Integrative Phytotherapy

Bitter taste is generally considered as a warning signal for toxic potential. However, phytocompounds, and implicitly medicinal plants with a bitter taste, seem to have a greater chance of exerting an anti-inflammatory activity than phytocompounds and medicinal plants that do not taste bitter, according to a statistical study carried out on a database containing over 1500 phytocompounds.
https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/11/21/2991

ACADEMIC AGENDA: The Faculty of Medicine of TRANSILVANIA University of Brașov, Brașov Medical Forum, together with The Romanian Society of Traditional Chinese Medicine are pleased to invite you to: The 5th National Congress of Traditional Chinese Medicine with International Participation presenting the theme “Traditional Chinese Medicine - alternative to or complementarity with conventional medicine”, 1-3 September 2022, Brasov, Romania
https://srmtc.ro/congress-2022

To be close to nature: better for your mental health!

This Mental Health Awareness Week, we're reflecting on the research by Mental Health Foundation which found that more than half of UK adults say that being close to nature improved their mental health. 💭

How do you connect with nature to look after your own mental health? 🍃

According to this review based on clinical experience in Chinese hospitals and some in vitro studies, licorice (through its compound glycyrrhizin) and the root extract of Pelargonium sidoides (an African plant) are two herbal remedies that could have therapeutic potential against coronaviruses. But the plants are administered individually, only on the doctor's recommendation, because they also have contraindications! For example, licorice is contraindicated for hypertensive people.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8410512/

ACADEMIC AGENDA: International Congress of International Society of Ethnopharmacology May 28-31, 2022, organized in a hybrid manner (virtual and physical), Taichung, Taiwan. Deadline for registration January 10, 2022 http://www.ethnopharmacology2022.org/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1-gZ4qYb_I

The 21st International Congress of International Society for Ethnopharmacology (ISE)

10 plants used in traditional medicine in various regions of the globe for lung health
1 / Ginseng
2 / Osha Root- The root of Ligusticum porteri, an American plant
3 / Eucalyptus
4 / Elderberry
5 / Astragalus - a Chinese plant
6 / Horehound
7 / Bergamot - from the citrus family, native to Italy
8 / Lavender
9 / Peppermint
10 / Mullein
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjwHKMjr_1o

Top 10 Herbs for Lung Health, Clearing Mucus, COPD, and Killing Viruses How can you use Herbs can clear mucus from your lungs, kill viruses, and fight infections? Watch the video to find out!💥 Herbs to Clear Mucus [Full Guide] ➜...

DID YOU KNOW? Some endangered medicinal plants have developed camouflage mechanisms to protect against humans, becoming less visible.

https://phys.org/news/2020-11-evolves-visible-humans.html

About the antiviral potential of licorice, known for its medicinal use to over 4000 years ago
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8227143/

A movie about TCM, made by Department of Biology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA

https://biology.mit.edu/video-post/the-science-behind-traditional-chinese-medicine/

Benefits of black cumin in acne? Topical administration of a black cumin (Nigella sativa L.)-based hydrogel improved acne and was well tolerated by the subjects, according to the results of a recent clinical study (Soleymani S, et al. Phytother Res. 2020; 34 (11) : 3052-3062).
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ptr.6739

The effect of a hydrogel made by Nigella sativa L. on acne vulgaris: A randomized double‐blind clinical trial Nigella sativa L. (black seed) is one of the main medicinal plants frequently cited in traditional Persian medicine manuscripts for management of acne vulgaris. The present study was designed to inve...

"... it grows straight up like a light" this is what the ethnobotanist Simion Florea Marian (1847-1907) has written in his book "Botanica poporana" about the mullein, also called in the Romanian medical folklore "the little candle of the Lord". We tried to capture in a photograph a drop of plant optimism, when we discovered it somewhere in the quiet surroundings of the Iezer monastery (Valcea county, Romania): Verbascum nigrum, a subspecia neglected from a scientific point of view.

ACADEMIC AGENDA. The 9th GP-TCM RA Annual Meeting (online) will be held on 9-10 November 2021 (for registration https://docs.google.com/forms/u/0/d/e/1FAIpQLSdxRMFrkS2mOO1eeSPlljUgxfa7C8BoFtPGSyi93lYBmBvZwg/formResponse
or https://www.wenjuan.com/s/UZBZJvt6bEY/). Please kindly note that registration is free but is required.

DID YOU KNOW? Green beans may have benefits in subjects with urinary lithiasis, according to a recent human study (Jalal SM et al. Effect of Phaseolus Vulgaris on Urinary Biochemical Parameters among Patients with Kidney Stones in Saudi Arabia. Nutrients. 2020;12(11):3346)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33143212/
The patients were instructed to prepare a green bean extract and asked to drink it thrice weekly . To prepare the extract, 250 g of fresh beans were cut into small pieces and boiled in 1000 mL of water at medium flame for 15 min. The water was filtered and allowed to cool and was kept in a container. This extract did not have either sugar or salt added. The prepared extract was to be used within 24 h of preparation.

Researchers from University of Freiburg, Germany, have shown in one in vitro study the ability of dandelion extract to block the interaction of the SARS-CoV2 spike protein with ACE2 cell receptors (including mutant forms D614G, N501Y, K417N, E484K). protein spike) and to prevent the virus from entering the cells. The authors argue that these results encourage future research on dandelion in terms of clinical applicability in infection prevention strategy. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.03.19.435959v1

TCM-ID: a database of medicinal plants used in TCM, which also integrates human genomics data. TCM-ID has a very rich interface, which offers multiple variants of simple and advanced search by diseases, therapeutic actions, traditional formulas, individual herbs and more.
http://bidd.group/TCMID/index.html

AN OLD HERBAL FORMULA WITH A NEW POSSIBLE INDICATION: Shufeng Jiedu (SFJDC) is a formula from Traditional Chinese Medicine consisting of 8 medicinal plants: Polygoni Cuspidati Rhizoma Et Radix (Huzhang), Forsythiae Fructus (Lianqiao), Isatidup Radix ( (Chaihu), Herba Patriniae (Baijiangcao), Verbenae Herb (Mabiancao), Phragmitis Rhizoma (Lugen), Licorice (Gancao). The antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties of SFJDC have been confirmed in animal models. The researchers suggested that 11 signaling pathways related to inflammation and immunomodulation would be influenced by the main bioactive compounds of SFJDC (quercetin, wogonin, and polydatin), which would bind directly to the major protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2. Clinical data have provided some promising evidence that SFJDC could shorten the symptomatic course of COVID-19 in patients with mild to moderate symptoms, if this is associated with standard treatment as close as possible to the onset of the disease (Xia L, et al, Phytomedicine. 2021 May; 85: 153390)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7581328/