Wednesday 13 November 2013

Chinese Herb – Fang Ji (Radix Stephaniae tetrandae)

Fang Ji, han fang ji or guang fang ji, is also known as Stephania. The bitter, very cold and acrid herb has been used in TCM as diuretic, to treat Bell’s palsy, asthma, relieve pain, such as inflammation of nerves, stiffness of the shoulders, gout and back pain, etc., as it expels Wind-Damp, calms pain, etc., by enhancing the functions of bladder, spleen and kidney channels.

Ingredients
Depending to types of Fang Ji, the ingredients may include
1. Tetrandin C38H42N2O6
2. Fangchinoline C37H46N2O6
3. Mufangchinoline C14H21N14O11
4. thunbergin C20H14O9
5. trilobine
6. Isotrilobine
7. Magnoflorine
8. Normenisarine
9. Menisarine
10. Epistephanine
11. Coclobine
12. Cocculolidine
13. Etc.

Health Benefits
1. Anti tumor effects
In the investigation of the beneficial effects of TET on cytotoxicity towards tumor cells, radiosensitization, circumventing multidrug resistance, normal tissue radioprotection, and antiangiogenesis, found that six proteins were identified by matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) using peptide fingerprinting from 10 protein spots (density difference >1.5-fold between the control and TET-treated group). Among them, 5 proteins were downregulated (proteasome activator complex subunit 3, 40S ribosomal protein S12, phosphoglycerate mutase 1, destrin, transaldolase) and 1 protein was upregulated (guanylate kinase 1) by TET treatment in HepG2 cells as determined by spot volume (P<0.05). Most of the identified proteins were associated with tumor growth, migration, and anti-tumor drug resistance, according to “Proteomic analysis of anti-tumor effects by tetrandrine treatment in HepG2 cells” by Cheng Z, Wang K, Wei J, Lu X, Liu B.(1) 2. Alzheimer’s disease
In the investigation of the effects of tetrandrine, a bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloid isolated from the Chinese herb radix Stephania tetrandra on experimental model of AD, found that Tetrandrine could significantly ameliorate Aβ(1-42)-induced spatial learning and memory impairment, and the beneficial effect of tetrandrine treatment could be linked, at least in part, to the inhibition of NF-κB activity and the downregulation of expression of IL-1β and TNF-α, suggesting that administration of tetrandrine may provide a therapeutic approach for AD, according to “Tetrandrine attenuates spatial memory impairment and hippocampal neuroinflammation via inhibiting NF-κB activation in a rat model of Alzheimer’s disease induced by amyloid-β(1-42)” by He FQ, Qiu BY, Zhang XH, Li TK, Xie Q, Cui DJ, Huang XL, Gan HT.(2)
3. Anti-hyperglycemic effect
In the evaluation of the anti-hyperglycemic action of Stephania tetrandra Radix (Stephania) is potentiated by Astragalus membranaceus BUNGE Radix (Astragali) in streptozotocin (STZ)-diabetic ddY mice (Tsutsumi et al., Biol. Pharm. Bull., 26, 313 (2003)), found that the anti-hyperglycemic action of formononetin appeared to be due to its potentiating action on insulin release. Our strategy for studying combinations of crude drugs and their components in Kampo medicine has uncovered new potentiating effects of formononetin and calycosin on the anti-hyperglycemic action of fangchinoline in STZ-diabetic mice, according to “Combined effects of fangchinoline from Stephania tetrandra Radix and formononetin and calycosin from Astragalus membranaceus Radix on hyperglycemia and hypoinsulinemia in streptozotocin-diabetic mice” by Ma W, Nomura M, Takahashi-Nishioka T, Kobayashi S.(3)
4. Cardiovascular activity
In the comparison of the cardiovascular actions of the extract of Radix Stephaniae Tetrandrae (RST), the root of a Chinese hero Stephania tetrandra S Moore, in rats with those of tetrandrine (Tet), the best known active component of RST, found that the RST extract also produces similar effects as verapamil, a prototype Ca2+ channel antagonist widely used in the treatment of ischemic heart diseases and hypertension, except that verapamil, at 1 mumol/L, a concentration that produces similar cardiac effects as the RST extract, further reduces heart rate significantly during ischemia. So the RST extract may be a therapeutically better agent in the treatment of ischemic heart diseases and hypertension than Ca2+ channel antagonists because of the absence of the inhibitory effect on heart rate during myocardial ischemia, according to”Cardiovascular actions of Radix Stephaniae Tetrandrae: a comparison with its main component, tetrandrine” by Wong TM, Wu S, Yu XC, Li HY.(4)
5. Antihypertensive and anti-arrhythmic effects
In the study of determination of the effects of an extract of Radix Stephaniae Tetrandrae (RST) on arterial blood pressure and heart weight in deoxycorticosterone acetate-salt (DOCA-salt) hypertensive rats, determination of the effects of the extract on arrhythmia and infarct induced by myocardial ischaemia and reperfusion in anaesthetized rats and the comparison of the effects of the extract with those of tetrandrine, which makes up 7% of the extract and is known to act as a calcium-channel antagonist, and verapamil, a prototype calcium-channel antagonist.
found that the RST extract reduced arrhythmia and infarct size induced by myocardial ischaemia and reperfusion; the effects were similar to those of tetrandrine and verapamil. The findings indicate that the RST extract acts like a calcium-channel antagonist. It may be used in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, as are the calcium-channel antagonist and tetrandrine. More interestingly, the effects of the RST extract were of the same potency as tetrandrine. Since only 7% of the extract was tetrandrine, the observation indicates that tetrandrine was not the only component that was responsible for the actions of the extract, according to “Antihypertensive and anti-arrhythmic effects of an extract of Radix Stephaniae Tetrandrae in the rat” by Yu XC, Wu S, Chen CF, Pang KT, Wong TM.(5)
6. Etc.

Side Effects
1. Overdoses or prolonged period of using the herb can be toxic to the kidney and liver
2. Do not use the herb in newborn, children or if you are pregnant or breast feeding without consulting with the related field specialist.
3. Etc.

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Sources
(1) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20554191
(2) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21300035
(3) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17978479
(4) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11603280
(5) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14980008

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