Chinese Medicine News |  |
- Study ids alternative to HRT in 800-yr-old decoction
- Grape-seed extract kills leukemia cells
- Magnolia bark fights ‘super bug’
- Combo of Taichi, Qigong benefits patients with dementia
- The bitter the better
- Indigo naturalis treats chronic psoriasis
- Ginkgo can’t prevent Alzheimer’s: large study
- Research to map DNA of 1000 plants
- Soy, dried plum reverse bone loss
- New cancer-killing compound found in salad plant
| Study ids alternative to HRT in 800-yr-old decoction Posted: 26 Jan 2009 03:52 AM PST CM NEWS – It’s well known that menopausal women using estrogen replacement therapy are exposed to an increased risk of developing breast cancer. A group of scientists have found hope in an 800-year-old Chinese herbal decoction which has been used in age-related illness of women. The science behind the decoction and the optimal proportion of each herb have been uncovered. Scientists are hopeful the formula might offer alternative to HRT for menopausal women. The study was a joint project by scientists of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory for TCM Formulae Research, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine and Beijing Friendship Hospital. The researchers note that estrogen deficiency is the major cause in developing post-menopausal osteoporosis. Estrogen acts on both osteoblast and osteoclast to inhibit bone breakdown at all stages of life. After menopause, estrogen replacement therapy is an effective treatment for osteoporosis as well as to allay other menopausal symptoms. However, estrogen therapy recently became a subject of debate because clinical studies revealed an increased risk of breast cancer and coronary artery disease in women who take estrogen.  Huangqi  Danggui Amongst thousands of herbal formulae from traditional Chinese medicine, Danggui Buxue Tang (????? DBT; a herbal decoction) is a simple combination of two herbs. DBT was first described in Neiwaishang Bianhuo Lun (??????) by Li Dongyuan (???) in China in AD 1247. In other words, DBT is a 800-year-old decoction formula. Li described the DBT formula should include:
In preparing DBT, the mixed herbs were recommended to boil in two bowls of water over a moderate heat until the final volume was reduced by half. Traditionally, DBT has been prescribed to women in China as a remedy for menopausal symptoms. According to Chinese medicinal theory, the daily intake of DBT could raise the 'Qi' and nourish the 'Blood' of menopausal women.
In traditional Chinese medicine, huangqi and danggui are commonly used in treating age-related diseases, which have been demonstrated in stimulating bone cell proliferation, increasing bone formation and reducing bone re-sorption in patients. By determining the chemical and biological properties of DBT, the optimized conditions of extraction have been established, which, interestingly, are in accordance with the weight ratio of 5:1 for huangqi to danggui in the ancient preparation. In the present study, cultured csteosarcoma cells were used to determine the effectiveness of DBT. Primary cultures of rat osteoblasts were treated with 1 mg ml–1 DBT, huangqi or danggui extract for 12 hours. To further support the beneficial roles of DBT on bone development, the primary culture of rat osteoblasts was employed as another study model. The osteoblastic cultures were treated with different extracts for 96 hours and collected to perform cell proliferation and alkaline phosphatase assays. As expected, DBT increased the cell proliferation and alkaline phosphatase activity by approx. 20%. The researchers were also able to confirm scientifically the optimal proportion of the two herbs used in DBT. By discovering the amounts of two chemical markers in huangqi (calycosin and formononetin) and two others in danggui (ferulic acid and ligustilide), the researchers were able to standardize the optimal DBT. They found that the standardized DBT should contain (per 1 g dried weight of DBT):
In addition, a standardized extract of huangqi in 1 g should contain 0.088 mg calycosin and 0.142 mg formononetin, while the extract of danggui in 1 g should have 0.293 mg ferulic acid and 0.316 mg ligustilide. Application of DBT onto osteoblastic cells triggered the downstream signaling cascades including the Erk-dependent and ER (estrogen receptor)-dependent pathways. These actions would trigger cell death, or apoptosis.
Such signaling activations finally resulted in stimulating cell proliferation, osteogenic differentiation and a set of DBT-regulated gene transcription. DBT possesses a better effect in stimulating cell proliferation and differentiation in cultured osteosarcoma cells and primary osteoblasts, as compared to that of the extracts derived from huangqi or danggui or huangqi + danggui (boiled separately and then mixed together in 5:1 ratio). Genomic analysis revealed a specific set of genes being regulated by DBT, but not by huangqi or danggui alone. These results therefore provide evidence of the uniqueness of specific combination of huangqi and danggui in creating the formulation of DBT. In addition, the insufficient stimulating effect of huangqi + danggui in cultured osteosarcoma cells suggests tat boiling of the two herbs together is essential; this method of DBT preparation, indeed, has long been recommended by Chinese medicinal practitioners. The scientists suggest that DBT could be developed as alternative medicines for the patients, because:
[eCAM, doi:10.1093/ecam/nen085 ] Chinese Medicine News (74.125.19.144) Chinese Medicine News by Chinese Medicine News is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Canada License. For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the licence terms originate from chinesemedicinenews.com. No tag for this post. Related Posts CM NEWS - It's well known that menopausal women using estrogen replacement therapy are exposed to an increased risk of developing breast cancer. A group of scientists have found hope in an 800-year-old Chinese herbal decoction which has been used in age-related illness of women. The science behind the decoction and the optimal proportion of |
| Grape-seed extract kills leukemia cells Posted: 06 Jan 2009 06:58 PM PST American Assn for Cancer Research release – An extract from grape seeds forces laboratory leukemia cells to commit cell suicide, according to researchers from the University of Kentucky. They found that within 24 hours, 76% of leukemia cells had died after being exposed to the extract. The investigators, who report their findings in the January 1, 2009, issue of Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, also teased apart the cell signaling pathway associated with use of grape seed extract that led to cell death, or apoptosis. They found that the extract activates JNK, a protein that regulates the apoptotic pathway. While grape seed extract has shown activity in a number of laboratory cancer cell lines, including skin, breast, colon, lung, stomach and prostate cancers, no one had tested the extract in hematological cancers nor had the precise mechanism for activity been revealed. “These results could have implications for the incorporation of agents such as grape seed extract into prevention or treatment of hematological malignancies and possibly other cancers,” said the study’s lead author, Xianglin Shi, Ph.D., professor in the Graduate Centre for Toxicology at the University of Kentucky. “What everyone seeks is an agent that has an effect on cancer cells but leaves normal cells alone, and this shows that grape seed extract fits into this category,” he said. Shi adds, however, that the research is not far enough along to suggest that people should eat grapes, grape seeds, or grape skin in excess to stave off cancer. “This is very promising research, but it is too early to say this is chemo-protective.” Hematological cancers – leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma – accounted for an estimated 118,310 new cancer cases and almost 54,000 deaths in 2006, ranking these cancers as the fourth leading cause of cancer incidence and death in the U.S. Given that epidemiological evidence shows that eating vegetables and fruits helps prevent cancer development, Shi and his colleagues have been studying chemicals known as proanthocyanidins in fruits that contribute to this effect. Shi has found that apple peel extract contains these flavonoids, which have antioxidant activity, and which cause apoptosis in several cancer cell lines but not in normal cells. Based on those studies, and findings from other researchers that grape seed extract reduces breast tumors in rats and skin tumors in mice, they looked at the effect of the compound in leukemia cells.
Using a commercially available grape seed extract, Shi exposed leukemia cells to the extract in different doses and found the marked effect in causing apoptosis in these cells at one of the higher doses. They also discovered that the extract does not affect normal cells, although they don’t know why. The researchers then used pharmacologic and genetic approaches to determine how the extract induced apoptosis. They found that the extract strongly activated the JNK pathway, which then led to up-regulation of Cip/p21, which controls the cell cycle. They checked this finding by using an agent that inhibited JNK, and found that the extract was ineffective. Using a genetic approach – silencing the JNK gene – also disarmed grape seed extract’s lethal attack in leukemia cells. “This is a natural compound that appears to have relatively important properties,” Shi said. The research is a joint project China’s 3rd Military Medical University in Chongqing, and the University of Kentucky. [Clinical Cancer Research 15, 140-149, January 1, 2009.] Chinese Medicine News (74.125.19.144) Chinese Medicine News by Chinese Medicine News is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Canada License. For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the licence terms originate from chinesemedicinenews.com. No tag for this post. Related Posts American Assn for Cancer Research release – An extract from grape seeds forces laboratory leukemia cells to commit cell suicide, according to researchers from the University of Kentucky. They found that within 24 hours, 76% of leukemia cells had died after being exposed to the extract. The investigators, who report their findings in the January 1, |
| Magnolia bark fights ‘super bug’ Posted: 04 Jan 2009 09:42 PM PST CM NEWS – Among eight popular Chinese medicinal plants used by Asians, magnolia bark has the best antimicrobial and antioxidant results, including fighting against MRSA, or the “Super Bug”, according to a study done at the National University of Singapore. The eight plants chosen by the researchers are:
        The traditional method for Chinese medicine preparation is to boil the medicinal plants in water for 20 minutes to one hour. The present study aims to test the effectiveness of traditional herb preparation methods for antimicrobial and antioxidant treatments. Four strains of bacteria and one strain of yeast were used for antimicrobial tests. The test bacteria included Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus — or the “Super Bug” — and Bacillus subtilis (under most conditions the organism is not biologically active and is one of the most widely used bacteria for the production of enzymes and specialty chemicals), Gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa and acid-fast Mycobacterium smegmatis (the mycobacteria which cause tuberculosis and leprosy). Candida albicans was used as a representative of yeast.
Three extraction methods were employed: (1) boiling in water for 1 hour, (2) maceration for 24 hours in water or (3) 80% ethanol at room temperature. Among all the extracts studied, the ethanolic extract of houpu, or magnolia bark, demonstrated the most robust antimicrobial activities against the four tested viruses, equivalent to at least 50% of the activities of the standard antibiotics. Houpu was most active against M. smegmatis, 20% more than the standard antibiotic streptomycin. The boiled extract of houpu had comparable antimicrobial activities to those of streptomycin. These data suggest that houpu may be a potential agent to treat infections caused by M. smegmatis (such as tuberculosis and leprosy) and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It was reported that magnolol and honokiol exhibited antibacterial activities against methicillin-resistant S. aureus and vancomycin-resistant enterococci – the “Super Bug”. These results suggest a new discovery of synergism between magnolol and honokiol. Honokiol (???) and magnolol (????) are the main constituents simultaneously identified in the barks of Magnolia officinalis, which have been used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat a variety of respiratory and intestinal disorders. (see Magnolia bark acts like antidepressant) The high antioxidant activities of the boiled and ethanolic extracts of the leafy materials were probably due to the extracted tannins and photosynthetic pigments. Houpu is a rich source for antioxidative compounds, such as biphenols, polyphenols and tannins. The strongly aromatic plant materials, such as Herba Polygonis Hydropiperis, curry leaves and houpu, exhibited a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activities. One possible reason is the presence of essential oils and active polyphenolic compounds which possess antimicrobial activities. In conclusion, the researchers discovered that (a) the ethanolic extract of houpu had 20% greater antimicrobial activities against M. smegmatis than streptomycin; (b) the boiled extract of houpu demonstrated comparable activities to streptomycin (c) the synergism of magnonol and honokiol had comparable effects to those of streptomycin; (d) the aerial parts of rodent tuber had antimicrobial activities against S. aureus. Among the tested 107 extracts, houpu had (1) potent antimicrobial activities against S. aureus, B. subtilis, M. smegmatis and C. albicans and (2) highest antioxidant activities in DPPH assay regardless extraction methods. As such, houpu is likely a potential medicinal plant resource for developing effective antimicrobials and antioxidants. Chinese Medicine News (74.125.19.144) Chinese Medicine News by Chinese Medicine News is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Canada License. For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the licence terms originate from chinesemedicinenews.com. No tag for this post. Related Posts CM NEWS - Among eight popular Chinese medicinal plants used by Asians, magnolia bark has the best antimicrobial and antioxidant results, including fighting against MRSA, or the "Super Bug", according to a study done at the National University of Singapore. The eight plants chosen by the researchers are: Cortex Magnoliae Officinalis (Houpo) ?? Herba Polygonis Hydropiperis |
| Combo of Taichi, Qigong benefits patients with dementia Posted: 03 Jan 2009 10:42 PM PST U of Illinois release – Those diagnosed with early stage dementia can slow their physical, mental and psychological decline by taking part in therapeutic programs that combine counseling, support groups, Taiji and qigong, researchers report. Some of the benefits of this approach are comparable to those achieved with anti-dementia medications.  A therapeutic program that combined counseling, support groups, Taiji and qigong offered many benefits to people with early stage dementia. “Most of the research on dementia and most of the dollars up until this point have gone into pharmacological interventions,” said Sandy Burgener, a professor of nursing at the University of Illinois and lead author on the study. “But we have evidence now from studies like mine that show that other approaches can make a difference in the way people live and can possibly also impact their cognitive function.” In the study, 24 people with early stage dementia participated in an intensive 40-week program. The intervention included biweekly sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy and support groups, along with three sessions per week of traditional Chinese martial arts exercises and meditation, called qigong (chee-gong) and Taiji (tye-jee). A comparison group of people with early stage dementia did not participate in these programs for the first 20 weeks of the intervention. Researchers are discovering that multi-discliplinary approaches – those that address patients’ physical, mental and psychological dimensions – show the most promise in treating people with dementia, Burgener said.
“There’s a lot of support for multi-modal therapies for persons with dementia, especially those with early stage dementia,” she said. “Not only can we help people have a higher quality of life, but these treatments support neuronal function and have the potential for neuronal regeneration.” Earlier studies have shown that such programs can work as well as anti-dementia drugs, Burgener said. Qigong and Taiji combine simple physical movements and meditation. Qigong is a series of integrated exercises believed to positively affect the mind, body and spirit. Taiji is a type of qigong that melds Chinese philosophy with martial and healing arts, said Yang Yang, a professor of kinesiology and community health and a co-author of the study. He is a master Taiji and qigong instructor whose research focuses on the efficacy of Taiji and qigong for older adults. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a form of psychotherapy that seeks positive alternatives to the beliefs and behaviors that can undermine a person’s health and happiness. Research has shown that cognitive behavioral therapy and support groups aid those who struggle with depression and other physical or mental health problems. Participants in the program benefited in a variety of ways. After 20 weeks, those in the treatment group improved in several measures of physical function, including balance and lower leg strength, while those in the comparison group did not. There were also positive cognitive and psychological effects, Burgener said. “We saw gains in self-esteem in the treatment group and pretty severe declines in self-esteem in the comparison group,” she said. “Those in the treatment group also had sustained and slightly improved mental status scores, which meant we were impacting cognitive function.” Both groups saw increases in depression, Burgener said, but the increase for those in the treatment group was a fraction of that seen in the comparison group. No additional benefits were seen after 40 weeks, but participants were able to maintain their initial gains. The intervention was quite popular with the study subjects and their caregivers. Although designed (and funded) to include only 10 participants and 10 people in the comparison group, Burgener and her colleagues enrolled 46 people in the program, with those in the comparison group starting the intervention after 20 weeks. “People drove from all over to be in this study because there’s nothing like this available for them anywhere else,” Burgener said. The program was so popular that she and her colleagues have kept it going for more than three years, with many of the first participants and their caregivers still engaged. “The clinical findings, from my perspective, go far beyond the statistical findings,” Burgener said. “People were happier when they were in the treatment group. Two men came in with walkers and left without them. One is in our Taiji group three years later and is still not using a walker.” Another participant began the program with a score of 26 on a 30-point test of mental status. A score of 24 or below is suggestive of dementia, Burgener said. This man stayed with the group and was recently re-tested. His score was still 26. “That’s never going to show up as a statistical finding but that case example is pretty profound,” she said. Burgener is an advocate for further research into non-pharmacological interventions for people with dementia, which she sees as co-therapies to the drugs that are given to many people when they are first diagnosed. “Funders and insurance companies are willing to put money into drugs, but it’s been a hard sell to get money for these kinds of programs,” she said. The findings are detailed in the American Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias. [American Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias®, Vol. 23, No. 4, 382-394 (2008)] Chinese Medicine News (74.125.19.144) Chinese Medicine News by Chinese Medicine News is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Canada License. For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the licence terms originate from chinesemedicinenews.com. No tag for this post. Related Posts U of Illinois release - Those diagnosed with early stage dementia can slow their physical, mental and psychological decline by taking part in therapeutic programs that combine counseling, support groups, Taiji and qigong, researchers report. Some of the benefits of this approach are comparable to those achieved with anti-dementia medications. [caption id="attachment_690" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="A therapeutic |
| Posted: 24 Nov 2008 09:14 PM PST CM NEWS – A recent study identifies for the first time antioxidant properties of many Chinese herbs that regulates blood circulation. It discovers the herbs traditionally categorized as “bitter” and “sour” in flavours carry more antioxidants than others. The study was a joint investigation between the Southern Cross University in Australia and Shanxi Provincial People’s Hospital in China. According to literature, there is a close relationship between antioxidant acitivity and classification of Chinese herbs as yin or yang. In this study, 45 Chinese herbs with traditional characteristics of natures (cold, cool, hot and warm), flavours (pungent, sweet, sour, bitter, salty) and functions (arresting, bleeding, promoting blood flow to relieve stasis, nourishing blood and clearing away heat from blood) were examined. Antioxidant activity was measured using the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assay.
According to the researchers, TCM believes that the different characters of herbs are employed to treat diseases, rectify the hyperactivity or hypoactivity of yin or yang and help the body restore its normal physiologic functions.
“All herbs possess four natures and five flavours. The four natures—cold, hot, warm and cool are summarized mainly from the body’s response after Chinese herbs are taken, which are so defined in relation to the properties, cold or heat of the diseases treated.” The researchers say there are some herbs known as neutral ones, “whose cold or hot nature is not so remarkable and whose action is relatively mild, but these herbs still have differences in their tendencies to cool or warm so that they are still in the range of four natures.”
The five flavours are the pungent, sweet, sour, bitter and salty that can be tasted with the tongue. With the development of the theory dealing with the medicinal properties, the flavours could best be described as abstract concepts, as the flavour definitions have arisen more from observations of the clinical actions of the herbs than from the taste sensations. The results show that herbs with bitter and/or sour flavour have an ORAC value 4 times higher than herbs with sweet and/or pungent flavour. Ten herbs had an ORAC value that was similar or higher than that of vitamin E. High antioxidant herbs were identified as Spatholobus suberectus vine (xuefengteng ???), Sanguisorba officinalis root (diyu ??), Agrimonia pilosa herb (xianhecao ???), Artemisia anomala herb (qigao ?? or ????), Salvia miltiorrhiza root (danshen ??) and Nelembo nucifera leaf (hehua or lotus ??).
[eCAM 2008 5(4):429-434; doi:10.1093/ecam/nem054] Chinese Medicine News (74.125.19.144) Chinese Medicine News by Chinese Medicine News is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Canada License. For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the licence terms originate from chinesemedicinenews.com. No tag for this post. Related Posts CM NEWS - A recent study identifies for the first time antioxidant properties of many Chinese herbs that regulates blood circulation. It discovers the herbs traditionally categorized as "bitter" and "sour" in flavours carry more antioxidants than others. The study was a joint investigation between the Southern Cross University in Australia and Shanxi Provincial People's Hospital |
| Indigo naturalis treats chronic psoriasis Posted: 20 Nov 2008 10:09 PM PST
The randomized, double-blind study, published in the Archives of Dermatology, was conducted by researchers in Taipei who developed an indigo naturalis ointment. Plaque psoriasis is a chronic skin disease for which no cure exists, that according to the US-based National Psoriasis Foundation affects 2 to 3% of the world’s population. Symptoms include raised, inflamed, red lesions covered by a silvery white scale and is commonly found on the elbows, knees, scalp and lower back.
Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease for which no cure is known, though some therapies bring about a remission. It causes red scaly patches, or plaques, which take on a silvery-white appearance and often occur on the arms, elbows, knees and legs. A study of the findings of a clinical trial involving 42 patients who had had the condition for at least two years was published in the latest issue of Archives of Dermatology. The researchers found that indigo naturalis in the form of an ointment was safe and effective in treating psoriasis. The team mixed the indigo powder with a base made of petroleum jelly, yellow wax, and olive oil. “Current steroid-based medication may cause side effects like thinning of the skin, but this (indigo naturalis) has much less side effects,” said lead researcher Yin-Ku Lin of Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University in Taoyuan, Taiwan, according to Reuters. None of the patients in the trial had serious adverse effects, though some experienced a mild skin allergy. They applied indigo naturalis ointment on one side of their bodies and a placebo, or non-medicated, ointment on the other. Doctors checked on their condition at the start of the treatment and after two, four, six, eight, 10 and 12 weeks. “The indigo naturalis ointment-treated lesions showed an 81% improvement, the (non-medicated) ointment-treated lesions showed a 26% improvement,” the authors wrote. For 25 of the patients, plaques that were treated with the indigo were completely or nearly completely cleared. Indigo naturalis has long been used, externally or ingested, to treat various infections and inflammatory diseases in China and Taiwan, such as mumps, pharyngitis and eczema. Long-term systemic use has been linked to irritation of the gastrointestinal tract and liver problems, the researchers said. They called for more studies on ways of improving absorption of the ointment. [Arch Dermatol. 2008;144(11):1457-1464.] Chinese Medicine News (74.125.19.144) Chinese Medicine News by Chinese Medicine News is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Canada License. For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the licence terms originate from chinesemedicinenews.com. No tag for this post. Related Posts CM NEWS - Topical application of a traditional Chinese medicine is effective in treating plaque-type psoriasis, according to a new study in Taiwan. The randomized, double-blind study, published in the Archives of Dermatology, was conducted by researchers in Taipei who developed an indigo naturalis ointment. Plaque psoriasis is a chronic skin disease for which no cure exists, |
| Ginkgo can’t prevent Alzheimer’s: large study Posted: 19 Nov 2008 06:52 AM PST
The study is the largest and longest ginkgo biloba trial performed to date. The dietary supplement ginkgo, long promoted as an aid to memory, didn’t help prevent dementia and Alzheimer’s disease in the longest and largest test of the extract in older Americans. “We don’t think it has a future as a powerful anti-dementia drug,” said Dr. Steven DeKosky of the University of Virginia School of Medicine, who led the federally funded study.
Extracts from ginkgo tree leaves have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, but earlier research on ginkgo and memory showed mixed results. Annual U.S. sales of the supplement reached $107 million in 2007, according to Nutrition Business Journal estimates. For the new study, appearing in Wednesday’s Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers recruited more than 3,000 people, ages 75 and older, from voter and mailing lists in Maryland, Pennsylvania, California and North Carolina. Half were randomly assigned to take 120 milligrams of ginkgo biloba twice a day, a typical dose taken by people who think it may help memory. The others took identical dummy pills. Participants were screened for dementia every six months. After six years, dementia had been diagnosed at a similar rate in both groups; 277 in the ginkgo group and 246 in the group taking the dummy tablets. When the researchers looked only at Alzheimer’s disease, that rate too was similar. The findings showed:
At the start, some people showed mild difficulties with thinking; ginkgo didn’t work to prevent dementia in those people either. Ginkgo appears relatively safe, DeKosky said. There was no difference in the rate of adverse events such as heart attacks and gastrointestinal bleeding between the groups. There were 16 strokes from bleeding in the brain in the ginkgo group versus eight in the placebo group, a difference that wasn’t statistically significant, he said, because the number of strokes was too small. People on the blood thinner warfarin shouldn’t take ginkgo because of the risk of increased bleeding. Proponents claim ginkgo protects the brain by preventing the buildup of an Alzheimer’s-related protein or by preventing cell-damaging oxidative stress. Would ginkgo work better to prevent dementia if people started taking it earlier, say, in middle age? The study didn’t look at that, DeKosky acknowledged, adding that following people for 25 years from middle age to old age would be expensive research. The study also didn’t test whether ginkgo improves thinking and memory in the short term. “It would have been terrific if this worked. It’s inexpensive, available and relatively safe,” said Paul Solomon, professor of neuroscience at Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., who wasn’t involved in the new study but has studied ginkgo. “Now with this kind of evidence, you can confidently tell people it didn’t show benefit in more than 3,000 people in six years of research,” Solomon said. There may still be a role for ginkgo in treating, rather than preventing, Alzheimer’s disease, said Michael McGuffin, president of the American Herbal Products Association, a trade association. Some previous ginkgo trials have shown no benefit in Alzheimer’s symptom treatment, while others have found it comparable to prescription drugs such as Aricept, also known as donepezil. The dementia study was funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Centrr for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, which is undertaking large, scientific tests of a number of commonly used dietary supplements. The agency said it’s the largest-ever randomized trial of a botanical medicine. There have been larger studies of vitamins and minerals.
Good strategies The following strategies can help keep your heart and blood vessels healthy – and may also preserve your memory as you age (from Globe and Mail).
[Vol. 300, No. 19, November 19, 2008] Chinese Medicine News (74.125.19.144) Chinese Medicine News by Chinese Medicine News is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Canada License. For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the licence terms originate from chinesemedicinenews.com. No tag for this post. Related Posts AP, Globe and Mail, CTV — Ginkgo biloba, the herbal supplement that is sold in health-food stores as a memory enhancer, does not prevent the onset of dementia or Alzheimer's disease, new research suggests. The study is the largest and longest ginkgo biloba trial performed to date. The dietary supplement ginkgo, long promoted as an aid to |
| Research to map DNA of 1000 plants Posted: 16 Nov 2008 10:54 PM PST
“This is an exceptional example of the types of things we can do, and it’s an exceptional example of the type of quality people we can bring to our province,” Doug Horner, Alberta’s Minister of Advanced Education and Technology, said yesterday at the launch of the Alberta 1,000 Plants Initiative. The $2-million project, which will analyze the genetic blueprint of 1,000 plants, will be led by Gane Ka-Shu Wong, a superstar in the genomics world. Born in Hong Kong and raised in Kelowna, B.C., he was recently recruited to the University of Alberta after working in the United States and China. Dr. Wong said a major pull back to Canada was “the spirit of entrepreneurship” in Alberta. The plant-genome project is supported by international partners, including China’s Beijing Genomics Institute, of which Dr. Wong is a founding member. The institute, which was a key contributor to the Human Genome Project, is planning to donate services such as computer power and advanced equipment for gene sequencing.
He said selection is under way for the plants that will be studied, and that talented scientists attracted to the project will help fine-tune the list. Despite the economic crisis gripping the United States and other countries, Dr. Wong said debt-free Alberta still has a “huge opportunity” to hire more top researchers from around the world by financing ambitious projects such as the plant initiative. His research will be conducted in a new state-of-the-art building on the University of Alberta’s campus. The province contributed about $300-million to the construction. Dr. Wong and others hope that mapping the gene sequence of plants can lead to everything from new medicines to high-tech biofuels to crop improvements. He said the decision to study 1,000 plants was made because it was more “impressive” than 100. The plan is eventually to make sequence data uncovered by the project available to the public via the Internet. Mr. Horner said the research, to which the provincial government is contributing $1.5-million, is a “big deal for the people of Alberta, and it’s a big deal for Canada and the globe.” He also said it “lays the foundation for a new bioproducts industry” in the oil- and gas-rich province. Chinese Medicine News (74.125.19.144) Chinese Medicine News by Chinese Medicine News is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Canada License. For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the licence terms originate from chinesemedicinenews.com. No tag for this post. Related Posts Globe and Mail — The Alberta government is investing in a new international plant-genome project to help build its growing stable of world-class researchers and academics. "This is an exceptional example of the types of things we can do, and it's an exceptional example of the type of quality people we can bring to our province," |
| Soy, dried plum reverse bone loss Posted: 23 Oct 2008 04:21 AM PDT
CM NEWS – Scientists may have found a dietary solution to reverse bone loss. A recent study indicates that a combination of soy protein, dried plum and substances used in making artificial sweeteners can restore bone mass in ovarian hormone deficient rats. A group of nutritional and osteoporosis scientists in the US have made this important discovery. As the dietary way of treating chronic diseases is growing more popular, the researchers want to find out if common dietary substances could help revert progress of osteoporosis. The objectives of the current study were to evaluate the additive or synergistic effects of dried plum and fructooligosaccharides (FOS) and to determine whether dried plum and FOS or their combination in a soy protein-based diet can restore bone mass in ovarian hormone deficient rats.
In this study, 72 3-month-old female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into six groups and either ovariectomized (whose ovaries have been surgically removed) or sham-operated (sham). The rats were maintained on a semipurified standard diet for 45 days after surgery to establish bone loss. Thereafter, the rats were placed on one of the following dietary treatments for 60 days:
Results show that soy protein in combination with the test compounds significantly improved Similarly, all of the test compounds increased ultimate load, indicating improved biomechanical properties. The positive effects of these test compounds on bone may be due to their ability to modulate bone resorption and formation, as shown by suppressed urinary deoxypyridinoline excretion and enhanced alkaline phosphatase activity. [eCAM, doi:10.1093/ecam/nen050] Chinese Medicine News (74.125.19.144) Chinese Medicine News by Chinese Medicine News is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Canada License. For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the licence terms originate from chinesemedicinenews.com. No tag for this post. Related Posts CM NEWS - Scientists may have found a dietary solution to reverse bone loss. A recent study indicates that a combination of soy protein, dried plum and substances used in making artificial sweeteners can restore bone mass in ovarian hormone deficient rats. A group of nutritional and osteoporosis scientists in the US have made this important |
| New cancer-killing compound found in salad plant Posted: 17 Oct 2008 05:04 AM PDT UW release – Researchers at the University of Washington have updated a traditional Chinese medicine to create a compound that is more than 1,200 times more specific in killing certain kinds of cancer cells than currently available drugs, heralding the possibility of a more effective chemotherapy drug with minimal side effects. The new compound puts a novel twist on the common anti-malarial drug artemisinin, which is derived from the sweet wormwood plant (Artemisia annua L). Sweet wormwood has been used in herbal Chinese medicine for at least 2,000 years, and is eaten in salads in some Asian countries.
The scientists attached a chemical homing device to artemisinin that targets the drug selectively to cancer cells, sparing healthy cells. The results were published online Oct. 5 in the journal Cancer Letters. “The compound is like a special agent planting a bomb inside the cell,” said Tomikazu Sasaki, chemistry professor at UW and senior author of the study. In the study, the UW researchers tested their artemisinin-based compound on human leukemia cells. It was highly selective at killing the cancer cells. The researchers also have preliminary results showing that the compound is similarly selective and effective for human breast and prostate cancer cells, and that it effectively and safely kills breast cancer in rats, Sasaki said. Cancer drug designers are faced with the unique challenge that cancer cells develop from our own normal cells, meaning that most ways to poison cancer cells also kill healthy cells. Most available chemotherapies are very toxic, destroying one normal cell for every five to 10 cancer cells killed, Sasaki said. This is why chemotherapy’s side effects are so devastating, he said. “Side effects are a major limitation to current chemotherapies,” Sasaki said. “Some patients even die from them.” The compound Sasaki and his colleagues developed kills 12,000 cancer cells for every healthy cell, meaning it could be turned into a drug with minimal side effects. A cancer drug with low side effects would be more effective than currently available drugs, since it could be safely taken in higher amounts. The artemisinin compound takes advantage of cancer cell’s high iron levels. Artemisinin is highly toxic in the presence of iron, but harmless otherwise. Cancer cells need a lot of iron to maintain the rapid division necessary for tumor growth. Since too much free-floating iron is toxic, when cells need iron they construct a special protein signal on their surfaces. The body’s machinery then delivers iron, shielded with a protein package, to these signals proteins. The cell then swallows this bundle of iron and proteins. Artemisinin alone is fairly effective at killing cancer cells. It kills approximately 100 cancer cells for every healthy cell, about ten times better than current chemotherapies. To improve those odds, the researchers added a small chemical tag to artemisinin that sticks to the “iron needed here” protein signal. The cancer cell, unaware of the toxic compound lurking on its surface, waits for the protein machinery to deliver iron molecules and engulfs everything — iron, proteins and toxic compound. Once inside the cell, the iron reacts with artemisinin to release poisonous molecules called free radicals. When enough of these free radicals accumulate, the cell dies. “The compound is like a little bomb-carrying monkey riding on the back of a Trojan horse,” said Henry Lai, UW bioengineering professor and co-author of the study. The compound is so selective for cancer cells partly due to their rapid multiplication, which requires high amounts of iron, and partly because cancer cells are not as good as healthy cells at cleaning up free-floating iron. “Cancer cells get sloppy at maintaining free iron, so they are more sensitive to artemisinin,” Sasaki said. Cancer cells are already under significant stress from their high iron contents and other imbalances, Sasaki said. Artemisinin tips them over the edge. The compound’s modus operandi also means it should be general for almost any cancer, the researchers said. “Most currently available drugs are targeted to specific cancers,” Lai said. “This compound works on a general property of cancer cells, their high iron content.” The compound is currently being licensed by the University of Washington to Artemisia Biomedical Inc., a company Lai, Sasaki and Narendra Singh, UW associate professor of bioengineering, founded in Newcastle, Wash. for development and commercialization. Human trials are at least several years away. Artemisinin is readily available, Sasaki said, and he hopes their compound can eventually be cheaply manufactured to help cancer patients in developing countries. Other authors of the study are Steve Oh, UW medical student; Byung Ju Kim, UW chemistry instructor; and Singh. The Washington Technology Centre and the Witmer Foundation provided funding for the study. Chinese Medicine News (74.125.19.144) Chinese Medicine News by Chinese Medicine News is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Canada License. For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the licence terms originate from chinesemedicinenews.com. No tag for this post. Related Posts UW release - Researchers at the University of Washington have updated a traditional Chinese medicine to create a compound that is more than 1,200 times more specific in killing certain kinds of cancer cells than currently available drugs, heralding the possibility of a more effective chemotherapy drug with minimal side effects. The new compound puts a |
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