Holistic Health Articles and Research Related to Herbal Medicines, Foods and Phytochemicals

Tuesday, 11 February 2020

Comfrey(Symphytum officinale L.). a Anti-inflammatory Herbal Medicine

By Kyle J. Norton

Inflammation is the natural response of the immune system macrophages, the first line of defense in stimulating the production of inflammatory cytokines to protect our body against the infection caused by foreign microorganisms during the acute phase of body damage and injury.

Truly, the main focus of inflammation is to repair damage and injury.

Most cases of infection associated with inflammation are stopped at the acute phase. The wound or injury then is slowly recovered.

However, overexpression of inflammatory cytokines in most cases can cause improper healing with scar formation or the death of nearby cells.

The most common symptoms of acute inflammation occurred with a short period of time such as hours is pain, redness, immobility, swelling, and heat.

Conventionally, depending on the types of acute inflammation, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may be prescribed to alleviate the pain by counteracting an enzyme that contributes to inflammation.

Any inflammation that lasts more than 3 months is considered chronic inflammation.

Chronic inflammation is the result of the immune system's inability to kill off all the microorganisms participated in the acute phase of infection, leading to the forming of autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases such as RA and diabetes.

Inflammation also can be caused by overexpression of free radicals compared to the antioxidant enzymes in the body. This result can lead to an imbalance of the ratio of the levels of free radicals and antioxidants, the major cause of oxidative stress.

The chronic inflammation statistics, by Roma Pahwa, Anand Singh, and Ishwarlal Jialal, wrote, "Chronic inflammatory diseases are the most significant cause of death in the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) ranks chronic diseases as the greatest threat to human health. The prevalence of diseases associated with chronic inflammation is anticipated to increase persistently for the next 30 years in the United States. in 2000, nearly 125 million Americans were living with chronic conditions and 61 million (21%) had more than one".

And, "In recent estimates by Rand Corporation, in 2014 nearly 60% of Americans had at least one chronic condition, 42% had more than one and 12% of adults had 5 or more chronic conditions".

Comfrey is a perennial plant in the genus of Symphytum, belonging to the family Boraginaceae, native to Europe. It has been used in herbal and traditional medicine to ease excessive bleeding or on open wounds, relief pain and swollen, treat circulation issues, reduce cholesterol, etc.

On finding a potential compound for the treatment of diseases associated with chronic diseases, researchers compared the efficacy of Symphytum officinale, commonly known as comfrey in chronic inflammation.

According to the study,

* Topical use of comfrey, may process a strong anti analgesic and anti-inflammatory property for the treatment of diseases involved in the overexpression of pro-inflammatory activity.

* Furthermore, a hydroalcoholic extract of comfrey root impairs the development of a pro-inflammatory scenario in primary human endothelial cells in a dose-dependent manner.

* Moreover, the extracts also exhibited anti-inflammatory properties by impairing the pro-inflammatory genes interleukin-1 (IL-1) in activating the expression of pro-inflammatory markers including E-selectin, VCAM1, ICAM1, and COX-2.

* Additionally, the NF-κB, a transcription factor of central importance for the expression of these and other pro-inflammatory genes were also inhibited by the extracts through 2 different stages, including the cytokines IKK1/2 and IκBα degradation.

Taken altogether, Comfrey may be considered a remedy for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Natural Medicine for Fatty Liver And Obesity Reversal - The Revolutionary Findings To Achieve Optimal Health And Lose Weight

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Contrary To Professionals Prediction, Floaters Can Be Cured Naturally

Ovarian Cysts And PCOS Elimination
Holistic System In Existence That Will Show You How To
Permanently Eliminate All Types of Ovarian Cysts Within 2 Months

Back to Kyle J. Norton Homepage http://kylejnorton.blogspot.ca

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.

Sources
(1) A Symphytum officinale Root Exutical)tract Exerts Anti-inflammatory Properties by Affecting Two Distinct Steps of NF-κB Signaling by Jacqueline Seigner1, Marc Junker-Samek2, Alberto Plaza2, Gilda D‘Urso3, Milena Masullo3, Sonia Piacente3, Yvonne M. Holper-Schichl4*† and Rainer de Martin. (Frontier in Pharmacology)
(2) Chronic Inflammation by Roma Pahwa, Anand Singh, and Ishwarlal Jialal. (NICB)

Monday, 10 February 2020

Herbal Comfrey (Symphytum officinale L.), the Remedy for the Treatment of Painful osteoarthritis

By Kyle J. Norton

Osteoarthritis (OA) one of the most common forms of arthritis that affects over 25 25 million people in the United State, is a chronic inflammatory disease of the joints due to wear and tear over time.

The characteristics of osteoarthritis are aching pain, stiffness, or difficulty of moving the joint or joints. The pain usually gets worse in a change of weather, at night and in the advanced diseases, the pain can occur even at rest.

Conventionally, treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) focuses on pain relief and improved physical function through pharmacological, nonpharmacological, and surgical treatments.

The most common risk factors associated with the onset of OA include genetic preposition, being overweight or obese, previous joint injury and repetitive movements or injuries to joints (such as a fracture, surgery or ligament tears).

the most common diseases associated with OA are

* Hypertension
According to the University Health Network Research Institute, the economic burden incurred by RA significantly exceeds that related to OA and HBP(76)(77).

* Cardiovascular disease
According to Erasmus University Medical Centre, there are associations of atherosclerosis with osteoarthritis of the knee and hand joints in women(72)(73)(78).

* Peripheral vascular disease
According to Himchan Hospital, patients with due to osteoarthritis are associated to risk of asymptomatic peripheral vascular disease(80). The average vessel wall thickness of the popliteal artery was 1.09 mm in patients with generalized OA, and 0.96 mm in the matched normal reference population(79).

* Congestive heart failure
Hypertension, diabetes, and older age have shown to increased risk of Congestive heart failure modestly(81). Etoricoxib, annti-inflammatory painkillers showed statistically significant inhibition at 90 mg in patients with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis(82).

* Renal function impairment
According to the Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust, pain pharmacotherapies such as osteoarthritis (OA) or mixed OA and rheumatoid arthritis may increase the risk of adverse events in patients with concurrent cardiovascular (CV) or renal disease(83). Median excretion of pyridinoline and deoxypyridinoline in the OA patients as a whole was raised above values found in a healthy control population(84).

* Diabetes
Several epidemiological and experimental data support the hypothesis that diabetes could be an independent risk factor for osteoarthritis (OA)(76)(85).

On finding a potential compound for the treatment of osteoarthritis, researchers investigated the effect of Kytta-Salbe f (3 x 2 g), a topical including comfrey over a 3 week period with patients suffering from painful osteoarthritis of the knee.
The randomised, double-blind, bi-center, placebo-controlled clinical trial including 220 patients was conducted by the Merck Selbstmedikation GmbH.

In the course of the trial, the visual analog scale (VAS) total score (primary target value) in the verum group dropped by 51.6 mm (54.7%) and in the placebo group by 10.1 mm (10.7%).

The average difference between the groups of 41.5 mm (95% confidence interval=34.8 to 48.2 mm) or 44.0% is significant (p<0.001).

The WOMAC (Western Ontario and McMaster Universities) total score (secondary target value) also improved similar to the VAS total score.

At the end of the trial, a reduction by 60.4 mm (58.0%) was recorded for the verum group and a reduction of 14.7 mm (14.1%) for the placebo group.

The average group difference of 45.7 mm (95% confidence interval=37.1 to 54.3 mm) or 43.9% is significant (p<0.001).

The difference between the treatment groups increased systematically and significantly, in parallel with the duration of the treatment.

Based on the results, researchers said, "the superiority of the treatment with Kytta-Salbe f over that with the placebo is proven, even by means of the multi-factorial multivariate analysis for repetitive measurements. In respect of the explorative secondary target values SF-36 (quality of life), angle measurement (mobility of the knee), CGI (clinical global impression) and global assessment of efficacy by the physician and the patient, a significant superiority (p<0.001 each) of the verum group over the placebo group was also proven".

Taken altogether, Comfrey combined with other herbal medicine may be considered for the treatment of a remedy painful osteoarthritis, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Sources
(1) Efficacy of a comfrey root (Symphyti offic. radix) extract ointment in the treatment of patients with painful osteoarthritis of the knee: results of a double-blind, randomised, bicenter, placebo-controlled trial by Grube B1, Grünwald J, Krug L, Staiger C. (PubMed)
(2) The Research and Studies of Musculo-Skeletal disorders(MSDs) - Osteoarthritis: The Diseases associated with osteoarthritis by Kyle J. Norton

Herbal Enchinanea, a Natural and Potential Antiviral Agent

By Kyle J. Norton

Infection is a condition that caused the invasion of stimuli and micro pathogens, including viral infection.

A viral infection is a disease caused by the successful entering and multiplying of a virus in the body.

Similar to bacterial infection, both infections shared common characteristics by spreading through coughing and sneezing by and contact with infected people, especially through kissing and sex.

However, the virus may also cause infection by entering the body through wound and cut. Most viruses are killed in the acute phase of the infection.

Antiviral agents are a class of medication that is used specifically for treating specific viral infections.

Anti-viral effects are an act of certain substances to cause the destruction of a virus.

In the acute phase of viral infection, depending on the types of viruses, the viruses after entering the body start to attack the specific host cells. The cold and flu virus will attack the cells in the respiratory system and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes AIDS, will attack the white blood cells of the immune system,

The viral infection has been known to carry over some different stage, after successfully attaching to the host cell, the virus to release its mRNA into the host cell, leading to the recruit of the host cell's enzymes to accelerate the viral multiplying, then breaking free from the host cell to start the cycle all over again.

The white blood cells in the systematic immune response in the acute phase of infection stimulate the production of the proinflammatory cytokines to the site of infection with an aim to protect our body by killing off the invaders.

The battle between the immune white blood cell and viral invaders in most cases an in the flavor of the side of the immune system, the invaders are killed and the infection is healed.

Echinacea also is known as purple coneflowers, is a flowering plant of the genus Echinacea, belongings to the family Asteraceae, native to eastern and central North America. The herb has been used in traditional and herbal medicine to treat or prevent colds, flu, infections by stimulating the immune function, etc.

On finding a potential phytochemical for the treatment of infectious diseases, researchers examined the interaction between immunomodulatory responses and plant-derived, prebiotic compounds on viral infection.

According to the analysis
* Inulin-type fructans (ITFs), that naturally occur in echinacea and other foods may act as signaling molecules and antioxidants for infectious disease prevention.

* Echinacea is a well-known medicinal plant and products derived from it are sold globally for its cold- and flu-preventative and general health-promoting properties.

* ITFs in Echinacea derived formulations may play critical role immunomodulation against the viral agents.

Taken altogether, herbal Enchinanea may be considered adjunct therapies in the treatment of viral infection, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Intake of tocopherols in the form of supplements should be taken with extreme care to prevent overdose acute liver toxicity.

Natural Medicine for Fatty Liver And Obesity Reversal - The Revolutionary Findings To Achieve Optimal Health And Lose Weight

How To Get Rid Of Eye Floaters
Contrary To Professionals Prediction, Floaters Can Be Cured Naturally

Ovarian Cysts And PCOS Elimination
Holistic System In Existence That Will Show You. How-To
Permanently Eliminate All Types of Ovarian Cysts Within 2 Months

Back to Kyle J. Norton Homepage http://kylejnorton.blogspot.ca

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.

Sources
(1) Fructans as Immunomodulatory and Antiviral Agents: The Case of Echinacea by Dobrange E1, Peshev D2, Loedolff B3, Van den Ende W. (PubMed)

Elder (Sambucus) Processes Anti Leishmaniasis Herbal Remedy

By Kyle J. Norton

A parasite lived on or in a host is an organism that gets its food at the expense of the host. Parasites are also completely dependent on the host for survivors, including lice, ringworms, pinworms, and scabies.

Believe it or not, over 70 percent of parasites are not visible to the human eye, such as the malarial parasite, However, some parasites such as worms can reach many meters in length.

The most common parasites can be classified into 3 main types

* Protozoa also known as single-celled eukaryotes in the formal term, is an organism that only can multiply, or divide, within the host but also often forms group into plant-like algae and fungus-like water molds and slime molds.

* Helminths are types of worm parasites including roundworm, pinworm, trichina spiralis, tapeworm, and fluke.

* Ectoparasites are parasites that can live outside the host such as lice and fleas.

Parasite infection can cause varying symptoms, depending on the severity and types of parasite. The most common symptoms are skin bumps or rashes, weight loss, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and vomiting, aches and pains, fatigue and tiredness and general feeling unwell.

Conventionally, treatments are total depending on the types of parasitic infection, For example, medicine such as praziquantel (Biltricide) can cause the tapeworms to detach from the gut, become dissolved, and then pass out of the body.

Treatments are effective in most cases if the parasite is identified.

Leishmaniasis is a disease caused by an intracellular protozoan parasite (genus Leishmania) associated with a bit of a female phlebotomine sandfly.

On finding a natural ingredient for the prevention and treatment of parasitic diseases, scientists compared the effect of different concentrations of the extract on Sambucus ebulus leaf and fruit extracts on Leishmania major in vitro.

Elder or Common Elder, is a shrub or small tree of the genus Sambucus of 30 species, belonging to the family Adoxaceae, native to the temperate-to-subtropical regions of both the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere.

The herb has been used in traditional and herbal medicine to treat constipation, colic, diarrhea, colds, flu, bronchial and upper-respiratory, irritation of the skin, rheumatism, etc.

According to tested analysis, the most effective of IC50 concentration of leaf and fruit extracts that inhibit the tested parasite were 157 μg/ml and 265 μg/ml, respectively.

Furthermore, the leaf and fruit extracts also showed apoptotic effects at the same IC concentration

Moreover, both leaf and fruit extracts also caused the death of 40.2 and 2.67 percent respectively in the tested parasite.

However, in the comparison tests, researchers suggest, "the S. ebulus leaf extract has a more toxic effect on promastigotes and amastigotes than its fruit extract and maybe in the future that be used as a drug candidate".

Taken altogether, herbal Elder may be considered a remedy for the treatment of parasitic infection, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Natural Medicine for Fatty Liver And Obesity Reversal - The Revolutionary Findings To Achieve Optimal Health And Lose Weight

How To Get Rid Of Eye Floaters
Contrary To Professionals Prediction, Floaters Can Be Cured Naturally

Ovarian Cysts And PCOS Elimination
Holistic System In Existence That Will Show You. How-To
Permanently Eliminate All Types of Ovarian Cysts Within 2 Months

Back to Kyle J. Norton Homepage http://kylejnorton.blogspot.ca

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.

Sources
(1) Comparison the effects of Sambucus ebulus leaf and fruit extracts on Leishmania major in-vitro by Kadkhodamasoum S1, Bineshian F2, KarimiPour A1, Tavakoli P1, Foroutan M3, Ghaffarifar F1, Molaei S. (PubMed)

Eyebright ( Euphrasia) Processes a Natural Antioxidant Activity

By Kyle J. Norton

Antioxidants are stable atom that plays a critical role in protecting the body against the attack of free radicals.

In other words, antioxidants inhibited the onset of free radical before they can cause a chain reaction in facilitating the protein, lipid and cell damage.

Free radicals are highly reactive molecules with an unpaired electron on the outermost ring of the atom.

Due to its nature to become stable, free radicals readily to donate or steal an electron from other molecules, leading to the chain of domino's effect that can not be stopped until either the electrons are paired or inhibited by antioxidants.

Antioxidants can either produced by the liver or intake from dietary sources. Under normal conditions, antioxidant enzymes produced by the body in a healthy individual are good enough to counter the bombardment of free radical attacks.

There are 3 main types of antioxidants found in nature, including
* Antioxidant enzymes produced by the host, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, and catalases.

* Antioxidants vitamins, that may be injected from the dietary sources such as fruits and vegetables, including vitamins A, C, D, and E. Most antioxidant vitamins are considered free radical scavengers that gobble up free radicals before they can induce a cascade of damage.

* Antioxidant Phytochemicals found in the plant including second metabolites.

Antioxidants keep our bodies functioning properly by reducing the risk of diseases associated with oxidative stress.

On finding a natural ingredient for the prevention and treatment of chronic low-grade inflammatory diseases, scientists examined the antioxidant activity of Euphrasia rostkoviana Hayne (Eyebright).

Eyebright is one of the species of flowering plants, genus Euphrasia, belonging to the family Orobanchaceae, native to Europe.

The plant has been used in traditional and herbal medicine to treat eye infection and to relieve inflammation caused by colds, coughs, sinus infections, sore throats, and hay fever.

According to ABTS and DPPH decolorization assays, Fraction one isolated from the herbal medicine, dominated by a glycosylated caffeic acid derivative, exhibited the strongest antioxidant activity.

Furthermore, the most effective of IC50 concentrations were found to be 11.88 microg/ml and 4.24 microg/ml, respectively, compared to the investigated standards.

Additionally, the fractions of flavonoid glycosides proved to have a similarly strong, but lower effect compared to fraction one.

Most importantly, the scavenging reaction of the two radical cations was depending on to the IC50.

Taken altogether, eyebright may be considered an antioxidant remedy for the treatment of chronic low-grade inflammatory diseases, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Natural Medicine for Fatty Liver And Obesity Reversal - The Revolutionary Findings To Achieve Optimal Health And Lose Weight

How To Get Rid Of Eye Floaters
Contrary To Professionals Prediction, Floaters Can Be Cured Naturally

Ovarian Cysts And PCOS Elimination
Holistic System In Existence That Will Show You. How-To
Permanently Eliminate All Types of Ovarian Cysts Within 2 Months

Back to Kyle J. Norton Homepage http://kylejnorton.blogspot.ca

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.

Sources
(1) [Antioxidant activity of different phenolic fractions separated from Euphrasia rostkoviana Hayne].[Article in Hungarian] by Blazics B1, Alberti A, Kéry A. (PubMed)

Herbal Angelica, Processes Anti-inflammatory Potency in Vitro

Acute inflammation is a natural response of the immune system to protect the human body against harmful stimuli and pathogens.

Acute information is the first phase of injection. At this phase, after sensing the body injury by the central nervous system, the immune first line of defense stimulates the production of blood platelets to the cover the site of damage and pro-inflammatory to kill off pathogens that try to enter the body through the wound or damaged tissue.

Acute inflammation usually receded after a few days or weeks depending on the size and damage.

However, people with a weakened immune system, acute inflammatory progression cannot be stopped due to the inability of the immune system to destroy all invaders, which may lead to low-grade chronic inflammation.

The most common symptoms of acute inflammation occurred with a short period of time such as hours is pain, redness, immobility, swelling, and heat.

Anti-inflammation is the process that inhibits inflammation or swelling without affecting the immune property to curb foreign pathogens.

Diseases associated with chronic inflammation asthma are chronic peptic ulcer, tuberculosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and periodontitis.

On finding a natural ingredient for the prevention and treatment of diseases associated with chronic inflammation, scientists compared the anti-inflammatory activity of Chinese herbal extracts, Drynaria baronii (DB), Angelica sinensis (AS), and Cornus officinalis Sieb. et Zucc(CO).

Angelica or Dang Qui is a herb of Genus Angelica from the family Apiaceae, indigenous to China.

The herb has been used as a Queen herb in traditional Chinese medicine antispasmodic and vasodilatory agent, and to balance the hormones in women for a normal menstrual cycle and menstruation and strengthen heart, spleen, kidneys, and liver for both men and women, etc. In other words, it is used to treat gynecological ailments, fatigue, mild anemia, and high blood pressure. It has analgesic, anti-inflammatory, etc.

According to the tested analysis,
* DB, AS and CO inhibited nitric oxide (NO) production by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated mouse macrophage-like RAW264.7 cells by inhibition of inducible NO synthase (iNOS) expression at both protein and mRNA levels.

* Furthermore, DB, AS and CO dose-dependently scavenged the NO radical produced by NOC-7 (a nitric oxide (NO)).

* Moreover, DB and CO effectively inhibited the PGE(2) production by LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells, although the extent of inhibition of PGE(2) production was slightly lower than that of NO production.

* More importantly, DB, AS and CO inhibited cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 expression involved in the initiation of inflammation at both protein and mRNA levels, compared to much lesser extents as compared with that for iNOS expression

* Finally, AS only marginally inhibited the LPS-stimulated PGE(2) production

Taken altogether, Danggui may be considered an anti-inflammatory remedy for the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Natural Medicine for Fatty Liver And Obesity Reversal - The Revolutionary Findings To Achieve Optimal Health And Lose Weight

How To Get Rid Of Eye Floaters
Contrary To Professionals Prediction, Floaters Can Be Cured Naturally

Ovarian Cysts And PCOS Elimination
Holistic System In Existence That Will Show You. How-To
Permanently Eliminate All Types of Ovarian Cysts Within 2 Months

Back to Kyle J. Norton Homepage http://kylejnorton.blogspot.ca

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.

Sources
(1) Effect of three herbal extracts on NO and PGE2 production by activated mouse macrophage-like cells by Chu Q1, Hashimoto K, Satoh K, Wang Q, Sakagami H. (PubMed)

Devil's Club Demonstrates Anti-Oxidative and Anti Proliferative Activity In Vitro

By Kyle J. Norton

Antioxidative activity refers to the process in the inhibition of the oxidation of proteins, lipids, DNA or other free radicals in the induction of oxidative chain reactions.

The primary antioxidants which directly scavenge free radicals are free radical scavengers.
Antioxidants are stable atom that plays a critical role in protecting the body against the attack of free radicals.

In other words, antioxidants inhibited the onset of free radical before they can cause a chain reaction in facilitating the protein, lipid and cell damage.

Antioxidants can either produced by the liver or intake from dietary sources. Under normal conditions, antioxidant enzymes produced by the body in a healthy individual are good enough to counter the bombardment of free radical attacks.

However, in people with a weakened immune system, intake dietary sources of antioxidants may be necessary.

Oxidative stress is a result of an imbalance of the ratio of free radicals and antioxidants in the body.

Free radicals are highly reactive molecules with an unpaired electron on the outer ring of the atom.
Due to its nature to become stable, free radicals readily to donate or steal an electron from other molecules, leading to the chain of domino's effect that can not be stopped until either the electrons are paired or inhibited by antioxidants.

This chain of reaction is the cause of oxidative stress, a condition is associated with either overexpression of free radicals or depletion of antioxidant enzymes produced by the host organs.

Diseases associated with oxidative stress are many chronic health problems such as cardiovascular and inflammatory disease, cataracts, and cancer.

Devil's Club is a large shrub, genus Oplopanax, belonging to the family Aralioideae, native to the cool moist forests of western North America.

The herb has been used in traditional and herbal medicine as Adaptogen, Antipyretic, Pain Reliever, Antitussive, Antibacterial agent and to treat Arthritis, Diabetes, Colds, Cough, Sore throat, Chest congestion, Stomach pain, Constipation, Gall stones, Influenza, Cancer, etc.

On finding a potential compound against the onset of oxidative stress, researchers examined the anti-proliferative activity on Devil's Club, Oplopanax horridus (OH).

According to the tested analysis,
* OH extract inhibited K562, HL60, MCF7 and MDA-MB-468 cell growth with the 50% inhibition (IC(50)) estimated at 1/2700, 1/1700, 1/500 and 1/2500 dilutions.

* The combination of OH extract at 1/4000 and 1/16,000 dilutions with 0.1 microM of CAM produced additive, anti-proliferative effects on K562 cells, as did 1/2000 and 1/1000 dilutions of OH combined with 2.5 nM of PTX on MCF7, and 1/4000 dilution of OH with 1 nM of PTX on MDA-MB-468 cells.

* A combination of 1/8000 and 1/4000 dilution of OH with 0.05 microM of CAM showed strong synergistic anti-proliferative effects on HL60 cells.

* A cell-free hydroxyl radical scavenging assay estimated that OH at 1/100, 1/10 and 1/5 dilutions showed activities equivalent to 2.7, 15.7 and 25.6 microM of Trolox, respectively.

* At non-cytotoxic 1/4000 and 1/2000 dilutions, OH significantly reduced nitric oxide production by lipopolysaccharide activated RAW 264.7 cells (p<0.001).

Taken altogether, Devil's Club may be considered an antioxidative stress remedy, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Natural Medicine for Fatty Liver And Obesity Reversal - The Revolutionary Findings To Achieve Optimal Health And Lose Weight

How To Get Rid Of Eye Floaters
Contrary To Professionals Prediction, Floaters Can Be Cured Naturally

Ovarian Cysts And PCOS Elimination
Holistic System In Existence That Will Show You. How-To
Permanently Eliminate All Types of Ovarian Cysts Within 2 Months

Back to Kyle J. Norton Homepage http://kylejnorton.blogspot.ca

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.

Sources
(1) In vitro anti-proliferative and antioxidant studies on Devil's Club Oplopanax horridus by Tai J1, Cheung S, Cheah S, Chan E, Hasman D. (PubMed)