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Sunday, 1 December 2013

Eating Disorders: Bulimia nervosa - Treatments In Herbal Medicine Perspective

Bulimia nervosa is defined as a medical condition of  consuming a large amount of food in a short amount of time or one setting (binge eating), followed by self induced vomiting, taking a laxative or diuretic and/or excessive exercise, etc. to compensate for the binge. Bulimia nervosa also effects almost 90% of female. Unlike anorexia nervosa, people suffering from bulimia nervosa are usually normal or slightly over weight.
Treatments
In herbal medicine perspective
Herbs can be used to strengthen and tone the body's systems
 1. Ashwagandha also known as Withania somnifera is a nightshape plant in the genus of Withania, belonging to the family Solanaceae, native to the dry parts of India, North Africa, Middle East, and the Mediterranean. It has been considered as Indian ginseng and used in Ayurvedic medicine over 3000 years to treat tumors and tubercular glands, carbuncles, memory loss and ulcers and considered as anti-stress, cognition-facilitating, anti-inflammatory and anti-aging herbal medicine. According to the article of "Steroidal lactones from Withania somnifera, an ancient plant for novel medicine" by Mirjalili MH, Moyano E, Bonfill M, Cusido RM, Palazón J.(37). Ashwagandha root may be used to treat the stress and antioxidants causes of anorexia nervosa(38)

2. Milk thistle  
In the observation of the active extract of milk thistle, silymarin, is a mixture of flavonolignans and its antioxidant effect found that Exposure to light significantly reduced sprout growth and significantly increased the polyphenol content and antioxidative capacity. The polyphenol content was 30% higher in seeds originating from purple inflorescences than in those from white ones. We thus found milk thistle to be a good candidate source of healthy edible sprouts, according to "The potential of milk thistle (Silybum marianum L.), an Israeli native, as a source of edible sprouts rich in antioxidants" by Vaknin Y, Hadas R, Schafferman D, Murkhovsky L, Bashan N.(39)

3. Catnip 
Catnip is to calm the nerves and soothe the digestive system. The alcohol extract of catnip has a biphasic effect on the behavior of young chicks. Low and moderate dose levels (25--1800 mg/kg) cause increasing numbers of chicks to sleep, while high dose levels (i.e. above 2 g/kg) cause a decreasing number of chicks to sleep, according to the study of `The effect of an ethanol extract of catnip (Nepeta cataria) on the behavior of the young chick`by Sherry CJ, Hunter PS.(40)

4. Grape Seed Extract is the commercial extracts from whole grape seeds that contains many concentrations, including vitamin E, flavonoids, linoleic acid, oligomeric proanthocyanidins(OPCs), etc..The herb has been used in traditional medicine as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory agents and to treat skin wounds with less scarring, allergies, macular degeneration, arthritis, enhance circulation of blood vessels, lower cholesterol, etc.
a. Ulcer
in the comparison of effects of Grape Seed Extract (GSE) and vitamins C and E on aspirin- and ethanol-induced gastric ulcer and associated increases of lipid peroxidation in rats, found that GSE protected against ethanol-induced gastric ulcers more effectively than VC or VE, while its protection against aspirin ulcers was comparable for all treatments. GSE produced the greatest reductions of gastric MDA in both models, according to" Effects of grape seed extract, vitamin C, and vitamin e on ethanol- and aspirin-induced ulcers" by Cuevas VM, Calzado YR, Guerra YP, Yera AO, Despaigne SJ, Ferreiro RM, Quintana DC.(41)

b. Antioxidant Activity
in the assessment of phenolic content, antioxidant activity of White and red wines spiked with green tea extract and grape seed extract found that the green tea extract and grape seed extract increased antioxidant activity dose-dependently and the CRTs varied considerably between the Korean and Australian groups, with Koreans preferring wines spiked with green tea extract and Australians showing a preference for wines spiked with grape seed extract, according to "Total Phenolic Content, Antioxidant Activity and Cross-Cultural Consumer Rejection Threshold in White and Red Wines Functionally Enhanced with Catechin-Rich" by Yoo YJ, Saliba A, Prenzler PD, Ryan DM.(42)


5. Lavender is a flower plant of the genus Lavandula, belonging to the family Lamiaceae, native to Asia. The herb has been used in traditional medicine to treat painful bruises and aches, to relieve various neuralgic pains, sprains, rheumatism, etc.
a. 'Subsyndromal' anxiety disorder
In the investigation of orally administered Lavandula oil preparation and its effect on'subsyndromal' anxiety disorder, found that Lavandula oil preparation had a significant beneficial influence on quality and duration of sleep and improved general mental and physical health without causing any unwanted sedative or other drug specific effects. Lavandula oil preparation silexan is both efficacious and safe for the relief of anxiety disorder not otherwise specified. It has a clinically meaningful anxiolytic effect and alleviates anxiety related disturbed sleep, according to "Silexan, an orally administered Lavandula oil preparation, is effective in the treatment of 'subsyndromal' anxiety disorder: a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled trial"by Kasper S, Gastpar M, Müller WE, Volz HP,
Möller HJ, Dienel A, Schläfke S.(43)
b.  Antidepressant-like effect
In the classification of the antidepressant effects of essential oils of Anthemis nobilis (chamomile), Salvia sclarea (clary sage; clary), Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary), and Lavandula angustifolia (lavender)found that clary oil could be developed as a therapeutic agent for patients with depression and that the antidepressant-like effect of clary oil is closely associated with modulation of the DAnergic pathway, according to "Antidepressant-like effect of Salvia sclarea is explained by modulation of dopamine activities in rats" by Seol GH, Shim HS, Kim PJ, Moon HK, Lee KH, Shim I, Suh SH, Min SS.(44)
 
6. Etc. 

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