Stinging Nettle Root- Diuretic, Aquaretic

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Stinging Nettle Root- Diuretic, Aquaretic

JoAnn Guest

Oct 30, 2004 21:06 PDT

 

Stinging Nettle Root- Diuretic,Aquaretic

Two parts of the same plant, two different uses!

Stinging Nettle is an herb that has a long history of use. It's

latin name is Urticae, or Urtica dioica.

 

You may have heard about nettle as an effective treatment of

hayfever, or for arthritis.

It is also used for urinary disorders, including the treatment and

prevention of kidney disease and stones.

 

But when you go to the shelf to pick up a bottle, you might notice

that there are often two different products available. One is the

leaf

(Urticae folium), or " above ground parts " (Urticae herba), and the

other is the root (Urticae radix).

What is the difference, and which do you want to purchase?

 

There does seem to be a difference. The roots are known to contain

certain sterols (beta-sitosterol, stigmasterol, campesterol, etc.)

and

lignans which, it seems, are not present in the leaves.

These are the compounds that are thought to contribute to the root's

beneficial action in relieving the symptoms of BPH.

 

As Donald Brown, N.D. reports in the Summer 1999 edition of

healthnotes,Vol.6, No. 2, " As awareness of the efficacy of the

liposterolic extract of saw palmetto berry for the treatment of mild

to

moderate BPH continues to grow, an impressive body of literature has

also accumulated on the combination of saw palmetto and nettle root.

The [following] study,... while flawed due to the short duration and

lack of a placebo-control group, adds to previous studies on this

combination that have been greater than six months in duration and

have demonstrated efficacy similar to finasteride over a one-year

treatment period. "

 

In a multicenter, open-label study, 102 men (average age 63.2 years)

with mild to moderate benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and maximum

urinary flow of < 20 ml/s were treated with a saw palmetto (Serenoa

repens, Sabal serrulata) and nettle root (Urtica dioica) combination

for 12 weeks. Each capsule of the product (PRO 160/120, Prostagutt

forte)

contained 160 mg of a liposterolic of saw palmetto and 120 mg of

concentrated nettle root extract The dosage was one capsule twice

daily.

 

 

At baseline, patient examination included ultrasound, urine flow

measures (maximum urinary flow,

average urine flow, volume),

residual urine, and rectal examination of the prostate, as well as

blood chemistries and CBC.

 

Patients were also asked to give subjective feedback using a visual

analog scale WAS).

Urine flow measures, ultrasound, and VAS were repeated at the onset

of treatment (week 0) and at weeks 4, 8, and 12. Rectal examination

and

laboratory blood measures were repeated at week 12. Patients began

treatment following a one-week washout period. Eightyeight patients

completed the study.

 

At 4 weeks, there was a notable increase of maximum urinary flow

(mean, 1.73 ml/s) and this continued to improve at 12 weeks (mean,

4.11 ml/s).

 

Average urine flow (mean, 2.38 ml/s) and urine volume (mean, 35.24

ml) also increased between baseline and week 12. Ultrasound measures

also demonstrated a notable reduction in residual urine by an

average of

25.85 ml, with the greatest drop occurring in the first four weeks

of treatment.

 

Subjective feedback on the VAS demonstrated a notable decrease in

both daytime and nighttime urinary frequency, pain, and dribbling,

as well as an improvement in onset of urination.

 

(Jenner R, Haertel S. Sabal fruit and stinging nettle reduce

residual urine and increase urine flow.

 

Urologie Nephrologie 1998; 10:48-5 1.)

 

Dr. Brown contines: " A large, post-marketing surveillance study in

Germany has also demonstrated the successful use as well as safety

of this combination in men with BPH

 

In the study, 2,080 men (average age 65.7 years) with mild to

moderate BPH) were treated with one capsule containing the

combination of a

liposterolic extract of saw palmetto (160 mg) and nettle root

extract (120 mg) twice daily. Patients were treated for an average

of 12 weeks. At the end of the 12-week study period, 1,947 patients

were available for evaluation.

 

" Multiple objective measures of BPH symptomatology were found to

improve

over the course of the trial... Symptomatic improvement was reported

by 86% of patients and an " improved " quality of life was reported by

80%.

 

Eighty-seven percent of treating physicians (from 419 medical

centers) reported the therapeutic efficacy as " very good " or " good. "

 

While saw palmetto and nettle root are approved " phytomedicines " for

BPH in Germany, less is known about the actions of nettle root.

 

Nettle root contains a complex mixture of water- and alcohol-soluble

compounds, including lectins, phenols, sterols, and lignans.

 

Laboratory studies have suggested that polysaccharides and

N-acetylglucosamine-specific lectins may play a role in the anti-BPH

activity of nettle root.

 

As is the case with other phytomedicines used to treat BPH (i.e. saw

palmetto, pygeum, beta-sitosterol extracts), the phytosterols are

also thought to play an important role in BPH treatment.

 

Nettle root extracts have been shown to inhibit sex hormone-binding

globulin (SHBG) in vitro. SHBG is associated with the transport of

free

androgen and estrogen. Nettle root has also been found to inhibit

aromatase in vitro

 

" As is the case with pygeum, most of the studies on nettle root

monopreparations have been of less than six months' duration and

have often lacked a placebo-control group.

 

As the resume of clinical evidence for the saw palmetto and nettle

root combination continues to grow, it will eventually be important

for the manufacturers (Schwabe) to fund clinical trials that

demonstrate that the combination works better than the clinically

proven monopreparations of saw palmetto such as Permixon (Pierre

Fabre) "

 

In the German Commission E Monographs, the uses listed for Stinging

Nettle herb and leaf are supportive therapy for rheumatic ailments

and, internally, as " irrigation therapy for inflammatory disease of

the lower urinary tract and prevention and treatment of kidney

gravel (stones). "

 

For Stinging Nettle root, Commission E lists the following actions:

" Increase of urinary volume,

increase of maximum urinary flow, reduction of residual urine. "

 

They also add a caution: " Note: this drug only relieves the symptoms

of an enlarged prostate without reducing the enlargement.

Please consult a physician at regular intervals. "

 

I was curious about the fact that both the leaf and root have

certain actions in common,

i.e. various manifestations of enhanced kidney function

 

I wondered if this differentiation between the leaf and root were

based on fact or fancy.

Were studies ever done, for example, that compared one preparation

against the other?

 

Some of the Pharmacognosy texts and reference books comment on the

herb, and do not even differentiate.

 

Others do, and I will provide quotes from a few of the more

interesting books:

 

Pharmacological Properties and Uses. The reputed beneficial effect

of the nettle root on prostatic adenoma is confirmed by experiments

in dogs (which show a decrease of prostatic hypertrophy) and is

supported by the

few preliminary clinical observations reported in men (improvement

of

bladder outlet obstruction symptoms and decrease of the post-voiding

residual urine after long-term treatment with an alcoholic extract).

 

In fact, the drug has long been used in Germany for the treatment of

inflammations of the urinary tract, for the preventive treatment of

renal lithiasis, and for the treatment of benign prostate

hypertrophy.

 

The active substances have not been identified rigorously: the

polysaccharide fraction is an anti-inflammatory, but what could be

the

biological activity of the sterols **? What about that of their

metabolites?

The uncertainty over the identity of the active substances does not

make quality control easier. To standardize the drug, Wagner et al.

recently proposed a method (ELISA and HPLC) based on the presence of

a lectin.

 

In the absence of bona fide clinical trials, the French Herbal

Remedies,

Notice to Applicants for Marketing Authorization, selected for the

root two " traditional " indications:

 

as adjunctive treatment for the bladder outlet obstruction symptoms

of

prostatic origin, and to enhance the renal elimination of water.

 

The nettle leaves are rich in minerals, proteins, vitamins, and

phenolics, and are said to be edible (they were formerly

traditionally used as fowl feed).

They are an industrial source of chlorophyll... In France, it is now

permitted for phytopharmaceuticals based on dioecious nettle leaves

to

claim two indications for oral and topical administration:

traditionally ised to treat moderate adne, and traditionally ised

for the symptomatic treatment of pain in the joints.

 

(* The stinging action is due to the liquid contained in the hairs,

which is released when their tip is broken off upon contact, so that

they essentially act like hypodermic syringes.

This liquid contains acetylcholine, histamine, and according to

recent work, leucotrienes (Czametzki, B.M., Thiele, T. and

Rosenbach, T.

(1990). Int. Arch. Allergy Appl. Immunol., 91, 43-46).

 

** Several studies conducted in Germany tend to demonstrate that

sitosterol has beneficial effects on benign prostatic hypertrophy,

by

decreasing the synthesis of prostaglandins in the prostate (see

Ritschel, W.A., Kastner, U., Hussain, A.S. and Koch, H.H. (1990).

Pharmacokinetics and Bioavailability of P-Sitosterol in the Beagle

Dog,

Arzneim.-Forsch, 40, 463-468).

 

Recently, some researchers took into consideration the interaction

between the hydrophobic constituents of the root and the membrane

Na,K-ATPase of the prostate tissue (see Hirano, T., Homma, M. and

Oka,

K. (1994). Effects of Stinging Nettle Root Extracts and their

Steroidal

Components on the Na+,K+-ATPase of the Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia,

Planta Med., 60, 30-33).)

 

The above information from from Bruneton, Jean. Pharmacognosy,

Phytochemistry, Medicinal Plants. Lavoissier Publishing. France.

 

A nice summary is provided by Varro Tyler, Ph.D., ScD, in his book,

Herbs of Choice:

 

Use of the root of the stinging nettle, Urtica dioica L., or the

small

stinging nettle, U. urens L., or hybrids of these members of the

family Urticaceae, for treatment of BPH is a relatively recent

innovation in phytomedicine.

 

A number of clinical studies support the plant's effectiveness.

 

Chemical analysis of nettle root has resulted in the isolation and

identification of a number of low and high molecular weight

compounds.

 

The former include various lignans, scopoletin, sitosterol,

sitosterol-3-0-glucoside, oleanolic acid, and

9-hydroxyl-10trans-12-cis-octadecanoic acid. High molecular weight

compounds include isolectins and five acid and neutral

polysaccharides.

The identity of the active principle and, consequently, its

mechanism of

action remain unknown.49

 

It has been postulated that the herb may have an effect on the

amount of

free (active) testosterone circulating in the blood, or it may

inhibit one of the key enzymes, aromatase, responsible for

testosterone synthesis.

 

Another, more recent theory attributes the activity to the presence

of a lectin (protein) mixture designated UDA (Urtica dioica

agglutinin) and several polysaccharides. UDA is unusually stable to

acids and heat;

consequently, it would retain its activity on oral administration. "

None of these various postulates regarding nettle root activity is

conclusively proven. German health authorities have concluded that

nettle root is an

effective treatment for urinary difficulties arising from the early

stages of prostate adenoma or BPH.51 The usual dose is 4 to 6 g.

daily.

 

Because the active principles are apparently water soluble, the root

may be administered in the form of a tea. Contraindications are

unknown and

side effects, consisting mostly of gastrointestinal disturbances,

are minimal.

 

The dried leaves of the nettle plant are commonly employed as an

aquaretic, and their consumption does result in an increase in the

flow

of urine.52 The active principles responsible for this effect have

not been identified...

 

http://www.willner.com/References/webref48.htm

_________________

 

JoAnn Guest

mrsjo-

DietaryTi-

www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Genes