Month: March 2009

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Herbs & Plants

Semecarpus anacardium

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Botanical Name: Semecarpus anacardium
Family: Anacardiaceae
Genus: Semecarpus
Species:S. anacardium
Kingdom:Plantae
Order: Sapindales

vernacular Name: Sans- Bhallataka, Hind- Bhela. It was called “marking nuts” by Europeans because it was used by washermen to mark the cloths before washing, as it imparted water insoluble mark to the cloth. It’s also known as “Ker” in Kannada.

It is known as Bhallaatak  in India and was called “marking nut” by Europeans, because it was used by washermen to mark cloth and clothing before washing, as it imparted a water insoluble mark to the cloth. It is also known as ker beeja in Kannada and bibba in Marathi and Jeedi Ginja in Telugu.

Habitat :Semecarpus Anacardium (the Oriental Anacardium) is a native of India and is closely related to the cashew.Available throughout india, in semi-green and moist deciduous forests.

Description:It is a deciduous tree, found in the outer Himalayas. The nut is about 2.5 cm long, ovoid and smooth lustrous black. In Ayurveda, the fruit is considered a rasayana for longevity and rejuvenation,and is processed before use, as it is toxic in nature.

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Properties:
Bhallataka is sweet and astringent in taste, sweet in the post digestive effect and has hot potency. It alleviates kapha and vata dosas and possesses light, unctuous sharp (tiksna) and hot (usna) attributes. It is extremely heat generating, appetizer, digestant, rejuvenative, aphrodisiac herb and alleviates the skin and rheumatic disorders. (Bhavaprakasa Nighantu)

Classical Ayurvedic Preparations:

*Bhallatakasava
*Bhallataka taila
*Bhallataka ksirapaka and ksara
*Tiladi modaka
*Bhallataka modaka
*Amrtabhallatakavaleha
*Sanjivani guti etc.

Bhallataka is used both, internally as well as externally. The fruits, their oil and the seeds have great medicinal value, and are used to treat the wide range of diseases. Externally, the oil, mixed with coconut or sesame oil, is applied on wounds and sores to prevent the pus formation. It soothens and heals the cracked feet, when mixed with fala (Shorea robusta). For better healing of wounds, it works well, when medicated with garlic, onion and ajavayana in sesame oil. The topical application of its oil and swollen joints and traumatic wounds effectively controls the pain. In glandular swellings and filariasis, the application of its oil facilitates to drain out the discharges of pus and fluids and eases the conditions.

Since bhallataka is extremely hot and sharp in its attributes, it should be used with caution. Individuals showing allergic reactions to it, should stop and avoid the usage of bhallataka. It should not be used in small children, very old persons, pregnant women and individuals of predominant pitta constitution. The use of the same should be restricted in summer season. For its allergic reactions like rash, itching and swelling, the antidotes used externally are coconut oil, rala ointment, ghee, coriander leaves pulp or butter mixed with musta (Cyperus rotundus).

Internally, bhallataka is widely used in a vast range of diseases because of its multifarious properties. As it augments the agni, it is extremely beneficial in the diseases like piles, colitis, diarrhea, dyspepsia, ascites, tumours and worms which are caused mainly due to weakened agni. For this, one fruit of bhallataka is hold with tong over a flame and heated slightly. On gentle pressing, the oil starts dripping gradually. This oil is collected on the beatle leaf with small amount of sugar on its surface or in a cup of milk. Approximately 10 drops in children and 15-20 drops in adults are sufficient. It augements the appetite, cleanses the bowels, dispels the trapped gases and eliminates the worms. This is how the bhallataka is used as a household remedy.

Bhallataka is highly praised to treat the piles (haemorrhoids) of vata and kapha types, meaning in non – bleeding conditions. It is an effective adjuvant in the treatment of ascites and tumours. In bronchial asthma and cough, it is one of the best medicament for which, its preparation bhallatakasava is commonly used. It reduces the bronchospasms and their frequency too. Cardiac debility, associated with odema can be treated with great benefit. The milk medicated with bhallataka or bhallataka modaka mitigates the skin diseases like scabies, eczema, ringworm infestations. As a nervine tonic, it is beneficial in the diseases due to vata, like sciatica, paralysis, facial palsy, epilepsy, rheumatic conditions and also asa brain tonic. The combination, bhallataka, haritaki, tila (sesame seeds) powders with jaggery, awards excellent results in chronic rheumatic disorders. Bhallataka is said to augment the memory, as it boosts the sadhaka pitta and nourishes the nervine tissue. It also works well as aphrodisiac by its stimulant action and enhances the seminal fluids. In dysmenorrheal (painful menstruation) and oligomenorrhea (scanty menstruation), the medicated milk or its oil is salubrious. It reduces the urinary output, hence beneficial in diabetes of kapha type,

Bhallataka is the best rejuvenative (rasayana) for skin ailments, vata disorders and as a preventive measure to increase the body resistance. It augments the appetile, improves digestion, eliminates ama and clears up srotasas – the micro channels of all the systems, hence facilitates the nourishment of all the tissues (dhatus). It does not work as an anabokic rejuvenative like bala (Sida cordifolia), satavari (Asparagus racemosus), milk or ghee. Winter is the best season for its usage. One should adopt a bland and cooling diet consisting of rice, milk, butter, ghee. The salt and spices should be strictly restricted and during bhallataka treatment, it is recommended to avoid exposure to sun, heat and excessive sex. The toxic symptoms of its internal use are skin rashes, burning, itching, and excessive thirst and sweating, reductin in urine output with sloky coloured urine, sometimes blood in the urine (heamaturia) may appear. The fresh juice of the leaves of amlika (Tamarindus indica) internally, is one of the antidotes for such symptoms.

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According to Ayurveda :-
It is katu ,tikta, kashaya, ushna, anthelmintic, helpful in deranged kapha, vata, intestinal infections, epistasis, polyuria and piles

Parts Used: Fruits and bark.

Therapeutic Uses:

Fruits: in asthma, ascites, epilepsy, neuralgia, psoriasis and rheumatism; as abortifacient and vermifuge; decoction mixed with milk and butter-fat efficacious in asthma, gout, hemiplegia, neuritis, piles, rheumatism, sciatica, and syphilitic complaintskernel is anthelmintic, cardiotonic, carminative and digestive;
The fruits are acrid, bitter, astringent, digestive, carminative, purgative, liver tonic, expectorant, stomachic, laxative, tonic and oleaginous. The fruit is useful in leucoderma, scaly skin, allergic, dermatitis, poisonous bites, leprosy, cough, asthma, and dyspepsia.
Also act as insecticides, antiseptic, termite repellents and herbicide. It is extremely beneficial in the diseases like piles, colitis, diarrhea, dyspepsia, ascites, tumours and worms. The topical application of its oil on swollen joints and traumatic wounds effectively controls the pain.

The fruit is acrid, hot, sweetish; digestible, aphrodisiac, anthelmintic; stays. looseness of bowels; removes” vata “,” kapha “, ascites, skin diseases, piles, dysentery, tumours, fevers, loss of appetite, urinary discharges; heals ulcers; strengthens the teeth; useful in insanity, asthma.

The rind of the fruit is sweet, oleagenous, digestible, acrid, sharp; stomachic, anthelmintic, laxative; cures ” vata “, bronchitis, leprosy, ulcers, ascites, piles, dysentery, tumours, inflammations, fevers; causes ulceration

The sweet fruit is carminative, tonic, aphrodisiac; lessens inflammation, stomatitis, piles, fever, weakness and paralysis; expels bad humours from the body.

The pulp is tonic; good for piles.

The smoke from the burning pericarp is good for tumours.

The oil is hot and dry, anthelmintic, aphrodisiac, tonic; makes hair black; good for leucoderma, coryza, epilepsy and other nervous diseases; lessens inflammation; useful in paralysis and superficial pain;

oil used externally in gout, leprosy and leucoderma; bark: brownish gum exudate found useful in nervous disorders.

A brown gum exudes from the bark which regard as a valuable medicine in scrofulous, venereal and leprous affections .

The nut is used internally in asthm, after having been steeped in butter-milk, and is also given as vermifuge., debility and in leprous, scrofulous and venereal affections.

Medicinal uses:
Recent studies have shown the fruit to be a good anti-inflammatory agent and effective in various types of cancers.

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.

Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semecarpus_anacardium
http://www.ayurvedakalamandiram.com/herbs.htm#bhallataka
http://www.herbalcureindia.com/herbs/bhallataka.htm
http://www.motherherbs.com/semecarpus-anacardium.html

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News on Health & Science

Simple Test to Spot Heart Risks


The use of common and readily available screening test called the ankle brachial index (ABI) could spot people with otherwise  unsuspected heart risks, a new research has shown.
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Information was analyzed from the 1999-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey—a cross-sectional survey of 6,292 American men and women ages 40 and older without known history of heart disease, stroke, diabetes or atherosclerotic vascular disease. Researchers found prevalence of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in a large population of women and men who were not considered at high risk for cardiovascular disease.

“If novel risk factors are shown to improve risk prediction, they could be very valuable because the prevalence of abnormal values is high in populations not known to have high risk,” said Timothy P Murphy, an interventional radiologist

Sources: The Times Of India

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Diagnonistic Test

Exercise Stress Test Or Treadmill Test(TMT)

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The exercise stress test, also known as the treadmill test or exercise tolerance test, indicates whether your heart gets enough blood flow and oxygen when it’s working its hardest, such as during exercise. Often, stress tests are given to people with chest pain or other symptoms who appear to have coronary artery disease, based on a medical exam and EKG. In addition, these tests are sometimes used for other purposes, from assessing the effectiveness of heart disease treatment to gauging the safety of a proposed exercise program.
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Stress tests are among the best tools for diagnosing heart disease, and some research suggests that they may also be useful in estimating disease risk in people who don’t have symptoms but have risk factors such as high cholesterol. If you are over age 40 and are at risk for coronary artery disease because you smoke or have high blood pressure or other risk factors, ask your doctor if you should have this test.

Preparing for the Regular Stress Test:
The following recommendations are “generic” for all types of cardiac stress tests:

*Do not eat or drink for three hours prior to the procedure. This reduces the likelihood of nausea that may accompany strenuous exercise after a heavy meal. Diabetics, particularly those who use insulin, will need special instructions from the physician’s office.

*Specific heart medicines may need to be stopped one or two days prior to the test. Such instructions are generally provided when the test is scheduled.

*Wear comfortable clothing and shoes that are suitable for exercise.

*An explanation of the test is provided and the patient is asked to sign a consent form.

*Wear comfortable, loose-fitting clothing and athletic shoes. Let the doctor performing the test know if you think that you won’t be able to walk on a treadmill for any health reason, such as arthritis. Also let the doctor know if you have diabetes; since exercise can lower blood sugar, he or she may want to check your blood sugar level before the test begins, to be sure it is not too low (see “Diabetes alert,” below). It’s also important to tell the doctor or other health professional in the testing room if you’ve had any chest pain or pressure on the day of the test. Try to avoid eating a large meal right before the test, which could make exercising uncomfortable.

Total timing is  approximately one hour for the entire test, including the preparation.

What happens when the test is performed?
First you have an EKG both while lying down and standing up. Your blood pressure is taken. Several plasticcoated wires, or leads, are taped to your arms and one leg so that your heart’s electrical pattern can be detected while you exercise.Your blood pressure and heart rate also are monitored during the test. You are asked to walk on a treadmill for about 10 minutes. The speed and steepness of the treadmill will increase several times while you exercise. Let the person who is monitoring you know immediately if you feel chest pain or heaviness, shortness of breath, leg pain or weakness, or other unusual symptoms, or if you think you can’t continue exercising.After the exercise period is completed, your blood pressure will be checked again.

A variation of this test uses a radionuclide to visualize parts of the heart that are not getting enough blood. This test is called either an exercise-thallium test or exercise-MIBI test (depending on the radionuclides used). If you have this test, you will probably need to repeat it on a day when you have not been exercising hard, for the sake of comparison.

An exercise stress test strongly suggests coronary artery disease if walking on the treadmill produces symptoms such as chest discomfort, shortness of breath, or dizziness, and these symptoms are accompanied by EKG changes that indicate inadequate blood flow to parts of the heart. A test is considered normal if you can perform a normal amount of exercise without symptoms or EKG changes. Many people have chest discomfort but no EKG changes, or vice versa. In these cases, the exercise test is of less help, and the result will be interpreted as consistent with coronary artery disease, but not conclusive. Further testing may then be required.

Must you do anything special after the test is over?
If your blood pressure becomes unusually high, or if it suddenly drops during exercise, a nurse will recheck your blood pressure a few minutes after the test and may continue to monitor your EKG. If you develop chest pain, you might be given some nitroglycerin tablets to relieve the pain and lower the demand on your heart by dilating your blood vessels.

What is the reliability of a Regular Stress Test?

If a patient is able to achieve the target heart rate, a regular treadmill stress test is capable of diagnosing important disease in approximately 67% or 2/3 rd of patients with coronary artery disease. The accuracy is lower (about 50%) when patients have narrowing in a single coronary artery or higher (greater than 80%) when all three major arteries are involved. Approximately 10% of patients may have a “false-positive” test (when the result is falsely abnormal in a patient without coronary artery disease).

How quickly will you may get the results and what will it mean?

The physician conducting the test will be able to give you the preliminary results before you leave the exercise laboratory. However, the official result may take a few days to complete. The results of the test may help confirm or rule out a diagnosis of heart disease. In patients with known coronary artery disease (prior heart attack, known coronary blockages, previous treatment with angioplasty, stents or bypass surgery, etc.), the study will help confirm that the patient is in a stable state, or that a new blockage is developing. The results may influence your physician’s decision to change your treatment or recommend additional testing such as cardiac catheterization, Echo Stress test, or a nuclear stress test.

Risk Factors:
The risk of the stress portion of the test is very small and similar to what you would expect from any strenuous form of exercise (jogging in your neighborhood, running up a flight of stairs, etc.). As noted earlier, experienced medical staff is in attendance to manage the rare complications like sustained irregular heart beats, unrelieved chest pain or even a heart attack.

If you have cardiac disease, you might develop chest pain during the test. Because this is a sign that your heart isn’t getting enough oxygen and could be in danger of damage, it’s important that you alert the medical staff immediately so that the test can be stopped. While many people worry that an exercise stress test could be dangerous to someone with heart disease, it is extremely safe if doctors examine patients beforehand to make sure that they are healthy enough for it.

How long is it before the result of the test is known?
It usually takes several days for the doctor to completely evaluate the printout of your heart’s electrical pattern.

Resources:
http://www.heartsite.com/html/regular_stress.html
https://www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/diagnostics/exercise-stress-test.shtml

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No Baby Blues

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It’s difficult to believe but true that despite our 1.2 billion  population in India, many of our young adults have difficulty in producing children. They may be called “sterile, infertile or sub fertile”. But before a couple is labelled “infertile”, they should have had at least 12 months of regular contraception-free intercourse.

Worldwide, infertility affects 7-10 per cent of the population. Although women actually produce the babies, if the reasons for the infertility are investigated the woman is at fault in a third of the cases; in a third it is the man and in the remainder either both are responsible or no real cause can be found.

Before embarking on a planned pregnancy, the woman should have had immunisations for measles, mumps rubella (MMR) and hepatitis B (3 doses). She should also start folic acid supplements (5mg/day). Children born with physical or mental defects because these basic facts were forgotten are a human tragedy. Both partners need to keep their body mass index (BMI, or weight in kilograms divided by height in metre squared) at around 23 and be physically active for around 40 minutes a day. They also need to treat any existing underlying disease like diabetes, high blood pressure or thyroid problems.

Studies show that caffeine (found in tea, coffee and cola drinks) affects fertility. Women who drink alcohol can produce babies with “foetal alcohol syndrome”. It also reduces the sperm count in men. Smoking affects the quality of the sperms and inhaled passive smoke is bad for the growing baby. Sperm counts may be reduced by inhaling hazardous chemicals in the work place or by working in high temperatures.

Women ovulate cyclically and the egg is released 14 days before the next period. For a woman to conceive, intercourse must take place around this time and the sperm count must be optimal. Initially, if a menstrual calendar is maintained, the fertile days can be calculated. A semen analysis for sperm count is a non-invasive simple test. Also, after intercourse lie down, don’t douche, and avoid lubricants and cleansing agents.

If these simple methods fail in a couple where the woman menstruates regularly and the man has a normal sperm count, a visit to a reproductive medical unit is warranted. Further investigations to establish the patency of the tubes and quality of the sperm may be needed. Depending on the problem, medication or surgical correction of a specific defect may be needed.

Conservative medical treatments are usually tried for periods varying from 6 months to a year. If they fail, assisted reproductive technology (ART) techniques are started.

In IUI (intrauterine insemination) the woman is scanned during her most fertile period to determine ovulation. Healthy treated sperms from her partner are then inserted into the uterus. The technique is used when the sperm count is low, the motility unsatisfactory or if donor sperm is being used.

In GIFT (gamete intra-fallopian transfer), eggs and sperms are collected, mixed and then placed in the woman’s fallopian tube. Fertilisation takes place naturally in the body.

In IVF (in vitro fertilisation) the eggs are harvested and fertilised with sperm in the laboratory. The resulting embryos are then placed in the uterus. This is used in cases where the fallopian tubes are blocked, the fertility unexplained or when several attempts with the other forms of ART have failed. It can result in multiple pregnancies. Some clinics offer “natural cycle IVF”. This involves collecting and fertilising the one egg released during the normal monthly cycle. It avoids the side effects of fertility drugs and multiple pregnancies are less likely.

In ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) a single sperm is injected into the centre of an egg. This is used when the male partner has a very low sperm count or if other problems with the sperm have been identified.

Donor eggs from other women can be used if the woman has no eggs of her own, or if she is over 40 and the eggs are of poor quality. Sperm from donors can be used if the husband has a low count (oligospermia) or no sperms (azoospermia). Surrogate mothers can be hired to carry the baby to term.

There is no right time to seek medical help, but if sexual intercourse at least three times a week without contraception for a year has been unsuccessful, it is probably time for proactive action. If, however, the woman has periods at intervals less than 21 days or more than 90 days, the flow is unpredictable (if it starts it does not stop and if it stops it does not start) or if there has been pelvic infection in the past, an evaluation should be done at the earliest. In men, if the testes are not felt in the scrotum, or there is a hydrocoele (swelling) or a past prostate infection, investigation and treatment should be started sooner.

Sources:The Telegraph (Kolkata,India)

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Experts Uncover Cause of Greyness

Scientists at Bradford University believe they have uncovered the root cause of why hair turns grey.
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Experts found grey hair was caused by a build-up of hydrogen peroxide

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It is an accepted part of the ageing process, but experts say understanding how grey hair happens could help find a way to prevent it.

Experiments found it is caused by a massive build-up of hydrogen peroxide due to wear and tear of hair follicles, which blocks hair’s natural pigment.

The research has been hailed as a “major breakthrough”.

The scientists worked in collaboration with experts in Mainz and Luebeck in Germany and the discoveries have been published in the FASEB scientific journal, published by the Federation of the American Societies for Experimental Biology.

Lead researcher Karin Schallreuter said experts examined hair as well as cells from human hair follicles to uncover the findings.

He said: “This discovery is a major breakthrough in the understanding of hair greying and opens up some novel ideas to combat this scenario.

“These are being followed up at the current time in our laboratory.”

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Could a pill prevent grey hair?

Cancer drug restores hair colour

Sources:BBC NEWS:3rd.March ’09

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