a double blind and randomized trial [ISRCTN64132371]. BMC Psychiatry 2004;4.
Iron for ADHD treatment
Konofal E, Lecendreux M, Deron J, Marchand M, Cortese S, Zaďm M, et al. Effects of iron supplementation on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children. Pediatric Neurology 2008;38(1):20—6.
They di not find strong evidence for omega-3's but
Current evidence does not support the use of EFA in ADHD as a stand-alone treatment, and future studies should focus on its use only in deficient samples.
Pycnogenol for ADHD treatment
Trebatická J, Kopasová S, Hradeˇcná Z, Cˇinovsk ́y K, ˇSkodáˇcek I, ˇSuba J, et al. Treatment of ADHD with French maritime pine bark extract, Pycnogenol®. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 2006;15(6):329—35.
Tenenbaum S, Paull JC, Sparrow EP, Dodd DK, Green L. An experimental comparison of Pycnogenol® and methylphenidate in adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Journal of Attention Disorders 2002;6(2):49—59.