Herbal Butterbur Protects Our Airway Hyperresponsiveness in Asthma Patients, According to Studies

By Kyle J. Norton

Herbal Butterbur may have a potential effect in reducing the airway hyperresponsiveness, one of 2 key pathophysiological features of asthma, some scientists found.

Airway hyperresponsiveness is a condition by an abnormal response of the airways to nonspecific stimuli, which results in airway obstruction.

It is also a reflection of an abnormally amplified response of airway nerves and mast cells to exogenous stimuli, as well as an intrinsic abnormality of the airway smooth muscle response.

Some researchers suggested, airway hyperresponsiveness is linked to both inflammation and repair of the airways and is partially reversible with therapy.

In fact, airway hyperresponsiveness can be objectively demonstrated by initiating the 20% fall in the forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) after inhalation of histamine or methacholine) at a concentration below 8 mg/mL.

Although researchers do not know what causes hyperresponsiveness but they do know certain risk factors such as the sensitivity of airway nerves, mast cells, and smooth muscle by inflammatory mediators, along with loss of epithelial barrier function, reduced production of bronchoprotective factors, an intrinsic abnormality of airway smooth muscle, and structural changes to the airway, all are likely to play a part in the development of airway hyperresponsiveness.

In the understanding, the relationship between symptoms of asthma and airway hyperresponsiveness, researchers at the McGill University conducted a cohort study, including 457 asthmatic children diagnosed at the age of 3 to 4 years, airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR).

At the final report of the experiment, the researcher wrote, " all patients with asthma persisting but not necessarily current symptoms of asthma have increased AHR,, which satisfies a proposed epidemiologic definition of asthma".

Butterbur, found in wet, marshy, damp land, including wetland, Riverside, forest, etc., is a creeping underground plant, genus Petasites of 15 -20 species, belonging to the family Asteraceae, native to Northern Hemisphere.

 It has been used in herbal medicine used as a pain reliever in the digestive system, including stomach, bile ducts, and duodenum, etc.

The chemical constituents of Butterbur include Petioles, petasitene, and ethylene, quercetin 3-O-beta-D-glucoside, quercetin 3-O-beta-D-6''-O-acetylglucoside, and rutin, caffeic acid, alkaloids, S-petasin and iso-S-petasin, etc.

On finding a natural remedy for the treatment of asthma with no side effects, researchers examined the effect of herbal Petasites hybridus (butterbur) extract (Ze 339, PET) in the murine model of allergic airway disease (asthma).

In immunized BALB/c mice, PET showed a strongly inhibited the allergic response. PET inhibited airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) and eosinophil recruitment into the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid upon allergen challenge but had no effect in the saline control mice.

At a concentration of 100 microg, PET revealed less inflammation, eosinophil recruitment and mucus hyperproduction in the lung, through inhibiting the immune response (RANTES (CCL5)) and production of proinflammatory cytokines associated with asthma without affecting the levels of IgE and eotaxin serum, a marker of asthma.

Furthermore, in the assessment of S-isopetasin, an antimuscarinic sesquiterpene of Butterbur as

a bronchodilator in the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma exacerbations, researchers showed

S-isopetasin exerted the inhibitory effects similar to that of ipratropium bromide, a reference drug.

The duration of action of S-isopetasin (20 microM), also similar to that of ipratropium bromide (20 microM), was 3 h.

In contrast to ipratropium bromide, which non-selectively acts on muscarinic receptors, S-isopetasin preferentially acts on muscarinic M3 receptors.

Where Acetylcholine muscarinic M3 receptors (CHRM3) of the airway, expressed in the trachea and bronchi involved airway smooth muscle contraction and mucus secretion in asthma patients.

And, Ipratropium bromide, sold under the trade name Atrovent among others, used to open up the medium and large airways in the lungs. 

(P(enh)) value is the probability of obtaining an effect at least as extreme as the one in the sample data, assuming the truth of the null hypothesis.

Taken altogether, herbal Butterbur may be considered a functional herb for the prevention and combined with other primary therapy for the treatment of asthma with no side effects.



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Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.

References
(1) Petasites extract Ze 339 (PET) inhibits allergen-induced Th2 responses, airway inflammation, and airway hyperreactivity in mice by Brattström A, Schapowal A, Maillet I, Schnyder B, Ryffel B, Moser R.(PubMed)
(2) Bronchodilatory effects of S-isopetasin, an antimuscarinic sesquiterpene of Petasites formosanus, on obstructive airwayhyperresponsiveness by Lin LH, Huang TJ, Wang SH, Lin YL, Wu SN, Ko WC.(PubMed)
(3) Airway hyperresponsiveness and symptoms of asthma in a six-year follow-up study of childhood asthma by Gautrin D1, Lapierre JG, Malo JL, Infante-Rivard C.(PubMed)