Guest guest Posted February 8, 2010 Report Share Posted February 8, 2010 Anyone have any thoughts about whether it is safe to use bai bu and shi chang pu on pregnancy within Tian Wang Bu Xin Tang? I posted earlier that I am taking this formula and the other piece to my story is that I am planning to try to conceive soon. I only take it at night and I take qi/blood/yin tonics during the day. I know that shi chang pu is to be used with caution during pregnancy. But I'm thinking that it is ok in the context of all the tonics that I am taking. Plus, I've always been prone to insomnia, so its worth a whole lot for me to take a formula that works so well for my sleep as this formula does. I feel great in every way with the formulas I'm taking excect the one thing I talked about (itchy at night). So that seems like a good thing for a baby, but I just thought I'd see what others thought. Thanks! Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 9, 2010 Report Share Posted February 9, 2010 Shi Chang Pu contains varying levels of beta-asarone, a toxic substance. It shouldn't be taken during pregnancy. I'm not sure why you think that an herb that is contraindicated in pregnancy is OK to take with tonifying herbs. This seems like a dangerous practice. - Bill Schoenbart Chinese Medicine , " heylaurag " <heylaurag wrote: > > Anyone have any thoughts about whether it is safe to use bai bu and shi chang pu on pregnancy within Tian Wang Bu Xin Tang? I posted earlier that I am taking this formula and the other piece to my story is that I am planning to try to conceive soon. I only take it at night and I take qi/blood/yin tonics during the day. I know that shi chang pu is to be used with caution during pregnancy. But I'm thinking that it is ok in the context of all the tonics that I am taking. Plus, I've always been prone to insomnia, so its worth a whole lot for me to take a formula that works so well for my sleep as this formula does. I feel great in every way with the formulas I'm taking excect the one thing I talked about (itchy at night). So that seems like a good thing for a baby, but I just thought I'd see what others thought. > > Thanks! > > Laura > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 9, 2010 Report Share Posted February 9, 2010 Its not on the contraindicated list. Its on the use with caution list, but I appreciate your thoughts. Is there a source that you know about that I could learn more about beta-asarone and Shi Chang Pu from? Chinese Medicine , " bill_schoenbart " <plantmed2 wrote: > > Shi Chang Pu contains varying levels of beta-asarone, a toxic substance. It shouldn't be taken during pregnancy. > > I'm not sure why you think that an herb that is contraindicated in pregnancy is OK to take with tonifying herbs. This seems like a dangerous practice. > > - Bill Schoenbart > > > > Chinese Medicine , " heylaurag " <heylaurag@> wrote: > > > > Anyone have any thoughts about whether it is safe to use bai bu and shi chang pu on pregnancy within Tian Wang Bu Xin Tang? I posted earlier that I am taking this formula and the other piece to my story is that I am planning to try to conceive soon. I only take it at night and I take qi/blood/yin tonics during the day. I know that shi chang pu is to be used with caution during pregnancy. But I'm thinking that it is ok in the context of all the tonics that I am taking. Plus, I've always been prone to insomnia, so its worth a whole lot for me to take a formula that works so well for my sleep as this formula does. I feel great in every way with the formulas I'm taking excect the one thing I talked about (itchy at night). So that seems like a good thing for a baby, but I just thought I'd see what others thought. > > > > Thanks! > > > > Laura > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 13, 2010 Report Share Posted February 13, 2010 Here is an abstract on beta-asarone from the Botanical Safety Handbook, published by the American Herbal Products Association. They list the Asian varieties of Calamus as contraindicated in pregnancy due to the asarone content: b-ASARONE Abstract b-Asarone is a hepatocarcinogenic constituent of the essential oils from several plants in the genera Acorus and Asarum from the Araceae and Aristolochiaceae families, respectively. The compound is from a chemical group known as phenylpropanoids (C6-C3); more specifically, it is an allylbenzene, also known as an alkenylbenzene, or allylphenol. The main structural feature of the asarones (beta and alpha) is an aromatic ring with a 2-methoxy group. Identity The following are recognized by the BSI as plants containing b-Asarone: Acorus calamus, Asarum canadense, Asarum europaeum. History, Therapeutic Usage, and Dosage The use of calamus in Asia, Europe, and North America is of ancient origin. Calamus spp. have been official in many pharmacopeias and is now mainly used as source of calamus oil, which is employed in perfumery (Trease & Evans, 1978). Its use in herbal medicine is of ancient origin, and it is still used in India, China, Europe, America, and other countries for its antispasmodic and digestive-stimulating effects (Bruneton, 1995). All varieties of calamus are prohibited in foods in the United States and are listed as unacceptable non-medicinal ingredients for oral use in Canada (Michols, 1995), but in Europe they are allowed in foods and beverages up to 0.1 mg/kg and I alcoholic beverages up to 1 mg/kg (Bruneton, 1995). Pharmacology b-asarone is a procarcinogen that is neither hepatoxic nor directly hepatocarcinogenic. It must first undergo metabolic 1'-hydroxylation in the liver before achieving toxicity. Cytochrome P450 in the hepatocytes is responsible for secreting the hydrolyzing enzymes that convert b-asarone into its genotoxic epoxide structure. Even with activation of these metabolites, the carcinogenic potency is low. This is because cells rapidly break down the epoxide residues with epoxide hydrolases which leave the compounds inert (Luo, 1992). In addition, the major metabolite of b-asarone is 2,4,5-trimethoxycinnamic acid, a derivative that is not carcinogenic (Hasheminejad & Caldwell, 1994). The activation of the procarcinogen, b-asarone, is different from the allylbenzene estragole and propenylbenzene safrole. Asarone has a novel activation featuring hydroxylation of the 2-methoxy group of the aromatic ring. b-asarone oil does not have any spasmolytic activity (De Smet, 1992) Adverse Effects and Toxicity The potential hazard to humans of low doses of allylbenzenes (e.g., beta-asarone, estragole, and safrole) is very minimal. Consuming several grams will generate very small quantities of genotoxic metabolites that are quickly broken down by the cytosolic and microsomal epoxide hydrolases of the liver. Nevertheless, products containing b-asarone should not be used long-term because they have been documented to cause chromosome damaging effects on humans lymphocytes, mutagenic property in bacteria, and carcinogenic activity in rats (De Smet,1992). Short-term acute use of b-asarone containing herbs in sufficient quantity may cause nausea and vomiting. Studies demonstrating carcinogenic activity in animals were from rodents that were fed or injected with very high doses of b-asarone. In one of these studies, rats developed mesenchymal tumors of the small intestine (Keeler & Tu, 1983). Similar research demonstrated an increase of unscheduled DNA synthesis, a strong indicator of impending genotoxicity (Tsai, 1994). Another study showed that b-asarone had an anticoagulant effect in mice and rats (Rubio-Poo, 1991). Varieties of Acorus calamus, often called sweet-flag, or simply calamus, have the highest potential for adverse effects with human use due to b-asarone exposure. One variety contains up to 96%. The following table xx summarizes the content in the 3 most commonly-used varieties. Variety Polypoloidy?xx b-Asarone % Indian A. calamus var. jammu 4n <96% North American A. calamus var. americanus (Raf.) Wulff 2n absent European A. calamus var. calamus L. 3n <10% Although the hydroalcoholic extract of the European variety is reported to contain only traces of b-asarone, careful attention should be paid to the identity of the starting material for any commercial preparations because of the possibility of adulteration with the Indian variety or other variants containing unacceptable levels of the compound. Authenticated American plants can be considered safe for use, at least regarding the b-asarone content. References De Smet (see other ref) Lou, G. et al. 1992. Hydrolysis of the 2', 3'-allylic epoxides of allylbenzene, estragole, eugenol, and safrole by both microsomal and cytosolic epoxide hydrolases. Drug Metabolisms and Diposition. 20(3):440-445. Rubio-Poo, C. et al. 1991. The anticoagulant effect of beta-asarone in the mouse and the rat. Proceedings of the Western Pharmacology Society. 34:107-112. Trease, G.E. & W.C. Evans. 1978. Pharmacognosy. 11th Edition. Bailliere Tindall: London. Tsai, R.S. et al. 1995. Structure-genotoxicity relationships of allylbenzenes and propenylbenzenes: a quantum chemical study. Chemical Research in Toxicology. 8(1):164. Chinese Medicine , " heylaurag " <heylaurag wrote: > > Its not on the contraindicated list. Its on the use with caution list, but I appreciate your thoughts. Is there a source that you know about that I could learn more about beta-asarone and Shi Chang Pu from? > > > Chinese Medicine , " bill_schoenbart " <plantmed2@> wrote: > > > > Shi Chang Pu contains varying levels of beta-asarone, a toxic substance. It shouldn't be taken during pregnancy. > > > > I'm not sure why you think that an herb that is contraindicated in pregnancy is OK to take with tonifying herbs. This seems like a dangerous practice. > > > > - Bill Schoenbart > > > > > > > > Chinese Medicine , " heylaurag " <heylaurag@> wrote: > > > > > > Anyone have any thoughts about whether it is safe to use bai bu and shi chang pu on pregnancy within Tian Wang Bu Xin Tang? I posted earlier that I am taking this formula and the other piece to my story is that I am planning to try to conceive soon. I only take it at night and I take qi/blood/yin tonics during the day. I know that shi chang pu is to be used with caution during pregnancy. But I'm thinking that it is ok in the context of all the tonics that I am taking. Plus, I've always been prone to insomnia, so its worth a whole lot for me to take a formula that works so well for my sleep as this formula does. I feel great in every way with the formulas I'm taking excect the one thing I talked about (itchy at night). So that seems like a good thing for a baby, but I just thought I'd see what others thought. > > > > > > Thanks! > > > > > > Laura > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.