Holistic Health Articles and Research Related to Herbal Medicines, Foods and Phytochemicals : Popular #Herbs

Sunday, 3 November 2013

Popular #Herbs - Myrrh (Commiphora myrrha)

Myrrh, is resin made from dried tree sap of Commiphora myrrha, which is the genus Commiphora, belonging to the family Burseraceae, native to the Yemen, Somalia, and eastern Ethiopia. The herb has been used traditional medicine to treat sore and spongy gums, rheumatoid arthritis, the tissues congestion, etc. In tradition Chines medicine, the herb has been used over thousands odf year to invigorate the blood to reduce blood stasis causes of pain and swelling, etc.

Health benefits
1. Anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties
In the determination of the effects of individual herbal extracts and combined extract on anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities from Commiphora myrrha, and Boswellia carterii in vivo found that that myrrh water extract (MWE) and the combined extract (CWE) at the 3.9g/kg, and 5.2g/kg showed inhibition of formalin-induced paw edema with inhibition rate of 30.44%, and 23.50%, respectively. The PGE(2) production was inhibited significantly by all samples (P<0.01 or P<0.05). CWE showed stronger suppression on carrageenan-induced mice paw edema at 2 and 3h after administration of drugs. The inhibitory effect of CWE on nitrite production was between that of MWE and water extract of frankincense (FWE) at 5.2g/kg. The dysmenorrhea mice test showed MWE could remarkably reduce the writhing times (P<0.05) and prolong the latency period, while FWE showed no obvious effects on the writhing times. CWE significantly reduced the writhing times and prolong the latency period (P<0.01), according to "Evaluation of the anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties of individual and combined extracts from Commiphora myrrha, and Boswellia carterii" by Su S, Hua Y, Wang Y, Gu W, Zhou W, Duan JA, Jiang H, Chen T, Tang Y.(1)

2. Neuroprotective Effects
In the testing the neuroprotective effects of ten new furanosesquiterpenoids, myrrhterpenoids A-J ( 1- 10), together with eight known analogues ( 11- 18),isolated from the resinous exudates of COMMIPHORA MYRRHA, found that all isolated furanosesquiterpenes showed neuroprotective effects against MPP (+)-induced neuronal cell death in SH-SY5Y cells, according to "Sesquiterpenoids from the Resinous Exudates of Commiphora myrrha and Their Neuroprotective Effects" by Xu J, Guo Y, Li Y, Zhao P, Liu C, Ma Y, Gao J, Hou W, Zhang T.(2)

3. Anti cancer activities
In the identification of the effects of Aqueous extracts of 12 Chinese medicinal herbs, including Commiphora myrrha on antiproliferative activity on eight cancer cell found that All the crude aqueous extracts demonstrated growth inhibitory activity on some or all of the cancer cell lines, but only two showed activity against the normal mammary epithelial cells. and concluded that these results indicate the potential use of traditional Chinese medicinal herbs as antineoplastic agents and suggest that further studies evaluating their mechanism(s) of action and the isolation of active antitumor compounds are warranted, according to "In vitro anticancer activity of twelve Chinese medicinal herbs" by Shoemaker M, Hamilton B, Dairkee SH, Cohen I, Campbell MJ.(3)

4. Prostate cancer
In the examination whether two naturally occurring sesquiterpenoids (ST1 and ST2) from myrrh with anti-proliferative activity in prostate cancer cells found that that suppression of AR transactivation by ST1 and ST2 may be mediated, in part, by inhibiting AR nuclear translocation and/or interfering with the interaction between AR and its coactivators ARA70 and SRC-1. Therefore, sesquiterpenoids could be developed as novel therapeutic agents for treating prostate cancer, according to "Sesquiterpenoids from myrrh inhibit androgen receptor expression and function in human prostate cancer cells" by Wang XL, Kong F, Shen T, Young CY, Lou HX, Yuan HQ.(4)

5. Antibacterial activity
In the evaluation of the antimicrobial activity from chemical composition of essential oils of cabreuva, including Commiphora myrrha, found that The volatile oils exhibited considerable inhibitory effects against all tested organisms, except Pseudomonas, using both test methods. Higher activity was observed against Gram-positive strains in comparison with Gram-negative bacteria. Cabreuva oil from Brazil showed similar results, but in comparison with the other oils tested, only when higher concentrations of oil were used, according to "Chemical composition and antibacterial activity of selected essential oils and some of their main compounds" by Wanner J, Schmidt E, Bail S, Jirovetz L, Buchbauer G, Gochev V, Girova T, Atanasova T, Stoyanova A.(5)

6. Anti parasites
In the identification of the effect of myrrh, divided into three main groups: GI (control group), GII (infected group) and GIII (infected-treated group) on Schistosoma mansoni found that the maximum effect of the drug was observed in SGs IIIB and IIIC as detected by significant decrease in the mean number and size of granulomas, paucity of eosinophils, decreased fibrosis and reticular fibers and the restoration of the glycogen content in the hepatocytes, according to "Evaluation of "Myrrh extract" against Schistosoma mansoni: a histological study" by Massoud AM, El Ebiary FH, Ibrahim SH, Saleh HA, Khalil HH.(6)

7. Gingival fibroblasts
In the study of myrrh oil (MO) effect on human gingival fibroblasts and epithelial cellsfound that that gingival epithelial cells and fibroblasts may differ in the magnitude of NF-kappaB activation after IL-1beta stimulation, and that MO inhibition of IL-1beta-stimulated IL-6 production in fibroblasts is due in part to inhibition of PGE(2), but not NF-kappaB activation, according to "Effect of myrrh oil on IL-1beta stimulation of NF-kappaB activation and PGE(2) production in human gingival fibroblasts and epithelial cells" by Tipton DA, Hamman NR, Dabbous MKh(7)

8. Anti-ulcer activity
In the investigation of botanical compounds with anti-ulcer activity include flavonoids, including gums and mucilages (i.e. gum guar and myrrh) found that Despite progress in conventional chemistry and pharmacology in producing effective drugs, the plant kingdom might provide a useful source of new anti-ulcer compounds for development as pharmaceutical entities or, alternatively, as simple dietary adjuncts to existing therapies, according to "The plant kingdom as a source of anti-ulcer remedies" by Borrelli F, Izzo AA.(8)

9. Etc.

Side effects
1. Do not use the herb in children or if you are pregnant or breast feeding without approval from the related field specialist.
2. Myrrh may cause irritation of the eyes and mucous membranes, if it is contacted.
3. Etc.