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Tuesday 29 October 2013

Popular Chinese Herbs - An Xi Xiang (Benzoinum Styracis Benzoinis)



Traditional Chinese medicine
An Xi Xiang is also known as Tree Benxoinan genus Styrax, belonging to the family Styracaceae native to the Northern Hemisphere. The acrid, bitter and cool herb has been used in TCM to treat strokes, shocks, chest pain, epilepsy of children and geriatric asthma as it helps to relieve pain, restore consciousness, moves blood and qi by enhancing the functions of lung, heart, spleen and stomach liver channels.

Ingredients
1. Benzoic acid
2. Resin
3. Tinture
4. Pinoresinol
5. Lariciresinol
6. Secoisolariciresinol
7. Matairesinol
8. Hydroxymatairesinol
9. Syringaresinol
10. Sesamin
11. Enterodiol
12. Enterolactone
13. Etc.

Health benefits
1. Skin diseases
An Xi Xiang contains benzoic acid, a Whitfield’s Ointment including salicylic acid and benzoic acid to treat fungii causes of skin diseases, such as tinea, ringworm, and athlete’s foot.
2. Anti-bacteria and antifungi
Egonol and some synthesised new compounds extracted from An Xi Xiang has shown to contain a property of antibacterial, antifungal, and to enhance the ability to regulate functions of the immune system activity, according to the study of “Synthesis and antibacterial activity of egonol derivatives” by Oztürk SE, Akgül Y, Anil H., posted in PubMed(1)
3. Diabetes
Cinnamic acid, a white crystalline hydroxycinnamic acid in the herb, has been shown to have a good efect for people with diabetes due to elevation of iron levels in the body.
4. Weight loss
The chemical compound of Sesamin has been shown to decrease lipogenesis (fat storage) by decreasing lipogenic enzymes in the liver.
5. Cardiovascular health
Matairesinol is a plant lignan, some studies suggest that lignan can help to reduce the risk of cardio-diseases and hormone cause of cancers due it property as a precursors of the enterolignans.
6. Cancer
Pinoresinol, a lignan has shown to have a anti-cancer property but suggest that suggests that all of the polyphenolic compounds may work more effectively than pinoresinol alone.
7. Leukemia
The chemical compound of Triterpenoids from the resin of An Xi Xiang has significantly inhibited the growth of Leukemia HL-60 cell with IG(50) values ranging from 8.9 to 99.4 microM, according to the study of “Triterpenoids from the resin of Styrax tonkinensis and their antiproliferative and differentiation effects in human leukemia HL-60 cells” by Wang F, Hua H, Pei Y, Chen D, Jing Y., posted in PubMed(2)
8. Liver cancer
glycoprotein in An Xi Xaiang beside has exhibited the strong antioxidant effects and scavenges radicals activity but also attenuates the activity of HSP27, HSP70, PKC, MAPKs, and PCNA in BNL CL.2 cells and liver tissue, thus reducing the risk of liver cancer caused by oxidative stress, according to the study of Inhibitory effect of SJSZ glycoprotein (38 kDa) on expression of heat shock protein 27 and 70 in chromium (VI)-treated hepatocytes” by Lee J, Lim KT., posted by PubMed(3)
9. Sedative and anticonvulsant activities
In the test of pentobarbital-induced sleeping time, and pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)-induced convulsion, researchers found that oral administration (25, 50, 100 mg/kg), styrax prolonged the sodium pentobarbital-induced sleeping time and intranasal administration (12.5, 25, 50 mg/kg) prolonged the sleeping time at lower dosage, according to the study of “Sedative and anticonvulsant activities of styrax after oral and intranasal administration in mice” by
Guo J, Duan JA, Tang Y, Li Y”, posted in PubMed(4)

Side effects
1. Over intake can cause nausea and excess fatigue, anemia and leukemia.
2. The herb can be toxic to the kidney.
3. Etc.


Sources
(1) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18321718
(2) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16724846
(3) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21796412
(4) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21428734
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