herbs and heart

[Guest guest]

Sorry, don't have the URL but this story showed up in different forms.

Shouldn't be too hard to google.

Doug

 

 

 

 

 

New research at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

suggests that ancient Chinese herbal formulas used primarily for cardiovascular

indications including heart disease may produce large amounts of artery-widening

nitric oxide. Findings of the preclinical study by scientists in the

university's Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention

of Human Diseases (IMM) appear in the Sept. 15 print issue of the journal Free

Radical Biology & Medicine.

 

Nitric oxide is crucial to the cardiovascular system because it signals the

inner walls of blood vessels to relax, which facilitates the flow of blood

through the heart and circulatory system. The messenger molecule also eliminates

dangerous clots, lowers high blood pressure and reduces artery-clogging plaque

formation.

 

The results from this study reveal that ancient Chinese herbal formulas " have

profound nitric oxide bioactivity primarily through the enhancement of nitric

oxide in the inner walls of blood vessels, but also through their ability to

convert nitrite and nitrate into nitric oxide, " said Nathan S. Bryan, Ph.D., the

study's senior author and an IMM assistant professor.

 

Herbal formulas are a major component of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs),

which also include acupuncture and massage. " TCMs have provided leads to safe

medications in cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, " said C. Thomas

Caskey, M.D., IMM director and CEO. " The opportunity for Dr. Bryan's work is

outstanding given that cardiac disease is the No. 1 cause of death in the United

States. "

 

In the study, researchers performed laboratory tests on DanShen, GuaLou and

other herbs purchased at a Houston store to assess their ability to produce

nitric oxide. Ancient Chinese herbal formulas used primarily for cardiovascular

indications are made up of three to 25 herbs. The formulas can be administered

as tablets, elixirs, soups and teas.

 

Most Chinese herbal formulas marketed in the United States are not considered

drugs by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said Yong-Jian Geng, M.D.,

Ph.D., study co-author and cardiology professor at The University of Texas

Medical School at Houston. They are considered dietary supplements and are not

regulated as strictly as drugs.

 

Scientists also tested the capacity of the store-bought TCMs to widen blood

vessels in an animal model. " Each of the TCMs tested in the assays relaxed

vessels to various degrees, " the authors stated.

 

" Further studies should be considered in humans, particularly those with cardiac

indications, " Geng said. " Hopefully, we will have more data to report in the

near future. "

 

While fully integrated into the healthcare systems in some parts of Asia,

ancient Chinese herbal formulas are often considered alternative medicines in

Western nations. Part of the reason, according to Bryan, may be that until

recently little was known about how they work.

 

" The next step is to identify the active components of the TCMs that are

responsible for producing the NO. We are currently trying to isolate and

identify the active component or components, " Bryan said.

 

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Yaoping Tang, M.D., an IMM postdoctoral fellow, was the lead author of the study

titled " Nitric oxide bioactivity of traditional Chinese medicines used for

cardiovascular indications. " Also collaborating on the study was Harsha Garg, an

IMM senior research assistant.

 

Bryan is the editor of a new book titled " Food, Nutrition and the Nitric Oxide

Pathway: Biochemistry and Bioactivity " published by DesTech Publishing and works

in the IMM Center for Cell Signaling directed by Ferid Murad, M.D., Ph.D., who

won the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine for his work with nitric

oxide as a signaling molecule in the cardiovascular system. Bryan and Geng are

on the faculty of The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences

at Houston.

 

 

Contact: Robert Cahill

Robert.Cahill

713-500-3030

University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

Scientists help explain effects of ancient Chinese herbal formulas on heart

health

 

 

 

 

 

IMAGE: Shedding new light on ancient Chinese herbal formulas for cardiovascular

indications from left to right are: Yong-Jian Geng, M.D., Ph.D.; Yaoping Tang,

M.D., Nathan S. Bryan, Ph.D.; and Harsha Garg....