Herbal Andrographis and Heart diseases

Andrographis paniculata is also known as Andrographis is a herbaceous plant, genus Andrographis, belonging to the family Acanthaceae, native to India and Sri Lanka. It has been used in traditional Siddha and Ayurvedic in treating the common cold, flu, upper respiratory infections, infectious diseases, diarrhea, dysentery, cholera, pneumonia, swollen lymph nodes, leprosy, bronchitis, sore throats, tuberculosis, chicken pox, etc.

Beside cancer, heart disease kills more than 2,000 Americans everyday. Approximately 60 million Americans have heart disease. There are many causes of heart diseases. Most of heart diseases are caused by high blood pressure contributes to hardening of the arteries. High levels of bad cholesterol (LDL) build up in the arteries as a result of uncontrolled diet with high levels of saturated fat and trans fat. All these add to the formation of atherosclerosis lesions and eventually arterial blockage or anything that serves to damage the inner lining of blood vessels and impedes the transportation of oxygen and nutrition to the heart.

The Ingredients
Beside the main ingredient andrographolides, giving the plant a bitter taste, other ingredients includediterpene lactones, such as: neoandrographolide, andrographiside, 14-doexy-11, 12-didehydro andrographolide, etc., flavonoinds viz., oroxylin, wogonin, andrographidines A, B, C, D, E, F.

The benefits
Neutrophils and inflammatory cytokines have been implicated in ischemia/reperfusion injury. Herbal Andrographis showed the cardioprotective effects by the suppression of oxidative stress and preservation of histoarchitecture of myofibrils along with improvement of haemodynamic and ventricular functions. Thromboembolic disorder is the development of clots within a blood vessel,
Andrographolide, a novel nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) inhibitor, with  the various medicinal properties of andrographolide may have a potential value in treating patients with thromboembolic disorders as andrographolide may involve an increase in cyclic GMP/PKG, followed by inhibition of the p38 MAPK/(·)HO-NF-κB-ERK2 cascade in activated platelets. Other study also indicated that andrographis paniculata protective effects of on post-infarction myocardium in experimental dogs, due to its acts on reversibly ischemic myocardium.

The Side effects
1. Antifertility
Dry leaf powder of A. paniculata increases the risk accumulating of glycogen and cholesterol in the testis, and increased activities of lactate dehydrogenase in testis and alkaline phosphatase in testis and ventral prostate, thus reducing the risk of fertility.
 2. People with gallbladder disease may want to consult with their doctor before using because of the herb stimulating gallbladder contraction effect.

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References
(1) Antifertility effect of Andrographis paniculata (Nees) in male albino rat" by Akbarsha MA, Manivannan B, Hamid KS, Vijayan B., posted in (PubMed)
(2) Protective effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Andrographis paniculata on ischaemia-reperfusion induced myocardial injury in rats by Ojha SK, Bharti S, Joshi S, Kumari S, Arya DS.(PubMed)
(3) Mechanisms of andrographolide-induced platelet apoptosis in human platelets: regulatory roles of the extrinsic apoptotic pathway by Lien LM, Su CC, Hsu WH, Lu WJ, Chung CL, Yen TL, Chiu HC, Sheu JR, Lin KH. (PubMed)
(4) Suppression of NF-κB signaling by andrographolide with a novel mechanism in human platelets: regulatory roles of the p38 MAPK-hydroxyl radical-ERK2 cascade by Lu WJ, Lin KH, Hsu MJ, Chou DS, Hsiao G, Sheu JR.(PubMed)
(5) Protective effects of andrographis paniculata nees on post-infarction myocardium in experimental dogs by Zhao HY, Fang WY.(PubMed)