Holistic Health Articles and Research Related to Herbal Medicines, Foods and Phytochemicals : Chinese Herbs

Wednesday 6 November 2013

Chinese Herbs – Ju Hua (Flos Chrysanthemi Morifolii)

Ju Hua is also known as chrysanthemum flower. The sweet, bitter and slightly cold herb has been used in TCM to treat dizziness, blurry vision, pain, weakness in lower back and knees, tears eyes are irritable in sunlight, chronic glaucoma, neurasthenia, etc., as it drains Wind, clears Heat, expels toxins, improves vision, etc., by enhancing the functions of liver and lung channels.
Ingredients
1. Adenine
2. Choline
3. Stachydrine
4. Chrysanthemin
5. Apigenin
6. Acacetin
7. Coptiside I
8. Chrysandiol
9. Chrysantemin A and B
10. Chlorochrymorin
11. Camphor
12. Etc.
Health Benefits
1. Cytotoxic activity
In the investigation of A new p-hydroxyphenylacetyl flavonoid, diosmetin 7-(6”-O-p-hydroxyphenylacetyl)-O-beta-d-glucopyranoside (1), was isolated from the flowers of Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat. ‘huaiju’ cv. nov. (Compositae), together with five known flavonoids, luteolin (2), diosmetin (3), diosmetin 7-O-beta-d-glucopyranoside (4), diosmin (5), and scolimoside (6), and four known caffeoylquinic acid derivatives, macranthoin F (7), 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid (8), 1,3-dicaffeoyl-epi-quinic acid (9), and chlorogenic acid (10).
showed that Compounds 2 and 3 showed significant cytotoxicities against Colon205, with their IC(50) values being 96.9 and 82.9 microM, respectively. However, compounds 1, 4, and 5 showed little cytotoxic activity, according to “Cytotoxic activity of flavonoids from the flowers of Chrysanthemum morifolium on human colon cancer Colon205 cells” by Xie YY, Yuan D, Yang JY, Wang LH, Wu CF(1)
2. Cardiovascular-protective and antioxidant activity
In the investigation of the flower of Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat. (CM) for its antioxidant, cardiovascular protective and anti-inflammatory functions, found that CM is a plant with cardiovascular-protective potential and the inhibitory effects of CM on ICAM-1 and E-selectin expression are, at least partially, attributed to its antioxidant activity and modulation of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, according to “Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat. reduces the oxidized LDL-induced expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and E-selectin in human umbilical vein endothelial cells” by Lii CK, Lei YP, Yao HT, Hsieh YS, Tsai CW, Liu KL, Chen HW.(2)
3. Antiarrhythmic effect
In the evaluation of the effect of ethyl acetate extract from Chrysanthemum Morifolium Ramat (CME) on experimental arrhythmia induced by ischemia/reperfusion or aconitine in rats, showed that CME can reduce myocardial vulnerability and exerts its antiarrhythmic effects induced by aconitine or ischemia/reperfusion, which may be related to its prolongation of action potential duration and effective refractory period that enhance the electrophysiological stability of myocardiaium, according to ‘[Antiarrhythmic effect of ethyl acetate extract from Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat on rats].[Article in Chinese]“ by ZHANG W, YE ZG, CUI J, QIU SF, XU WH, WANG HP, QIAN LB, JIANG HD, XIA Q.(3)
4. Apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells
In the observation of the effect and the mechanism of Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat on apoptosis of bovine aortic smooth muscle cells, found that Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat can inhibit apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells in a concentration-dependent manner, according to “[Effect of Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat on apoptosis of bovine aortic smooth muscle cells][Article in Chinese]“ by Fang XL, Wang XT, Huang SR, Li X.(4)
5. Etc.
Side Effects
1. Do not use the herb in case of spleen deficiency with diarrhea
2. Do not use the Huang Bai in newborn, children or if you are pregnant or breast feeding with out approval first with the related field specialist
3. Etc.