Friday 1 November 2013

Chinese Herbs – Wu Tou ( Radix Aconiti Carmichaeli)

Wu Tou is also known as Aconite Root. The acrid, hot and toxic herb has been used in TCM use as      sedative, analgesic, anti inflammatory, anti cancer agent and to treat muscle spasm in cholera; instant sweating, pain and cold in chest and abdomen, chronic diarrhea, etc., as it strongly expels Wind-Damp, disperses Cold, calms pain, etc. by enhancing the functions of heart, kidney and spleen channels.

Ingredients
1. Hypaconitine
2. Aconitine
3. Mesaconitine
4. Talatisamine
5. Chuan-wu-base A
6. Chuan-wu-base B
7. Carmichaeline
8. Atisines
9. Aminophenols
10. Etc.

Health Benefits
1. Energy metabolism
Herbs with hot property such as Radix aconiti lateralis preparata and Rhizoma zingiberis could improve the energy metabolism in rats, through influencing the metabolic process of sugar, lipid, and amino acid. It could also promote the production, storage, and utilization of energy by regulating the gene expression related to metabolism, according to the study of Dr. Yu HY, and the researchers at the Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine(1).
2. Antibacterial effect
In the study to investigate the crude monkshood polysaccharide isolated from Radix Aconiti Lateralis Preparata on polysaccharide on Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, showed that  microcalorimetry is a fast, simple, and more sensitive technology that can be easily performed to study the effect of drugs on bacteria(2).
3. Portal hypertension
High dose of Zhi-Fuzi exerted more portal hypotensive effects than propranolol and simultaneously ameliorated the systemic arterial hypotension in PVL rats. The late administration of Zhi-Fuzi also significantly reduced the elevated portal pressure (14.56 +/- 0.19 vs. 19.50 +/- 0.31 mm Hg in control, P < 0.05). There were no adverse effects seen in normal rats receiving Zhi-Fuzi. The results suggest that Zhi-Fuzi is a potential drug for the prophylaxis and treatment of portal hypertension, according to the study of China Medical University(3).
4. Etc.

Side Effects
1. Do not use the herb in case of  not cold and weak
2. Raw Wu tou is very toxic
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/22231706
(2) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21726063
(3) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17392492

1 comment:

  1. BOC Sciences provides a wide range of services to support the pharmaceutical industry through all stages of drug discovery including Custom Synthesis of those chemicals that are not in stock, Delsoline

    ReplyDelete