Friday 1 November 2013

Chinese Herbs – Wu Mei (Fructus Pruni Mume)

Wu Mei is also known as Japanese Apricot Fruit. The sour and warm herb has been used in TCM to get  rid of ascaris worms, c, promotes generation of Body Fluids, calms roundwormsand pain of the abdomen, etc. by enhancing the functions of liver, large intestine,  lung and spleen channels.

Ingredients
1. N-hexanal, trans-2-hexenal
2. N-hexanol, trans-2-hexen-1-ol, cis-2-hexen-1-ol,
3. Linalool
4. A-terpineol
5. Geranio
6. Trimethyltetrahydronaphthalene drivs
7. Tetradecanoic acid
8. Benzaldehyde
9. Terpinen-4-ol
10 Benzylalcohol
11. Beta-sitosterol
12. Etc.

Health Benefits
1. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
In the study to observe the different effects between Mahuang (Herba Ephedra Sinicae) and Wuweizi (Fructus Schisandrae Chinensis) on the pathological changes of rats with bleomycin A(5)-induced pulmonary fibrosis, showed that Herba Ephedra Sinicae combined with Fructus Schisandrae Chinensis can restrain pulmonary artery injury. The nuclear density and microvessel density can be reduced by Fructus Schisandrae Chinensis, while Herba Ephedra Sinicae can increase the inner diameter(1).
2. Improved insulin sensitivity
In the study to determine which fractions of Fructus Schisandrae (FS) improved peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-γ activity and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in cell-based experiments. researchers at the Korean Food Research Institutes, found that FS-60, a lignan-rich fraction, improves glucose homeostasis by increasing glucose disposal rates and enhancing hepatic insulin sensitivity by working as a PPAR-γ agonist in type-2 diabetic rats(2).
3. Hypoglycemic drugs
Glucose uptake assay-guided fractionations of the methanol extract of Schisandra chinensis led to the isolation of the dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans: gomisin J (1), gomisin N (2), wuweizisu B (3), wuweizisu C (4), gomisin C (5), gomisin D (6), (+)-schisandrin A (7), schisandrin C (8), schisandrol A (9), gomisin H (10), angeloylgomisin H (11), gomisin A (12), and schizandrin (13). Among these, 1, 2, 7, and 8 significantly improved basal glucose uptake in HepG2 cells, according to the study of Jilin Agricultural University(3).
4. Synergistic hepatoprotective effect
In the study to investigate the synergistic hepatoprotective effect of lignans from Fructus Schisandrae chinensis (LFS) with Astragalus polysaccharides (APS) on chronic liver injury in male Sprague-Dawley rats, showed that LFS and APS display hepatoprotective and antioxidant properties and act in a synergistic manner in CCl(4) induced liver injury in rats(4).
5. Etc.

Side Effects
1. Do not use the herb in case of fever with infection or in case of unresolved exterior diseases
2. Do not use the herb in newborn, children or if you are pregnant or breast feeding without first consulting with the related field specialist.
3. Etc.

Sources
(1) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21565143
(2) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21440615
(3) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20334133
(4) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19345075

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