Herbs and Herbal Supplements

[narenner]

I definitely have to say my favorite herb is the Stevia plant. I know this has been discussed in this forum before, but I really wanted to reiterate the impact it has made on my life. Stevia is a plant native to Paraguay that has been used for its sweet leaves. It's a perfect sweetener because it has no calories!

 

Though I've been using Stevia for years, I recently came across a new sweetener being sold in story as of just late. It's called SweetLeaf Sweetener and from the research I've done, it has no calories, no carbs and no glycemic index and is the only sweetener to have all of those components. I've found that it's a great natural and healthy way to sweeten pretty much anything including recipes, beverages, etc., etc. I usually just add a filler like mashed bananas or yogurt to maintain the volume of the ingredients when I substitute SweetLeaf for sugar in recipes. It's worked perfectly every time!

 

Just wanted to enlighten everyone about this awesome herb I've been using for awhile now. I think everyone should just give it a try. You'd be surprised at how much of a difference it makes! Enjoy!

 

Also, I found a couple videos on YouTube about SweetLeaf when I was perusing the Web site. Search SweetLeaf Sweetener if you want to check them out!

[Michaelangelica]

Spice-Rack Favorites Battle E. Coli And Other Foodborne Pathogens

Oregano or pot marjoram (Origanum vulgare) is a species of Origanum, native to Europe, the Mediterranean region and southern and central Asia. Oils from oregano, thyme, cinnamon and clove, or compounds extracted from those oils, pack a powerful, antimicrobial punch--strong enough to help quell such foodborne pathogens as Escherichia coli O157:H7. (Credit: iStockphoto/Anna Yu)

ScienceDaily (July 24, 2008) — Herbs and spices like oregano, thyme, cinnamon and clove do more than add pleasing flavors and aromas to familiar foods. The oils from these plants, or compounds extracted from those oils, pack a powerful, antimicrobial punch—strong enough to help quell such foodborne pathogens as Escherichia coli O157:H7.

Spice-Rack Favorites Battle E. Coli And Other Foodborne Pathogens

 

Frankincense Provides Relief To Arthritis Sufferers

 

ScienceDaily (July 31, 2008) — An enriched extract of the 'Indian Frankincense' herb Boswellia serrata has been proven to reduce the symptoms of osteoarthritis. Research published today in BioMed Central's open access journal Arthritis Research & Therapy has shown that patients taking the herbal remedy showed significant improvement in as little as seven days

Frankincense Provides Relief To Arthritis Sufferers

[Michaelangelica]

Spices May Protect Against Consequences Of High Blood Sugar

 

ScienceDaily (Aug. 7, 2008) — Herbs and spices are rich in antioxidants, and a new University of Georgia study suggests they are also potent inhibitors of tissue damage and inflammation caused by high levels of blood sugar

Spices May Protect Against Consequences Of High Blood Sugar

silly picture

[Michaelangelica]

Researchers turn plant cells into medical factories

 

 

Researchers turn plant cells into medical factories

 

 

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland will coordinate the large EU research project called SmartCell. The four-year project focuses on developing methods for production of valuable pharmaceutical compounds using plant cells as a production host in an effective and controlled manner. Genetic fishing expedition yields surprising catch important to mammals

 

 

Genetic fishing expedition yields surprising catch important to mammals

 

 

Johns Hopkins investigators report the discovery of master controllers of a gene critical to human and all mammalian development by trawling, implausibly enough, through anonymous genetic sequences using tiny zebrafish embryos. Squirrels may know a cure for cancer!

 

 

Squirrels may know a cure for cancer!

 

 

Scientists in the United States believe they have discovered a previously unknown anti-cancer mechanism in some rodents.

Researchers turn plant cells into medical factories

[Racoon]

I picked up a few liquid herbs the other day. I like the liquid form, and just use drops of the herb into water.

 

Among them was Goldenseal, aka Yellow root, a popular herb amongst those who wish to "pee clean" for a drug test. :)

Although I don't think theres much science to correlate that claim.

 

Goldenseal is listed as an endangered species ;)

 

The low down:

 

Use of goldenseal arises from American Indian usage. The Cherokee used the roots as a wash for local inflammations, a decoction for general debility, dyspepsia, and to improve appetite. The Iroquois used a decoction of the root for whooping cough, diarrhea, liver disease, fever, sour stomach, flatulence, pneumonia, and, with whiskey, for heart trouble.

 

 

Botanists know the plant as Hydrastis canadensis. It is a member of the buttercup family that occurs in rich woods in the eastern deciduous forest. Goldenseal occurs from Vermont to Minnesota, south to Georgia, Alabama, and Arkansas. As early as 1884, John Uri Lloyd and Curtis Gates Lloyd noted dramatic declines in wild populations, to an extent as a result of root harvest, but more so as the result of habitat loss through deforestation

 

Goldenseal, Goldenseal root, Goldenseal photos, Goldenseal article, Hydrastis canadensis photos, article by Steven Foster

 

Its the root that people use, but heres what the plant looks like

 

 

More Info:

 

Goldenseal [NCCAM Herbs at a Glance]

 

Goldenseal

 

Goldenseal

[Michaelangelica]

Watch Golden seal It is a squaw herb .

It changes/reduces the density of vaginal mucosa making it easier for sperm to find/get to the egg.

Hence facilitating pregnancy.

[cooloola]

There was a marvelous herbal remedy for anxiety/insomnia that was an extract of the Kava root. I found it superior to other herbals and to the pharmaceuticals. Unfortunately however one poor soul took an overdose and died of it (Australia). The regulators promptly removed it from the market and I've been unable since to find anything as good. It was powerful enough to work yet gentle enough to cause no after effect. How many people have died of overdosing on paracetemol yet it is still available. Unfair!

[Michaelangelica]

There was a marvelous herbal remedy for anxiety/insomnia that was an extract of the Kava root. I found it superior to other herbals and to the pharmaceuticals. Unfortunately however one poor soul took an overdose and died of it (Australia). The regulators promptly removed it from the market and I've been unable since to find anything as good. It was powerful enough to work yet gentle enough to cause no after effect. How many people have died of overdosing on paracetemol yet it is still available. Unfair!

agreed

I don't think Kava is banned

A google source:

#

Kava Kava

 

Kava 2400mg by Thompsons

Great value for money

http://www.vitaminselect.com.au

Kava Kava 2400 mg

 

We don't talk about overdosing, deaths etc when talking about prescription drugs we use the euphemism "Adverse Drug Reactions"

(ADEs)

EG

An article in this issue of the Journal by Miller and colleagues1 provides further evidence of the magnitude and seriousness of the problem of adverse drug events (ADEs) in general practice. Their study highlights our ongoing failure to address the problem of ADEs — medication-related incidents that cause patient harm.

 

“Consumer Medicine Information needs to be routinely used in medical encounters, so that patients can recognise ADEs and know what to report to their GP . . .”

 

Each year in Australia, about 17.5 million people make 95 million visits to their general practitioner.2 Based on Miller et al’s estimate — that 10.4% of patients attending general practice experience an ADE — almost 2 million people have an ADE annually. Moreover, their findings show that these ADEs are not trivial, with about 1 million being moderate or severe and 138 000 requiring hospitalisation, a finding consistent with previous estimates.3 Many of these ADEs are preventable, although the exact proportion of preventable events can be debated.

 

There have now been more than 30 Australian studies estimating the number of ADEs in different settings.3 It is clear that counting is not enough — it is time for action, but what can be done?

. . .

If we do not develop a culture of safety, we will continue to have an extra 140 000 hospitalisations per year caused by ADEs

 

and

Results:

 

From 8215 encounters, GPs reported that 852 patients (10.4%) had experienced an ADE in the previous 6 months. Patients aged over 45 years (versus under 45 years), children aged 1–4 years (versus older children), and female patients (versus male patients) were significantly more likely to have experienced an ADE.

• Most patients (83.5%) had experienced only one ADE,
  
• with 10.7% and 5.8% experiencing two and three or more events, respectively.
  
• For 71.9% of patients, one reason for the most recent event was a recognised side effect, followed by drug sensitivity (12.4%) and allergy (11.0%).
  
• Over half of patients were rated as having a “mild” event, with 35.8% rated as “moderate”, and 10.0% as “severe”.
  
• GPs classified 23.2% of events as preventable, and 7.6% of events resulted in hospitalisation.
  Conclusion:
   
  Our study reveals the high frequency of ADEs in patients attending general practice.
  This level of morbidity makes ADEs one of the most significant causes of morbidity in the Australian community.
  

eMJA: Adverse drug events in general practice patients in Australia

Definition of Morbidity

Morbidity: Illness, disease.

Morbidity definition - Medical Dictionary definitions of popular medical terms easily defined on MedTerms

See the latest dangerous ones here

Australian Adverse Drug Reactions Bulletin, Volume 24, Number 3, June 2005

 

Some info on Kava "toxicty"

eMJA: Kava: herbal panacea or liver poison?

[Michaelangelica]

News _________________________________________

Saffron may stop vision loss

A bowl containing my year's salary in saffron!

May 12, 2009 – for immediate release

SAFFRON: GOLDEN SECRET OF CLEARER SIGHT

The herb saffron may hold one of the keys to preventing the loss of sight in old age – and may even help to improve vision in people suffering certain blinding eye diseases.

Research by Professor Silvia Bisti of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Vision Science (The Vision Centre) and University of L’Aquila, Italy, has established that saffron has remarkable effects on the genes which regulate the performance of the eye’s key vision cells.

Her research has shown that the high‐priced golden culinary herb made from crocus flowers not only protects the vision cells (photoreceptors) from damage, it may also acts to slow and possibly even reverse the course of blinding diseases such as age‐related macular degeneration (AMD) and retinitis pigmentosa.

A clinical trial with patients suffering AMD in Rome has found early indications that treatment with a dietary supplement of saffron may cause damaged eye cells to recover.

“Saffron is not simply an anti‐oxidant. It seems to possess a number of other properties which are protective to vision,” Prof Bisti, who is currently visiting colleagues in The Vision Centre in Australia, says.

“For example it appears to affect genes which regulate the fatty acid content of the cell membrane, and this makes the vision cells tougher and more resilient.

“Secondly we have shown in animal models that a saffron diet will protect the eye from the damaging effects of bright light – something we all suffer whenever we go out in the sun.”

Prof. Bisti says a third line of research has found that saffron is active in affecting genetic diseases of the eye, such as retinitis pigmentosa, which can cause life‐long blindness in young people. Animal research here too offers the prospect of slowing down the progression of sight loss.

And fourthly, saffron given to human patients suffering from age‐related macular degeneration, which causes partial or total loss of sight to many people in old age, has shown signs of cell recovery.

“We are excited by these early findings. We will know more when all the results are in later this year,” Prof. Bisti says. The saffron diet treatment may also be trialled as part of a wider experiment involving ways to prevent vision loss in humans in Sydney and Rome later this year.

Prof. Bisti said she began to study the effects on saffron at L’Aquila, in Italy’s mountainous Abruzzi country because it was a widely‐grown local crop. It was already well‐known as an anti‐oxidant, but no‐one had explored its effects on eyesight before.

“The point about saffron is that it is completely safe and harmless. It has been used in cooking and medicine for three thousand years.”

Prof. Bisti’s team are also working to isolate the active components of saffron which produce the various beneficial effects on vision with the goal of developing therapies based on them.

Prof. Bisti’s laboratory at L’Aquila University was severely damaged in the recent earthquake in Italy and her experiments disrupted. In view of the tragedy and the importance of her work, The Vision Centre has agreed to support one of her key researchers to come to Australia and work at the Australian National University for a year, Centre director Professor Trevor Lamb has announced. Two more of her research staff will be working at the University of Sydney, enabling this important research to proceed.

More information:

Professor Silvia Bisti, The Vision Centre and University of L’Aquila, +61 (0)403 854 732 email: [email protected]

Professor Trevor Lamb, The Vision Centre, ph +61 (0)2 61258929 or 0434022375

Professor Julian Cribb, The Vision Centre media contact, 0418 639 245

 

http://www.vision.edu.au/news/acevs%20saffron.pdf

[wheely will]

Hi Everyone:

I'm a new member and I have a cautionary message to people who may buy Cascara Sagrada as an herbal supplement. It is a very strong laxative. It should not be taken every day even though the instructions say that. It should not be given to children daily either. It should be used as an occasional laxative. The company that makes the Cascara that I bought is called Solaray. I don't know if other companys sell this. It is not a dietary supplement as it labeled on the bottle.

 

 

Wheely will

[Michaelangelica]

Hi Everyone:

I'm a new member and I have a cautionary message to people who may buy Cascara Sagrada as an herbal supplement. It is a very strong laxative.

 

 

Wheely will

What did you expect would happen?

[wheely will]

Hello,

As to what would happen if one took two Cascara Sagrada a day would be diarrhea, possible lose of tone in the bowels, dehydration. Laxatives are never to be taken daily unless you want to become dependent on them to move your bowels. Too many laxatives and the bowels lose the stimuli for the natural peristalsis. All natural things are not necessarily to be used daily.

Wheely Will

[Michaelangelica]

Why would you take anything daily?

 

Senna (Laxettes) are supposed to avoid the dependency problem.

[wheely will]

Hello,

 

The original reason I posted this thread is because Solaray Herbal Supplements recommends taking Cascara Sagrada twice a day, every day. I say that's not good.

 

Wheely Will

[Michaelangelica]

Toxic hepatitis following consumption of the herbal medicinal product Cascara Sagrada]

 

[Article in Danish]

 

Jacobsen C, Semb S, Kromann-Andersen H.

 

Koge Sygehus, Medicinsk Afdeling, Denmark. [email protected]

 

Herbal medicinal products can cause toxic hepatitis. This case report presents a patient who developed severe toxic hepatitis with beginning liver failure following four weeks of consumption of the herbal medicinal product Cascara Sagrada. A similar case was reported from the United States. Cascara Sagrada is found in 30-40 herbal medicinal products in Denmark. We recommend that herbal medicinal products containing Cascara Sagrada be withdrawn from the market.

 

PMID: 19925744 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

[

Gut. 1993 Aug;34(8):1099-101.

Anthranoid laxative abuse--a risk for colorectal cancer?

 

Siegers CP, von Hertzberg-Lottin E, Otte M, Schneider B.

 

Institute of Toxicology, Medical University of Lubeck, Germany.

 

Anthranoid-containing laxatives--aloe, cascara, frangula, and rheum--may play a role in colorectal cancer. This risk is particularly important in view of the wide abuse of self administered laxatives for chronic constipation. There are data on the genotoxic potential of anthranoids and there is evidence of a tumourigenic potential in rodents. A case report and clinical-epidemiological studies have evaluated the cancer risk in patients who have abused anthranoid laxatives over a long period. Pseudomelanosis coli is a reliable parameter of chronic laxative abuse (> 9-12 months) and is specific for anthranoid drugs. In a retrospective study of 3049 patients who underwent diagnostic colorectal endoscopy the incidence of pseudomelanosis coli was 3.13% in patients without pathological changes. In those with colorectal adenomas, the incidence increased to 8.64% (p < 0.01), and in those with colorectal carcinomas it was 3.29%. This lower rate was probably caused by incomplete documentation of pseudomelanosis coli in those with carcinoma. In a prospective study of 1095 patients, the incidence of pseudomelanosis coli was 6.9% for patients with no abnormality seen on endoscopy, 9.8% (p = 0.068) for patients with adenomas, and 18.6% for patients with colorectal carcinomas. From these data a relative risk of 3.04 (1.18, 4.90; 95% confidence interval) can be calculated for colorectal cancer as a result of anthranoid laxative abuse.

 

PMID: 8174962 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Hepatogastroenterology. 1990 Dec;37(6):601-5.

The metabolism of anthranoid laxatives.

 

de Witte P, Lemli L.

 

Laboratory for Pharmaceutical Biology and Phytopharmacology, Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Leuven, Belgium.

 

The anthranoid compounds, which chemically can be described as dihydroxy-anthraquinones, -dianthrones and -anthrones, possess a laxative effect. As these substances are the constituents of some plants and their extracts, they are often referred to as vegetable laxatives. If present in the glycoside form, these compounds represent unique targeting molecules; after oral administration they are carried, unabsorbed, to the large intestine, where the active aglycon is released by bacterial hydrolysis of the sugar. The intestinal bacterial flora also accounts for the reduction of anthraquinone aglycons to the corresponding anthrones. After absorption, the anthranoids are transformed mainly to their corresponding glucuronide and sulfate derivatives, which appear in urine and bile. Experiments with radiochemical anthranoids showed a significant clearance of tissue-bound activity of all organs, except the kidneys, which exhibited a pronounced retention of anthranoid equivalents. It is argued that therapy with anthrone C-glycosides (present, for example, in cascara) or dianthrone O-glycosides (present for example, in senna) is preferable therapy with anthraquinones, as the anthranoid moiety of the former seems to be substantially less readily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract.

 

PMID: 2289777 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

 

Although there are many remedies and treatments available for the symptomatic improvement of constipation, only tegaserod (Zelnorm, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, East Hanover, NJ) is approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the chronic treatment of chronic constipation for individuals younger than 65. All other currently available agents are indicated only for short-term use in “occasional” constipation.1

Constipation and Functional Bowel Disease: Medical Treatment of Constipation

 

Expert Commentary – New Developments in the Treatment of Constipation

 

 

Introduction and Context

Most available treatments for constipation have not been tested. In 2002, Jones and colleagues[1] reported their meta-analysis of published evidence on the efficacy of laxatives in constipation. They found a lack of large, well-controlled published studies. In fact, their experience led them to conclude that there is no “unequivocal evidence that laxatives are actually an efficacious treatment of chronic constipation.”

A systematic review by Tramonte and colleagues[2] in 1997 concluded that the actual indications and benefits of laxative therapies were poorly characterized.

In the elderly, there have been even less comparative studies, and trials have been so small that the UK National Health Service Center for Reviews and Dissemination Health Technology Assessment Programme similarly found it difficult to determine what constitutes effective treatment of constipation.[3] Indeed, most available treatments for constipation have not been tested in modern, well-designed studies and their use depends more on “custom than science.”[4,5] Drugs in development and recently introduced to the therapeutic armamentarium for constipation bring a new scientific rigor to the field.

 

Treatment Advice and Concluding Remarks

Various algorithms provide advice for clinicians in choosing their initial choice of laxative, based on subtype of constipation[17,18] or other issues, such as published efficacy, adverse experiences, convenience of administration, taste, or cost. Fiber medicinal bulk agents, saline laxatives, PEG laxative, or tegaserod are all reasonable choices in this setting. The evolving science is beginning to provide data upon which evidence-based decisions can be made.

Expert Commentary – New Developments in the Treatment of Constipation

Amazing, all that knowledge all that progress and the treatment for constipation is "evolving science is beginning "

 

Sorry, I couldn't find a recommended dosage for cascara

[wheely will]

Hello to whoever posted the Cascara articles:

 

Many thanks for the informative articles. My experience with Cascara Sagrada began when I was a young nurse. The standard recommendation for constipation in the hospital was 2 ounces of Milk of Magnesia and 2 drams of liquid Cascara--not drops. Terrible tasting stuff!

I don't know the formulation of the Cascara. It was added to the MOM to give it a little extra punch! Plain MOM didn't work for many people.

 

Here is the back story about my interest in the dangers of Cascara. I was in D. C. visiting a friend and I needed a laxative. We were in an organic store, so I started looking around and all I could find was a bottle of capsules of Cascara Sagrada listed as a dietary supplement!

The instructions said. "As a dietary supplement, take 1 capsule up to 2 times a day. Consult you doctor if you have frequent diarrhea." (which, of course, is going to happen.) I'm just mad because of the mislabeling of this product. I'm not a chemist of a pharmacist but as a nurse, I am very familiar with this product.

 

So, everyone, be careful of this product. It is very potent and dangerous.

 

Wheely Will

 

(The reason I chose this silly name is because my elderly aunt told me recently that years ago, when my she asked my young daughter to come to visit her, my daughter said,

"I wheely, wheely will!")

[Michaelangelica]

I'm just mad because of the mislabeling of this product. I'm not a chemist of a pharmacist but as a nurse,

The "mis -labeling" comes from stupid Yank/FDA labeling laws. Herbs have been forced into the "dietary supplement" label because the country is run by BigPharma, and has been since the early 1900s.

Go to a civilised country (eg Germany) and you will find the product correctly labeled and the pharmacist selling it knowledgeable.