Herbal PDR

Toefoot · Jul 27, 2013

Natives and Grandma knew best, Excellent reference:

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B6Swa8Pwy-0KMjhkNWM5MmItM2RiYi00ODY4LTkwOTUtMjYyMjI5ZjM4MTUw

Wanted to add the Herbal Manual:

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B6Swa8Pwy-0KYmRhY2E1NDYtYWE2MS00NGUyLTg1M2YtOTMzNzhlMTFmZWM0

waltky · Aug 9, 2013

Herbal remedies linked to genetic mutations and cancer...

Herbal remedies linked to cancer
Fri, Aug 09, 2013 - A plant extract used in Chinese herbal remedies for arthritis, gout and inflammation has been directly linked to cancer and causes a surprising number of genetic mutations, scientists said on Wednesday.

The gene signature of aristolochic acid derived from a vine known as birthwort was found in tumors from 19 upper urinary tract cancer patients in Taiwan. Scientists have long known that the acid was a carcinogen, but the new study shows for the first time that it causes far more genetic mutations than smoking-related lung cancer or ultraviolet radiation associated with skin cancer.

Tumors in people exposed to the herb had about 150 mutations per megabase, compared with eight in smoking-related lung cancers and 111 in UV-related melanomas, the study in the US journal Science Translational Medicine said.

Knowing more about the acids signature will help researchers screen for the herbs involvement in cancers of other organs, experts said. Genome-wide sequencing has allowed us to tie aristolochic acid exposure directly to an individual getting cancer, said Kenneth Kinzler, professor of oncology in the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Centers Ludwig Center for Cancer Genetics and Therapeutics. The technology gives us the recognizable mutational signature to say with certainty that a specific toxin is responsible for causing a specific cancer, Kinzler added.

The herbs cancer links led to a ban on products containing aristolochic acid in Europe and North America in 2001, and in Asia in 2003, the researchers said.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2013/08/09/2003569303
Click to expand...

waltky · Oct 20, 2017

Cancer linked to herbal remedies...

Cancer linked to herbal remedies
Fri, Oct 20, 2017 - ASIAN EPIDEMIC: Researchers tested 98 liver tumors in Taiwan and found that 78% contained mutation patterns that ‘were likely due to contact with’ aristolochic acids

Researchers have uncovered widespread evidence of a link between traditional Chinese herbal remedies and liver cancer across Asia, a new study said on Wednesday. The findings suggest stronger measures are needed to prevent people from consuming chemicals called aristolochic acids (AA), which are derived from the woody vines of the Aristolochia plant family, the report in the journal Science Translational Medicine said. The acids can be found in some traditional Chinese medicines that are given during childbirth, to prevent parasites and promote healing.

Researchers tested 98 liver tumors that were stored at hospitals in Taiwan and found that 78 percent contained mutation patterns that indicated the cancers “were likely due to contact with the chemicals,” the study said. Since these acids cause “a well-defined mutational signature,” researchers also looked at 89 samples of liver cancer in China and found that 47 percent showed a link to the traditional medicine component. In Vietnam, five out of 26 tumors studied were a match (19 percent), along with five out of nine from other countries in Southeast Asia (56 percent). The link to traditional Chinese medicine was far less common in North America (5 percent of 209 liver cancers studied) and 1.7 percent of the 230 looked at from Europe.

Taiwan in 2003 banned some herbal preparations using the plants after it was discovered that AA could cause kidney failure and urinary tract cancers. However, there is no outright ban in China or Taiwan and “only specific plants, rather than any plant and product containing AA or its derivatives, are regulated,” making it hard for consumers to avoid them, the report said. Researchers found that the prevalence of AA-associated mutations in liver cancers in Taiwan did not drop after the ban was implemented. This could be because it would take more time for a drop in cancers to be noticeable in the data, as was the case with tobacco-related cancers after smoking was revealed to cause lung tumors, or it could be that people continue to be exposed to these acids through other products and herbal mixtures that still contain them.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2017/10/20/2003680709
Click to expand...

Log in or Sign up

Herbal PDR

Toefoot Well-Known Member Past Donor

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

Share This Page

Log in or Sign up

Herbal PDR

Toefoot Well-Known Member Past Donor

waltky Well-Known Member

waltky Well-Known Member

Share This Page

Useful Searches