Month: February 2009

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Herbs & Plants

Tinospora Cordifolia

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Botanical Name: Tinospora Cordifolia
Family Name: Meninspermaceae
Popular Name: Gulanshe Tinospara, Gulancha Tinospara, Tinospara, Giloy,Guduchi
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Ranunculales
Genus: Tinospora
Species: T. cordifolia

Parts Used: Stem

Synonyms:

*South Asia: Guduchi , amrita (Sanskrit), giloe , gulancha (Bengali), giloya (Hindi), gado , galo (Gujarati), duyutige , teppatige (Telugu)

*English: heartleaf moonseed

*Indonesia: Brotowali, Andawali, Putrawali

*Philippines: Makabuhay (Tagolog), Paliaban (Bisaya), Pañgiauban (Bisaya), Taganagtagua

*Thailand: Boraphet

Habitat:Tinospora Cordifolia is indigenous to the tropical areas of India, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.

Description:

The plant is climbing shrub with heart-shaped leaves. The herb plant flowers during the summer and fruits during the winter. Tinosopora Cordiofolia prefers acid, neutral or basic alkaline soil. It can grow in semi-shade or no shade. Requiring moist soil  and partial to full sun with moderate moisture. Tinospora Cordifolia grows without chemical fertilizers, and use of pesticides. The plant is classified as a rasayana herb: Enhance longevity, promote intelligence and prevent disease.It is a large, climbing shrub. A deciduous unknown that grows to 1.0 meters (3.3 feet) high by 0.5 meters (1.65 feet) wide .  This plant has hermaphrodite flowers.

click & see..
The stems are collected in the hot season and dried. The drug occurs in straight or twisted cylindrical pieces and in slices, averaging about 2 centimetres in diameter, some pieces being much smaller. Externally, they are covered with a thin, papery, brown cork, bearing the raised scars of numerous lenticels. The cork readily exfoliates and discloses a greenish cortex longitudinally wrinkled and marked with lenticels. The fracture is fibrous and the transverse section exhibits a yellowish wood with radially arranged wedge-shaped wood bundles, containing large vessels, separated by narrower medullary rays. The odour is not characteristic, but the taste is bitter.”

The herb has a long history in use by practitioners of Ajurvedic medicine (the traditional medicine of India), since 2000 B.C. Known by its practitioners to treat convalescence from severe illness, arthritis (or joint diseases), liver disease, eye diseases, urinary problems, anemia, cancer, diarrhea, and diabetes. Also, help remove toxins from the body. The plant is cultivated by stem cutting in the month of May-June and used in Tibetan medicine. The herb is known to have a sweet, bitter and acid taste.

Cultivation : It grows well in almost all types of soils and under varying climatic conditions.

Click for:->  More Details
Chemical Constituents : Sesquiterpene tinocordifolin, Sesquiterpene glucoside tino cordifolioside, tinosponone, tinosrfioside, sordioside furanoid diterpene; The active adaptogenic constituents are diterpene compounds including tinosporone, tinosporic acid, cordifolisides A to E, syringen, the yellow alkaloid, berberine, Giloin, crude Giloininand, a glucosidal bitter principle as well as polysaccharides, including arabinogalactan polysaccharide (TSP).Picrotene and bergenin were also found in this plant.

Ethnobotanical Uses
According to the 1918 United States Dispensatory edited by Joseph Remington, Horatio Wood et al.:

Tinospora. Br. Add. 1900.—”The dried stem of Tinospora cordifolia Miers (Fam. Menispermaceae), collected in the hot season.” Br. Add., 1900. Tinospora has long been used in India as a medicine and in the preparation of a starch known as gilae-ka-sat or as palo. It is said to be a tonic, antiperiodic, and a diuretic. Flückiger obtained from it traces of an alkaloid and a bitter glucoside. The Br. Add., 1900, recognized an infusion (Infusum Tinosporae Br. Add., 1900, two ounces to the pint), dose one-half to one fluidounce (15-30 mils); a tincture (Tinctura Tinosporae Br. Add., 1900, four ounces to the pint), dose, one-half to one fluidrachm (1.8-3.75 mils); and a concentrated solution [Liquor Tinosporae Concentratus Br. Add., 1900), dose, one-half to one fluidrachm (1.8-3.75 mils). Tinospora crispa Miers (more), which is abundant in the Philippines, is used freely by the natives under the name of makabuhay (that is, “You may live”), as a panacea, especially valuable in general debility, in chronic rheumatism, and in malarial fevers. It may be prepared in the same way and given in the same doses as Tinospora cordifolia.

Medicinal Uses: It is antiperiodic, antipyretic, Alterative, Diuretic and anti-inflammatory. It is used in fever, urinary disorders, dyspepsia, general debility and urinary diseases. It is also used in treatment of rheumatism and jaundice.It is useful in burning sensation hyperdipsia, helminthiasis, dyspepsia, flatulence, gout, vomiting, skin diseases, leprosy, erysipelas, anemia, cough, asthma, jaundice, seminal weakness, uropathy and splenopathy.

According to Indian legend, the herb is known locally as giloya or “heavenly elixir”: Kept the angels eternally young. According to one animal study, Tinosporoa Cordifolia might decrease male fertility. Otherwise, no comprehensive study has been done to determine the efficacy or safety of this herb. Not advisable to be taken by pregnant women and nursing mothers. Also, individuals with severe liver or kidney disease should avoid taking Guduchi.

The Filipinos and Malays in general consider this vine as a universal medicine. It is the most popular of local medicinal plants. Makabuhai, the common Tagalog name; means, “to give life”. It is commonly prescribed as an aqueous extract in the treatment of stomach trouble, indigestion, and diarrhea. It is the basis of a popular preparation, which is used as a cordial, a tonic, or an ingredient in cocktails. It is also an effective remedy in the treatment of tropical ulcers. In powder form, it is prescribed in fevers. A preparation with coconut oil is an effective cure for rheumatism and also for flatulence of children (kabag). The preparation is made by chopping the makabuhai stem into pieces of 1 or 2 inches long, placing them in a jar with coconut oil, and “cooking” them under the sun. The jar is then put aside and not opened until a year has elapsed. A decoction of the stem is considered an effective cure if used as a wash for tropical ulcers. Father de Sta.Maria includes makabuhai in his book, “Manual de Medicinas Caseras,” and says that it is given the decoction or powder from as a febrifuge. The decoction of the stem is also an excellent vulnerary for itches, ordinary and cancerous wounds. Guerrero reports that internally it is used as tonic and antimalaria; externally as a parasiticide.
Traditionally used in Thai medicine, Tinospora crispa is one ingredient in Thai folk remedies for maintaining good health. A decoction of the stems, leaves and roots is used to treat fever, cholera, diabetes, rheumatism and snake-bites, an infusion of the stem is drunk as a vermifuge, a decoction of the stem is used for washing sore eyes and syphilitic sores, the crushed leaves are applied on wounds and made into poultice for itch. Also it reduces thirst, internal inflammation, and increases appetite.
The drug (stem) is registered in the Thailand Pharmacopoeia, and commonly used in hospital to treat diabetes.
In Vietnam the southern pharmacopoeia was developed and adapted in the 14th century by the monk Tue Tinh, to treat Vietnamese for diseases common to the tropics, while keeping the principles of Chinese medicine and blending into it the qualities of southern plants known to traditional popular medicine. To treat Malaria they use the Tinospora crispa.
In general folklore, the stem decoction is considered antipyretic, useful as an antimalarial and a wash for skin ulcers. Traditionally an infusion is used to treat fever due to malaria and also in cases of jaundice and for use against intestinal worms. The antimalarial effect was confirmed in a study. A decoction of the stems, leaves and roots is used to treat fever, cholera, diabetes, rheumatism and snake-bites. An infusion of the stem is drunk as a vermifuge. A decoction of the stem is used for washing sore eyes and syphilitic sores. The crushed leaves are applied on wounds and made into poultice for itch.
A decoction of the fresh root mixed with pepper and goat’s milk is given for rheumatism, where the dose is half a pint (in doses of two to four ounces according to another author under chronic rheumatism and syphilitic cachexia) every morning. It is said to be laxative and sudorific. When under this treatment the natives make a curry of the leaves, which they recommend to their patients. The leaves when agitated in water render it mucilaginous and is then sweetened with sugar and drunk when freshly made (half a pint taken twice-a-day). This is given for the cure of gonorrhea and is said to soothe the smarting and scalding. It is also used externally as a cooling and soothing application in prurigo, eczema, impetigo, etc.
If allowed to stand for a few minutes, the mucilaginous parts separate, contract and float in the center Leaving the water clear, and almost tasteless.
Decoction of the root in combination with ginger and sugar is given in cases of bilious dyspepsia and in cases of fevers with other bitters and aromatics. Roots rubbed with bonduc nuts in water are given for stomachache, especially in children.
Indonesians use an infusion of the stems to treat fevers and malaria. They can also be used to treat stomachache and jaundice. The infusion is also useful in fevers caused by smallpox and cholera. Another popular use of this infusion is in a mixture for treating indigestion.
In India, the leaves are made into a calming or soothing drug mainly for children that acts by relieving pain and flatulence. The juice of the leaves coagulates in water and forms a mucilage which is used externally as a cooling and soothing application in prurigo, eczema, impetigo etc.  Decoction of the root (1 in 10) mixed with long-pepper and goat’s milk is given in doses of two to four ounces in chronic rheumatism and syphilitic cachexia. Roots rubbed with bonduc nuts in water are given for stomachache, especially in children.

Modern use in herbal medicine
Tinospora cordifolia and similar species like Tinospora crispa and Tinospora rumphii Boerl are used in Ayurvedic and Jamu herbal medicine as a hepatoprotectant, protecting the liver from damage that may occur following exposure to toxins, as well as in Thailand, Philippines. Recent research has demonstrated that a combination of T. cordifolia extract and turmeric extract is effective in preventing the hepatotoxicity which is otherwise produced as a side effect of conventional pharmaceutical treatments for tuberculosis using drugs such as isoniazid and rifampicin.
Click to see :->Health Benefits and Uses of tinospora cordifolia

Andawali (Tinospora crispa) – a review

Disclaimer:The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.

Resouirces:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinospora_cordifolia
http://www.iloveindia.com/indian-herbs/tinospora-cordifolia.html
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/86699/tinospora_cordifolia_india_herbal_medicine.html
http://apmab.ap.nic.in/products.php?&start=10#

http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_LMN.htm

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A Possible Cure for Diabetes Ignored by Big Pharma

Twelve years ago, Professor Irving Weissman discovered a treatment that could have saved the lives of thousands of women with advanced breast cancer. Pharmaceutical companies weren’t interested in developing the therapy at the time.

Though interest in his methods are finally being ignited, Weissman regrets the wasted time. In a set of lectures, Weissman repeatedly expressed frustration that while many of his discoveries in the field of stem cell research seemed to hold remarkable potential for life-saving treatments, commercial or regulatory hurdles have prevented his scientific findings from benefiting patients.

One example is Weissman’s research on type I diabetes, in which he demonstrated the ability to fully cure type I diabetes in mice using stem cells. But even though his experiments avoided political controversy by using adult stem cells, which do not come from embryos, Weissman ran into a road block when pharmaceutical companies refused to sponsor clinical trials.

Weissman believes that the pharmaceutical companies put profit over principle, preferring to keep diabetes sufferers dependent on costly insulin than to cure them once and for all.

Sources: Columbia Spectator January 23, 2009

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Cold Virus Decoded, Cure Now Possible

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Curing the common cold, one of medicine’s most elusive goals, may now be in the realm of the possible. Researchers said on Thursday that they had decoded the genomes of the 99 strains of common cold virus and developed a catalog of its vulnerabilities
“We are now quite certain that we see the Achilles’ heel, and that a very effective treatment for the common cold is at hand,” said Stephen Liggett, an asthma expert at the University of Maryland and co-author of the finding.
Besides alleviating the achy, sniffly misery familiar to everyone, a true cold-fighting drug could be a godsend for the 20 million people who suffer from asthma and the millions of others with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The common cold virus, a rhinovirus, is thought to set off half of all asthma attacks.

Even so, it might be difficult to kindle the interest of pharmaceutical companies. While the new findings are “an interesting piece of science”, said Glenn Tillotson, an expert on antiviral drugs at Viropharma in Exton, Pennsylvania, he noted that the typical cost of developing a new drug was now $700 million, “with interminable fights with financiers and regulators”. Because colds are mostly a minor nuisance, drug developers say, people would not be likely to pay for expensive drugs. And it would be hard to get the Food and Drug Administration to approve a drug with any serious downside for so mild a disease.
Perhaps the biggest reason the common cold has long defied treatment is that the rhinovirus has so many strains and presents a moving target for any drug or vaccine. This scientific link in this chain of problems may now have been broken by a research team headed by Liggett and Ann Palmenberg, a cold virologist at the University of Wisconsin.

Fernando Martinez, an asthma expert at the University of Arizona, said the new rhinovirus family tree should make it possible for the first time to identify which particular branch of the tree held the viruses most provocative to asthma patients. The rhinovirus has a genome of about 7,000 chemical units, which encode the information to make the 10 proteins that do everything the virus needs to infect cells and make more viruses. By comparing the 99 genomes with one another, the researchers were able to arrange them in a family tree based on similarities in their genomes.

That family tree shows that some regions of the rhinovirus genome are changing all the time but that others never change. The fact that the unchanging regions are so conserved over the course of evolutionary time means that they perform vital roles and that the virus cannot let them change without perishing. They are therefore ideal targets for drugs because, in principle, any of the 99 strains would succumb to the same drug.

Sources: The Times Of India

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Myths About Sugar and Health

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Replacing sugar with other sources of carbohydrates does not necessarily make you lose weight, according to a scientific review study.

Busting such misconceptions about the impact of sugars on health, the study observes that what appears more important is the total amount of energy intake, the energy density of the foods and the quality of the diet.

The evidence shows that added sugars do not necessarily compromise a person’s intake of micronutrients. The “micronutrient dilution” myth that eating added sugars dilutes the nutrient density of a person’s diet appears mostly due to misreporting and methodological constraints.

Finally, although sugar consumption has traditionally been associated with poor dental health, the experts pointed to the importance of the frequency, more than the amount, of consumption of all sugars and fermentable carbohydrates.

Nowadays, for the prevention of tooth decay, the widespread use of fluoridated toothpaste and good oral hygiene play a more important role.

“The results provide a much needed update of the overall scientific evidence on sugars and suggest that new randomised controlled intervention studies of sufficient size and duration are required,” said Andreu Palou, who chaired the expert workshop that looked at the current available scientific evidence.

The combined impact of many dietary and lifestyle factors such as physical activity, excessive calorie intake and weight gain, and their interactions, have to be taken into account.

Obesity and low physical activity are causally related to the development of insulin resistance and its progression towards type 2 diabetes.

There is convincing evidence from randomised controlled trials (RCT) that weight loss and moderate physical activity are beneficial in improving insulin sensitivity and preventing type 2 diabetes, said a Comité Européen des Fabricants de Sucre (CEFS) release. CEFS represents all European sugar manufacturers and refiners among European Institutions.

Sources: The Times Of India

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Lack of Vitamin ‘D’ Linked to Cognitive Decline

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Researchers have for the first time identified a relationship between vitamin D deficiency and cognitive impairment in a large-scale study of older people.
The study looked at almost 2,000 adults aged 65 and over. As levels of vitamin D went down, levels of cognitive impairment went up. Those with the lowest levels of vitamin D were more than twice as likely to be cognitively impaired.

One problem faced by older people is that the capacity of their skin to absorb vitamin D from sunlight decreases as they age.

Sources:

Eurekalert January 22, 2009

Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology December 10, 2008

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