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

Saturday 9 November 2013

Chinese Herbs – Xuan Huang Lian (Rhizoma Picrorhizae )

Hu huang Lian or Xuan Huang Lian is also known as Figwortflower. The bitter and cool herb has been used in TCM as anti palette coagulation, anti arrhythmia, anti diabetic agent and to relief heat toxicity, indigestion, diabetes, inflammation of intestine, diarrhea caused by bacterial infection, high fever, restlessness, insomnia, etc., as it eliminates Empty-Heat and Damp-Heat, clears Heat, etc., by enhancing the functions of heart, large intestine, liver, and stomach channels
Ingredients
1. Berberine
2. Colchicine
3. Coptisine
4. Worenine
5. Palmatine
6. Jatrorrhizine
7. Magnoflorine
8. Kutkin,
9. Berberrubine
9. Ferulic acid
10. Chlorogenic acid;
11. Etc.
Health Benefits
1. Propionibacterium acnes
In the study of the inhibitory effects of plant extracts from Terminalia chebula and Embelia ribes on the lipase activity of Propionibacterium acnes, indicated that for the first time the novel antilipase activity of chebulagic acid (IC(50) : 60 μmol L(-1) ) with minimum inhibitory concentration value of 12.5 μg mL(-1) against P. acnes. The inhibitory potential of plant extracts was further confirmed by plate assay. The organism was grown in the presence of subinhibitory concentrations of extracts from P. kurroa, V. negundo, T. chebula, E. ribes and antibiotics such as clindamycin and tetracycline. Extract from T. chebula showed significant inhibition of lipase activity and number of P. acnes, according to “Inhibition of Propionibacterium acnes lipase by extracts of Indian medicinal plants” by Patil V, Bandivadekar A, Debjani D.(1)
2. Neuroprotective effects
In the evaluation of the neuroprotective effects of Apocynin (4-hydroxy-3-methoxy-acetophenone), a constituent of the Himalayan medicinal herb Picrorhiza kurroa indicated that NADPH oxidase appears to be especially important in the modulation of redox-sensitive signaling pathways and also has been implicated in neuronal dysfunction and degeneration, and neuroinflammmation in diseases ranging from stroke, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases to psychiatric disorders. In this review, we aim to give an overview of current literature on the neuroprotective effects of apocynin in the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative disorders. Particular attention is given to in vivo studies, according to “The neuroprotective effects of apocynin” by Simonyi A, Serfozo P, Lehmidi TM, Cui J, Gu Z, Lubahn DB, Sun AY, Sun GY.(2)
3. Antimalarial activity
In the determination of the anti-malarial activity of three medicinal plants, Picrorhiza kurroa, Caesalpinia bonducella and Artemisia absinthium of Pakistan, in vitro showed that aqueous, cold alcoholic and hot alcoholic extracts of Picrorhiza kurroa showed 34%, 100% and 90% inhibition in growth of Plasmodium falciparum, respectively, at 2.00 mg/ml. While aqueous, cold alcoholic and hot alcoholic extracts of Caesalpinia bonducella showed 65%, 56% and 76% inhibition in growth of Plasmodium falciparum, respectively at same concentrations. In the case of Artemisia absinthium, aqueous, cold alcoholic and hot alcoholic extract of Artemisia absinthium showed 35%, 55% and 21% inhibition in growth of Plasmodium falciparum, respectively at 2.00 mg/ml, according to ‘Antimalarial activity of three Pakistani medicinal plants” by Irshad S, Mannan A, Mirza B.(3)
4. Fatty liver diseases
In the study of the possible reversal of fatty changes in the liver of a hydroalcoholic extract of Picrorhiza kurroa, found that the P. kurroa extract brought about a reversal of the fatty infiltration of the liver (mg/g) and a lowering of the quantity of hepatic lipids (mg/g) compared to that in the HFD control group (38.33 ± 5.35 for 200mg/kg; 29.44 ± 8.49 for 400mg/kg of P. kurroa vs.130.07 ± 6.36mg/g of liver tissue in the HFD control group; P<0.001). Compared to the standard dose of the known hepatoprotective silymarin, P. kurroa reduced the lipid content (mg/g) of the liver more significantly at the dose of 400mg/kg (57.71 ± 12.45mg/kg vs. 29.44 ± 8.49 for the silymarin group vs. 400mg/kg of P. kurroa, P<0.001), according to “A study of standardized extracts of Picrorhiza kurroa Royle ex Benth in experimental nonalcoholic fatty liver disease” by Shetty SN, Mengi S, Vaidya R, Vaidya AD(4)
5. Antioxidant and anti-neoplastic activities
In the evaluation of the antioxidant and anti-neoplastic activities of methanolic and aqueous extracts of P. kurroa rhizome, showed that the extracts exhibited promising antioxidant potentials. The extracts were also observed to be cytotoxic at the tested dosage and were able to target cells towards apoptosis. The study concludes that P. kurroa possess diverse therapeutic potentials which might be useful in development of drugs or their precursors, according to “Antioxidant and anti-neoplastic activities of Picrorhiza kurroa extracts” by Rajkumar V, Guha G, Kumar RA.(5)
6. Chronic kidney disease
In the investigation of the effect of the ethanol extract of Picrorhiza scrophulariiflora (EPS) on renal function and tissue damage in a rat, found that EPS can obviously improve the renal functions and renal pathologies in rats with chronic kidney disease probably by inhibiting the oxidative stress, according to “[Effect of the ethanol extract of Picrorhiza scrophulariiflora on the progression of chronic kidney disease in a rat remnant kidney model].[Article in Chinese]“ by Feng JX, Li HY, Liu ZQ, Zhou ZM, Tian JW, Liang M.(6)
7. Etc.
Side Effects
1. Do not use the herb in newborn, children or if you are pregnant or breast feeding without consulting first with the related field specialist
2. Xuan Huang Lian should be used with caution for those patients with vomiting due to deficiency of the stomach, splenasthenic diarrhea or diarrhea(a)
3. Etc.