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News on Health & Science

Testosterone Jab Best bet as Male Contraceptive

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Chinese researchers are on track to create an effective male contraceptive jab with none of the usual side-effects, a development that    would revolutionize family planning.

The testosterone injection works by temporarily halting sperm production by reducing levels of two regulatory brain chemicals. Previous attempts to develop an effective and convenient male contraceptive have encountered problems over reliability and side-effects, such as mood swings and a lowered sex drive. The study, which will appear in the June issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, was backed by the World Health Organisation.
Researchers were able to achieve a 99% success rate by injecting men with testosterone in a trial that they claim is the largest so far conducted anywhere in the world.

The latest research, conducted at the National Research for Family Planning in Beijing, injected 1,045 healthy, fertile male patients aged between 20-45 years with a testosterone-based jab over a two-year period and found only 1% went on to father a child, the Independent newspaper reported on Tuesday. Their female partners were between 18 and 38 years of age and had normal reproductive function.

Males were injected monthly with 500 mg of a formulation of testosterone undecanoate (TU) in tea seed oil for 30 months. Results showed a cumulative contraceptive failure (pregnancy) rate of 1.1 per 100 men in the 24-month efficacy phase. No serious adverse events were reported and reproductive function returned to the normal fertile reference range in all but two participants, said a NRIFP release.

“For couples who cannot or prefer not to use only female-oriented contraception, options have been limited to vasectomy, condom and withdrawal,” said Yi-Qun Gu, the lead researcher. “Our study shows a male hormonal contraceptive regime may be a potential, novel and workable alternative,” he was quoted as saying by the British daily.

Sources: The Times Of India

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Ayurvedic Herbs & Plants

Chopchini (Smilax china)

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Botanical Name: Smilax china
English Name : China Root
French Name : Sarutori ibara
Arabic Name : Khabsul Seeni, Jazar Seeni
Persian Name : Chobchini
Sanskrit Name : Madhusnuhi
Hindi Name : Chopchini, Chobchini
Chinese Name : Tu Fu Ling
German Name : Chinawurzel
Family:Smilacaceae

Other name:Sarsaparilla, China root
Range :E. Asia – China, Japan.
Habitat :E. Asia,China, Japan. Shrub thickets in hills and mountains. Forests, thickets, hillsides, grassy slopes, shaded places along valleys or streams from near sea level to 2000 metres.

Description:
It is a climbing herbs with a large tuberous rhizome; stem and branches unarmed, polished; Leaves lanceolate, acuminate, rounded at the base, 3-nerved, glaucous underneath; Umbels axillary simple, sessile, solitary.

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You may click to see the pictures

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It is hardy to zone 6. It is in flower in May, and the seeds ripen in October. The flowers are dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required)The plant is not self-fertile.
The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.


Medicinal Uses:

Antibacterial activity has been observed with the lant extracts. They are useful in skin diseases, vitiated conditions of vata, flatulence, tuberculosis, and general debility. It helps in faster clearance of symptoms.

Roots are aphrodisiac, pseudorific, demulent, alteratively used in rheumatism, syphilis, and skin diseases. The rhizome is made into a paste and applied to painful swellings.

The root is depurative, diaphoretic, stimulant, alterative, resolvent, tonic, diuretic, aphrodisiac, antibiotic, alterative, antisyphilitic, astringent, sudorific and demulcent. Useful in sexual debility and in syphilis, scrofula and other skin diseases. Also useful in rheumatism, gout, epilepsy and chronic nervous diseases.

Useful in Following diseases : Blood Impurities, Epilepsy, Fevers, Gout, Nervous Debility, Psoriasis, Rheumatism, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Seminal Debility, Sexual Debility, Syphilis,

Used in Following medicines : Femone, Rheuma, SkinClear Syrup (Raktsafa),

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://www.dehlvi.com/ingredient.php?section=view&itemID=54
http://www.bicco.com/herb_photo.html
http://www.vasuhealthcare.com/vasusmilaxchina.htm

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Herbs & Plants

TIENCHI GINSENG /GINSENG

Panax quinquefolius foliage and fruitImage via Wikipedia

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Botanical Name :Panax notoginseng, Panax pseudoginseng San qi.
Family:Araliaceae
Subfamily:Aralioideae
Genus:Panax
Kingdom:    Plantae
Order:Apiales
Common Name
:Ginseng, San Qi,Tan Qi,Teinchi Ginseng
Part Used:
Tuberous root.
Collection and habitat: Origin
China, An Asian herb used primarily in Korea, China, and Japan; the root is gathered in the spring or fall. The older the roots, the better.

Description:Tien-chi Ginseng (Panax pseudoginseng) is a unique type of ginseng plant that grows in southwestern China; mainly cultivated in Yunnan and Guangxi Provinces. The main part of the tien-chi plant used as a health product is the root, which is valued for regulating blood circulation, as detailed in a 1979 report (cover pictured here). The flower is used somewhat differently, as a “heat clearing and toxin cleansing” herb, given to reduce inflammation, feverish feeling, skin eruptions, and sore throat.

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All parts of the ginseng plants contain the saponins-known as ginsenosides-that have been shown to be responsible for most of ginseng’s beneficial effects. Additionally, the flowers contain flavonoids that contribute to the cooling and detoxifying action. The flowers have a mild, pleasant taste, and subtle aroma. In China, the flower tea is a favorite summer drink, used to compensate for the hot weather of the central and southern regions. The flowers are collected in early summer and then extracted and concentrated onto cane sugar to yield an instant tea granule, manufactured by Shenbao Corporation of Guanxi Province.

WHAT IT DOES: Tien chi root is sweet and slightly bitter in taste, and warming in action. It stops bleeding while simultaneously reducing blood congestion and clotting. It also relaxes, detoxifies and repairs blood vessels, and speeds wound healing. It is a mild tonic.

Medicinal Uses: Immune tonic and stimulant, adaptogenic, hepatoprotective, antiviral, cardiotonic, anti-inflammatory, anticomplement, antihyperglycemic, antiulcer, antioxidant, hemostatic, analgesic; promotes blood circulation.

Functions in liver disease: Antiviral, hepatoprotective, strong stimulant and tonic for the immune system. Directly active against hepatitis viruses.

Properties: Warming, both hemostatic and anticoagulant (depending on the condition), disperses blood stasis, anti-swelling, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulating, hypolipemic (raw sanqi), hyperlipemic (cured sanqi), anti-atherosclerotic, antioxidant.

Most Common Traditional Uses: Hemorrhages of various kinds (e.g., coughing blood, vomiting blood, nosebleeds, hematochezia, and metrorrhagia), traumatic injuries with bleeding and pain, stabbing pain in chest and abdomen.

By Chinese standards, tienchi is not an ancient herb, being first described only about 400 years ago, in Li Shi-Zhen’s Ben Cao Gang Mu (circa 1590 A.D.). It is cultivated mainly in southern China, in the provinces of Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guangdong, at altitudes between 800 and 1,000 m. Tienchi is closely related to Asian ginseng and American ginseng.Like ginseng, it also contains ginsenosides (esp. Rb1 and Rg1) as its major active components. However, unlike ginseng, tienchi’s most well-known traditional use is not as a tonic but as a hemostatic, and is a common ingredient in many hemostatic formulas both for internal and external applications. Perhaps the most famous formula of this kind is Yunnan Baoyao (White Drug of Yunnan Province) which contains tienchi as a major component. This medicine was carried by both Chinese and American airmen (the Flying Tigers) during World War II to stop bleeding due to wounds and injuries.

After modern chemical and pharmacological studies have shown tienchi to contain ginsenosides and to exhibit broad biological activities that are typical of tonics (cardiovascular, immunomodulating, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, normalizing blood lipids and blood pressure, etc.), it is now also used in tonic formulas.

Research Highlights:-

• Studies from China show that it speeds recovery from wounds by over 50% (reported in Dharmananda, 1994).

• Studies have shown that this action is strengthened by repeated administration and tends to be dose-dependent (Gong YH et al., 1991).

• In mouse studies, Tien chi root extract has shown significant anti-tumor activity on skin tumors induced by chemical toxins (Konoshima et al., 1999).

• In a study of patients with essential hypertension, tien chi root saponins, were shown to precipitate remarkable improvement in left ventricular diastolic function. The researchers concluded that the herb could improve heart muscle relaxation by enhancing calcium pump activity, inhibiting intracellular calcium overload, and lightening left ventricular muscle mass (Feng et al., 1997). In spite of this positive effect, however, the herb is not a reliable blood pressure-lowering agent by itself, though it may be a useful addition to a treatment protocol (Lei XL et al., 1986).

•The development of cardiac dysfunction and weakness immediately following traumatic burns is a serious problem, and one that is very difficult to treat. In a placebo controlled trial performed on rats at the Institute of Burn Research in Chongqing, China, researchers determined that tien chi root was effective in improving early post-burn cardiac function (Huang et al., 1999).

• The actions of this herb on the cardiovascular system are complex, involving multiple mechanisms. Studies done at the Chinese Academy of Medical Science in Beijing have shown that the saponins in tien chi root act as calcium channel blockers in neurons (Ma et al., 1997).

• The protection the whole root affords against hypoxic damage is attributed to the improvement of energy metabolism, preserving the structural integrity of neurons (Jiang KY et al., 1995).

• Other effects include lipid-lowering activity (Xu et al., 1993), increased outflow of coronary vessels and relaxed constriction of ileum smooth muscles (Hu Y et al., 1992), and anti-arrhythmic activity (Gao BY et al., 1992).

• A study on rabbits suffering from hemorrhagic shock examined the effects of various combinations of salvia root, tien chi root and chuan xiong rhizome (Ligusticum wallichii). Blood tests showed that all three herbs were effective for relieving blood pressure and heart rate reduction, but that the combination of any two herbs was superior to
using a single herb, improving results and lowering the required dosage (Wang et al., 1997)

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://eatmoreherbs.com/zine/ginseng_tienchi.html
http://www.globalherbalsupplies.com/herb_information/ginseng_tienchi.htm#top
http://www.health-report.co.uk/phytochi_tienchi_ginseng.html
http://oneearthherbs.squarespace.com/important-herbs/tien-chi-root-panax-notoginseng.html
http://www.itmonline.org/jintu/tienchi.htm

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News on Health & Science

Fungus of Fortune

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Tibetan nomads have found easy money in the form of the caterpillar fungus that promises to treat everything from impotence to ageing.

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Cordyceps sinensis (top) feeds on caterpillar larvae

Lhamotso never learned to read and write, and she has few marketable skills other than the ability to milk a yak.

Yet she can earn up to $1,000 a week, an unimaginable fortune for a Tibetan nomad. She has bought herself a shiny new Honda motorcycle. She and her husband gave up their tent for a house they built with solar panels, a satellite dish and television.

The worm, Lhamotso explains, “has changed our lives”.

What Tibetans call the worm is actually not a worm but a fungus — Cordyceps sinensis — that feeds on caterpillar larvae. It has a more poetic name, “winter worm, summer grass,” because its appearance changes from one to the other with the seasons. It is a prized ingredient in traditional medicines, with prices in the past few years skyrocketing such that prime specimens are worth their weight in gold, literally, about $900 an ounce.

Because the caterpillar fungus is indigenous only to the 1,600-km-long Tibetan plateau running from western China to Nepal, the money has hastened the nomads’ lurching transition into modernity.

“It is a bit like a gold rush in the Wild West. It has brought enormous wealth to these communities,” says Andrew Fischer, an economist at the London School of Economics specialising in Tibet.

For centuries, Tibetan nomads added caterpillar fungus to soups or tea, believing it boosted stamina, endurance, lung capacity, kidney function and, of course, sexual performance. Its use for medicinal purposes was documented back in the 14th century. Until recently, the fungus was cheap and abundant and the Tibetans would feed it to yaks and horses too when their energy was flagging.

The fungus’ popularity took off after the 1993 World Championships in Athletics, when Chinese female athletes broke records in nine track and field events and their coach gave partial credit to an elixir containing the fungus.

Then came the 2003 epidemic of the sudden acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), setting Asian consumers off on a frenzy of buying anything that might boost immunity.

Last year China exported $43 million worth of caterpillar fungus, touted as a treatment for everything from impotence to ageing.

The centre of the caterpillar fungus trade is in Qinghai province. Here, the bu — Tibetan for worm — is by far the largest source of cash and dictates the pace of daily life. During the peak fungus-hunting season, schools close to allow children to help. People with jobs shirk work to prospect for riches.

The season runs for about 40 days, beginning in early spring when the mountains are brown and spongy as though covered with a dirty shag carpet. Timing is crucial. If you dig too early, you get a live, wriggling caterpillar. It’s best to dig just after the fungus has killed the larvae.

The best caterpillar fungus is found at higher elevations, such as Heitushan, the 4,267m Black Earth Mountain in Golog, Qinghai province, where Lhamotso lives.

The climb is steep. Lhamotso counts herself lucky to have the motorcycle. She and her daughters, 10 and 16, pile on and zigzag uphill until the terrain gets too rough and they must walk.

Children are useful on the hunt because their sharp eyes allow them to pick the fungus — sort of a little yellow root with a stalk — growing out of the top out of the clumps of grass and sodden earth.

“It is very boring work,” complains Hiriti, Lhamotso’s younger daughter. Reaching into the pocket of her faux leather jacket, the girl pulls out a tissue and unwraps an 8-cm-long twig, the only piece she found all day. She will sell it for about $3.

“I think people must be insane to pay so much,” Lhamotso says. “It’s only in the last two years that it has gotten so expensive. It’s crazy, but it is good for us. How else would I make so much money? I can’t read or write.”

Lhamotso expects to make at least $6,000 this season — about triple what most Chinese families earn in a year.

Lhamotso is well aware that the fungus might not be a reliable source of income for much longer. It’s growing scarcer from over-harvesting and changes in the fragile ecosystem of the Tibetan plateau.

“When I was young, somebody could walk out of the tent and dig 800 to 900 pieces in a day. Now we have to hike three hours up the mountain and the best we do is maybe 50 pieces,” says Tsering, one of Lhamotso’s companions.

“It is expensive because it is rare, and it is rare because it is over-exploited,” says Lin Zhibin, a pharmacology expert at the Peking University Health Science Centre.

Another concern is that relentless digging on the mountains is contributing to soil erosion and desertification. Although the caterpillar fungus has given the nomads a financial boost, Tibetan intellectuals remain ambivalent about its benefits to society as a whole.

The real problem is that Tibetans themselves have become used to the easy money and the creature comforts it buys.

“People can’t go backwards. For years, it’s been like digging up gold, only more valuable,” says Daodu, 31, a teacher. “People today can’t survive without it.”

Sources:Los Angles Times

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Acupunture

Acupuncture

 Acupuncture is a component of traditional Chinese medicine that originated in China over 5,000 years ago. It is based on the belief that living beings have a vital energy, called “qi”, that circulates through twelve invisible energy lines known as meridians on the body. Each meridian is associated with a different organ system. An imbalance in the flow of qi throughout a meridian  is how disease begins. Acupuncturists insert needles into specified points along meridian lines to influence the restore balance to the flow of qi. There are over 1,000 acupuncture points on the body

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Traditional Chinese medicine states that health is dependent on energy. If this energy flow is disrupted by infection, pain or anxiety then physical symptoms are triggered. By inserting fine, solid needles into these channels, the flow of energy – and the patient’s health – is restored.

As these channels are not mappable according to conventional western ideas of anatomy, acupuncture is sometimes considered unscientific. However, studies show it can trigger the release of endorphins – the body’s natural painkillers – as well as stimulate some nerve fibres that block pain. In skilled hands, acupuncture is safe and relatively painless. Most practitioners recommend six to eight treatments. Western medicine accepts its benefits for relief of pain-related conditions, such back problems and migraines, but it is also commonly used for other ailments, such as sinus and bladder conditions. A practitioner should be registered with the local health authority.

There are specific points best avoided in pregnancy although acupuncture is effective for morning sickness. It is often cited as helping people to quit smoking, and though there is little consistent evidence, withdrawal symptoms from other harder drugs may be lessened. More controversially, a report earlier this year in the British Medical Journal reported that women treated with acupuncture could increase IVF success by 65%.

In 1997, acupuncture needles were reclassified from “experimental” to “medical device” by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The National Institutes of Health released a consensus statment in the same year endorsing acupuncture for the treatment of a variety of conditions such as post-operative pain, tennis elbow, and carpal tunnel syndrome.

Acupuncture is one of the best known of the alternative therapies. The FDA estimates that people in the United States spend more than $500 million annually on acupuncture treatments. Many people have insurance coverage for acupuncture.There are numerous theories about how acupuncture works. Some of them are:

*acupuncture stimulates the release of pain-relieving endorphins
*acupuncture influences the release of neurotransmitters, substances that transmit nerve impulses to the brain
*acupuncture influences the autonomic nervous system
*acupuncture stimulates circulation
*acupuncture influences the electrical currents of the body

*It relieves migraines and tension headaches
Resources:

http://altmedicine.about.com/cs/treatmentsad/a/acupuncture.htm?utm_term=what%20is%20acupuncture&utm_content=p1-main-1-title&utm_medium=sem&utm_source=msn&utm_campaign=adid-c0830049-61b6-4bdd-a4ae-5c8fe1422f7f-0-ab_mse_ocode-29597&ad=semD&an=msn_s&am=exact&q=what%20is%20acupuncture&dqi=&o=29597&l=sem&qsrc=999&askid=c0830049-61b6-4bdd-a4ae-5c8fe1422f7f-0-ab_mse

TIMESONLINE:11Th. May”08

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