Saturday, 2 November 2013

Chinese Herbs – Shi Di (Calyx Diospyros Kaki)

Shi Di is also known as Persimmon. The bitter and acrid herb has been used in TCM to treat hiccups, whooping cough, urine with blood, influenza with vomiting, etc., as it subdues Rebellious Qi, stops hiccup, etc. by enhancing the functions of lung and stomach channels.

Ingredients
1. Oleanolic Acid
2. Stearic acid
4. Succinic acid
5. Eugenic acid
6. Vanillic acid
7. Gallic acid
8. Kaempferide
9. Quercetin
10. Trifolin
11. Hyuperin
12. β-sitosterol
13. Friedelin
14. Betulinic acid
15. Tannin
16. Etc.

Health Benefits
1. Leukemia HL-60 cells
In the study to investigate the effect of an acetone extract of D. kaki leaves (KV-1) on HL-60 cell differentiation in combination of ATRA or 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, indicated that treatment of HL-60 cells with zero to 100 microg/ml of KV-1 for 72 h induced a small increase in cell differentiation. Surprisingly, a synergistic induction of differentiation was observed when the HL-60 cells were treated with ATRA or 1,25-(OH)2D3 and the extract. The inhibitors of protein kinase C (PKC) (alpha and betaI) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), but not of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3-K) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) inhibited the HL-60 differentiation induced by the extract in combination of ATRA or 1,25-(OH)2D3, suggesting that PKC and ERK were involved in the cell differentiation enhancement by the extract(1).
2. Acaricidal activity
In the study to evaluate the Acaricidal effects of materials derived from Diospyros kaki roots against Dermatophagoides farinae and D. pteronyssinus, using impregnated fabric disk bioassay and comparingwith that of the commercial benzyl benzoate, indicated that plumbagin and its derivatives can be very useful for the potential control agents, lead compounds, and indicator of house dust mites(2).
3. Etc.

Side Effects
1. Do not use the herb in case of yang deficiency
2. Do not use the herb in newborn, children or if you are pregnant or breast feeding without first consulting with the related field specialist.
3. Etc.


Sources
(1) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19956868 
(2) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18309277

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