A New Zealand company is seeking EU approval to market honeybee venom to help people with arthritis ease their pain.
The honey may offer the gain without the pain
Nelson Honey & Marketing says two teaspoons a day of its honey with added venom milked from honeybees has anti-inflammatory power to soothe joints.
The venom concept is not new – some clinics even offer up bee stings.
The UK‘s Food Standards Agency said it would be considering the application in the coming months.
“It’s difficult to postulate the action of honeybee venom or how it purports to work, because any available evidence is entirely anecdotal ” Says Professor Alan Silman of the Arthritis Research Campaign
The Manuka honey with added bee venom has been available in New Zealand for 13 years and its makers say although it does contain a venom, it has proved extremely safe.
It contains a blend of honey derived from the native New Zealand Manuka tree and dried venom harvested from the Apis mellifera honeybee using electrical milking machines that send impulses to stimulate worker bees to sting through a latex film onto a glass collector plate.
Anecdotal benefit
The Nectar Ease label advises consumers to start with a quarter of a teaspoon a day and increase this to one or two as required.
It also warns that people with allergies to honey or bee venom should seek medical advice prior to use, and that it should not be given to infants under 12 months of age.
Honey has long been hailed for its healing properties, but the Arthritis Research Campaign said it was sceptical about the beneficial properties of honeybee venom in the treatment of arthritis.
The charity’s medical director Professor Alan Silman said: “We recently compiled a report on the effectiveness of complementary medicines in treating the common types of arthritis based on available scientific evidence and honeybee venom didn’t feature, as no research has been done into this product.
“As a result, it’s difficult to postulate the action of honeybee venom or how it purports to work, because any available evidence is entirely anecdotal.”
a) Akebia trifoliate subsp. australis (Diels) T. Shimizu
b)Akebia trifoliata subsp. longisepala H. N. Qin
c)Akebia trifoliata subsp. trifoliata
Invasive plant
Akebia quinata is listed under the National Pest Plant Accord as an “unwanted organism” in New Zealand since it is an invasive plant. DESCRIPTION: This group consists of hardy, semi-evergreen, climbing plants that are natives of Japan, China, and Korea. They are grown for their pretty flowers and foliage. The flowers of these plants are followed by interesting, sausage-shaped, edible fruits. They are suitable for growing over hedges, low trees, bushes, or stumps. A. quinata (Fiveleaf Akebia) is a large, vigorous climber that grows from 28 to 40 feet high. The leaves consist of five, notched, green leaflets that are flushed with red. In mid-spring, racemes of fragrant, reddish-purple flowers are produced. Male and female flowers are separate, but borne on the same inflorescence; the females at the base and the males at the tip. The dark purple fruits are 2 to 4 inches long; black seeds are embedded in white pulp. A. trifoliata (Threeleaf Akebia) is also a large vine growing up to 28 feet high. The leaves consist of three, shallowly lobed leaflets. The dark purple flowers are produced in racemes, in mid-spring. The light violet fruits grow 3 to 5 inches long, usually in groups of three.
POTTING: Akebias will thrive in regular, well-drained soil, in sun or partial shade. They grow better in light rather than heavy soil. These vines need a mild spring to bear flowers and a long, hot summer to produce fruit. In mild climates, these vines may become a little over vigorous and will need to be pruned. Once in a while, excessively long shoots may be trimmed back and in late fall or early spring, they may be thinned a bit.
PROPAGATION: Seeds, layering and cuttings are all methods of propagation. Seeds can be sown as soon as they are ripe in pots or shallow boxes filled with sandy soil, in a greenhouse or cold frame. Cuttings may be inserted in pots of sandy soil in a closed frame for a few weeks until they form roots, or in sandy soil outdoors covered with a bell jar or hand light. Layers may be made by fastening the ends of shoots to the ground with wooden pegs until they form roots.
Medicinal Uses:
A pungent, bitter herb that controls bacterial and fungal infections and stimulates the circulatory and urinary systems and female organs. It is a potent diuretic due to the high content of potassium salts. Internally for urinary tract infections, rheumatoid arthritis, absence of menstruation, and insufficient lactation. Taken internally, it controls gram-positive bacterial and fungal infections.
This herb is used to treat symptoms of difficult urination, insomnia, absent menstruation, sore tongue and throat, joint pains, poor circulation, and deficient lactation (TCM: internal damp heat). Meridians Entered: Heart, Small Intestine, Bladder Traditional Usages and Functions
Promotes urination and drains heat from the Heart via the Small Intestine; promotes lactation and unblocks blood vessels.
Common Formulas Used In
Dianthus; Gentiana. Pharmacological & Clinical Research
*Oral and Intravenous preparations of Akebia Caulis showed a very marked diuretic effect in rabbits. This effect was not produced by the ash and was therefore not due to the presence of potassium, but to some other active ingredient. Akebia Caulis had a mild antidiuretic effect when injected intravenously into anesthetized dogs, but increased urine output when given to healthy human volunteers.
*Decoctions of Akebia Caulis had an inhibitory effect in nonpregnant and pregnant mouse uterus specimens, but a stimulatory effect in mouse intestine specimens. Cautions & Contraindications:
*Contraindicated during pregnancy and in the absence of interior damp-heat.
*This herb easily injures the fluids and should be used with extreme caution in patients with any sign of yin deficiency. Do not overdose: acute renal failure was reported following a dose of 60
Cautions in Use
Do not use during pregnancy. Use with extreme caution where there are deficient-Yin conditions since akebia strongly promotes urination.
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.
Can’t get to sleep? Well, then stay up, say researchers at Auckland University who have discovered a potential breakthrough treatment for insomnia.
…………………….…...CLICK & SEE
According to scientists, the key to sleeplessness is to force bad sleepers to spend less time in bed. First, insomniacs are told to keep a detailed diary of the time they spend in bed asleep and awake. Then, they are asked to change their habits, reducing the time they spend in bed each night by the number of hours they would spend lying awake.
After a couple of weeks, many patients discovered that they were tired enough to start sleeping better. When the insomniacs in the study underwent the therapy, 80% to 90% said their insomnia had improved.
The specific epithet and English vernacular name derive from the Sanskrit devad?ru, “wood of the gods”, a compound of deva (god) and daru (wood).
Parts used: Heartwood, bark, leaves and oil.
Habitat: Native to the western Himalayas in eastern Afghanistan, northern Pakistan, north-central India (Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand states,Kashmir, southwesternmost Tibet and western Nepal, occurring at 1500-3200 m altitude.
Cultural importance in the Indian subcontinent:
It is worshipped as a divine tree in the Indian subcontinent, particularly in Kashmir and Punjab villages, as the name deodar, a Sanskrit word, (Sanskrit: devdar), which means, “divine wood”. The first half of the word deva means the words divine, deity, deus, and Zeus and the second part connotes durum, druid, tree, and true. Several Hindu legends refer to this tree.
Forests full of Devadaru trees were the favorite abode or living place of ancient Indian sages and their families who were devoted to Hindu god Shiva for whom they performed very difficult tapasya (meditation) to please him.
It is the national tree of Pakistan.
Description:
It is a large evergreen coniferous tree reaching 40-50 m tall, exceptionally 60 m, with a trunk up to 3 m diameter. It has a conic crown with level branches and drooping branchlets.Dioecious trees are very rare.
The leaves are needle-like, mostly 2.5-5 cm long, occasionally up to 7 cm long, slender (1 mm thick), borne singly on long shoots, and in dense clusters of 20-30 on short shoots; they vary from bright green to glaucous blue-green in colour. The female cones are barrel-shaped, 7-13 cm long and 5-9 cm broad, and disintegrate when mature (in 12 months) to release the winged seeds. The male cones are 4-6 cm long, and shed their pollen in autumn.
Cultivation and uses
It is widely grown as an ornamental tree, much planted in parks and large gardens for its drooping foliage. General cultivation is limited to areas with mild winters, with trees frequently killed by temperatures below about ?25 °C, limiting it to hardiness zones 8 and warmer for reliable growth. It is commonly grown in western Europe (north to Scotland), in the Mediterranean region, around the Black Sea, in southern and central China, on the west coast of North America as far north as Vancouver, British Columbia, and in the southeastern United States from Texas to Virginia.The most cold-tolerant trees originate in the northwest of the species’ range in Kashmir and Paktia Province, Afghanistan. Selected cultivars from this region are hardy to zone 7 or even zone 6, tolerating temperatures down to about ?30 °C. Named cultivars from this region include ‘Eisregen’, ‘Eiswinter’, ‘Karl Fuchs‘, ‘Kashmir’, ‘Polar Winter’, and ‘Shalimar’. Of these, ‘Eisregen’, ‘Eiswinter’, ‘Karl Fuchs’, and ‘Polar Winter’ were selected in Germany from seed collected in Paktia; ‘Kashmir’ was a selection of the nursery trade, whereas ‘Shalimar’ originated from seeds collected in 1964 from Shalimar Gardens, India (in the Kashmir region) and propagated at the Arnold Arboretum.
Use in Construction material:
Deodar is in great demand as building material because of its durability, rot-resistant character and fine close grain, which is capable of taking high polish. It’s historical use to construct religious temples and as landscape around temples is well recorded. In India, during the British colonial period, deodar wood was used extensively for construction of barracks, public buildings, bridges, canals and railway cars.
Major chemical constituents Essential oil
The heartwood yields about 2.1 % of essential oil, consisting mainly of the sesquiterpene hydrocarbons a-himachalene 6-7%, p-himachalene around 91 % and other isomers including o-himachalene,2 with p-methyl acetophenone, p-methyl 3-tetrahydroacetophenone, atlantone and himachalo.
Hydrocarbons
The petroleum ether extract of the bark oil yields saturated, straight chain and branched chain hydrocarbons (CI4-C2O)’
Flavonoids
Stem bark contains deodarin (3′,4′,5,7-tetrahydroxy-8-C-methyl dihydroflavonol), taxifolin and quercetin.
Medicinal Uses: The curative properties of Deodar are well recorded in Indian Ayurvedic medicines, which are indicated below:-
Antidote; Astringent; Carminative; Diaphoretic; Diuretic; Skin; TB.
The inner wood is aromatic and used to make incense. Inner wood is distilled into essential oil. As insects avoid this tree, the essential oil is used as insect repellant on the feet of horses, cattle and camels. It also has antifungal properties and has some potential for control of fungal deterioration of spices during storage. The outer bark and stem are astringent. Its Biomedical actions are reported to be Carminative, antispasmodic, creates sweating, urination and is aromatic. Deodar’s Ayurvedic actions are reported to be a) increasing digestive function, b) removal of toxins from the bowel, c) alleviating coughing, d) cures skin disorders such as eczema and psoriasis. Cedar oil is often used for its aromatic properties, especially in aromatherapy and has characteristic woody odour which may change somewhat in the course of drying out. The crude oils are often yellowish or even darker in colour. Its applications cover soap perfumes, household sprays, floor polishes and insecticidesand also for microscope work as a clearing oil.
The heartwood is carminative, diaphoretic and diuretic. It is used in the treatment of fevers, flatulence, pulmonary and urinary disorders, rheumatism, piles, kidney stones, insomnia, diabetes etc. It has been used as an antidote to snake bites.
The plant yields a medicinal essential oil by distillation of the wood, it is used in the treatment of phthisis, bronchitis, blennorrhagia and skin eruptions.
The bark is astringent. It has proved useful in the treatment of fevers, diarrhoea and dysentery.
In Ayurvedic medicine the leaves are used in the treatment of tuberculosis. Anticancer activity: The ethanolic extract was found to have cytotoxicity against human epidermal carcinoma of the nasopharynx in tissue culture.
Safety profile
A 15 % mixture of C. deodara oil in castor oil was subjected to acute toxicity tests in mice and found to be non-toxic. The formulation was non-irritant to the skin of rabbit and sheep and did not alter blood urea nitrogen and blood glucose levels. The LDso was 500 mgiii in adult albino mice. Applied topically to rabbits, it was found to have no adverse effects on skin or any other vital organ.
Dosage
Powdered wood: 3-6 g Decoction: 28-56 ml
Oil: 0.5-3 ml
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.
Infants who have been given the common pain reliever paracetamol may have a higher risk of developing asthma and eczema by the time they are 6 or 7, a large study covering children in 31 countries has found.
The findings were published in the journal Lancet together with two other studies, which found that runny noses and wheezing early on in life may be strong predictors of asthma.
In one study, researchers pored through data provided by parents of more than 205,000 children and found paracetamol use in the first year of life was associated with a 46% higher risk of asthma by the time the children were 6 or 7 compared to those never exposed to the drug. It is used to relieve fever, minor aches and pain, and is used in a liquid suspension for children.
Medium use of paracetamol in the past 12 months increased asthma risk by 61%, while high dosages of once a month or more in the past year raised the risk by over three times. Medium use was defined as once per year or more, but less than once a month.
Suspicions of a possible link between paracetamol and asthma emerged when experts observed an increased use of the drug to a simultaneous rise in asthma prevalence worldwide.
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