Saturday, 2 November 2013

Chinese Herbs – She Gan (Rhizoma Belamcandae Chinensis)

She Gan is also known as blackberry lily rhizome. The cold, bitter and slightly toxic herb has been used in TCM to treat sore throat, cough, tuberculosis, carbuncles, boils, etc., as it clears Heat, expels toxins, eliminates Phlegm, etc. by enhancing the function of lung channels.

Ingredients
1. Neomangiferin
2. Nangiferin
3. Tectoridin
4. Iristectorin B
5. Iristectorin A
6. Iridin
7. Tectorigenin
8. Iristectorigenin A
9. Irigenin
10. Irisflorentin
11. Irilone
12. Dichtomitin
13. Etc.

Health Benefits
1. Antitumor Activities
In the study of an activity-directed fractionation and purification process was used to isolate antitumor compounds from the roots of Belamcanda chinensis, showed that  Hoechst 33258 staining, and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay, which indicated the growth inhibition of MGC-803 cells via the induction of tumor cell apoptosis(1).
2. Antimutagenic and anti-oxidant activities 
In the study of the direct mutagenesis induced by N-nitroquinoline, and indirect mutation induction caused by metabolically activated 2-AF. found that the isoflavonoid fractions have the capability to scavenge free radicals, to reduce transition-metal ions and to protect polyunsaturated fatty acids from peroxidation. The analysis of the fractions obtained with high-performance liquid chromatography with photodiode-array and mass-spectrometric detection revealed several potentially bioactive isoflavones, either as glycosides or aglycones, depending on the polarity of the solvents used for fractionation. The main compounds were tectoridin and iridin in the glycoside fractions and the aglycones irigenin, tectorigenin, and 5,6,7,3′-tetrahydroxy-4′-methoxyisoflavone. The activities reported here can be regarded to be of additional value when using this plant as a phyto-estrogenic and chemopreventive agent(2).
3. Etc.

Side Effects
1. The herb may cause gastrointestinal discomfort, such as diarrhea
2. Do not use the herb in case of spleen deficiency
3. Do not use the herb in newborn, children or if you are pregnant or breast feeding without first consulting with the related field specialist.
4. Etc.

Sources
(1) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22627971
(2) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20096370

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