herbs

One of the Key Herbs that Prevents and Treats Swine Flu

Submitted by dave on Thu, 09/17/2009 - 11:02am

Ayurveda, India’s traditional 'science of life,' has the remedy for swine flu in the form of the basil leaves commonly known as Tulsi.

Tulsi is well known in India for its remarkable healing properties. But the anti-flu property of Tulsi has been discovered by medical experts across the world quite recently. Tulsi improves your body's overall defense mechanism, including its ability to fight viral diseases.
Apart from acting as a preventive medicine, Tulsi can also help a patient recover faster

Turmeric offers effective neurprotection - may be important in glaucoma to prevent optic nerve damage

Submitted by dave on Sun, 09/13/2009 - 11:23am

Regular use of traditional dietary spices such as turmeric in one's cooking may be important for glaucoma patients. The use of complete spices (e.g., turmeric rather than curcumin, which is an isolated fraction of turmeric) is important as well as the use of multiple complimentary spices according to long-established wisdom such as found in Ayurveda. Still, the research backing up anti-oxidant properties of turmeric is a useful read.

Gingko Biloba shown to protect optic nerve cells from injury

Submitted by dave on Thu, 08/27/2009 - 10:05am

Oral consumption of Ginkgo biloba led to a higher survival rate of optic nerve cells (retinal ganglion cells). The effect was dosage-dependent - the higher concentrations of Ginkgo resulted in higher optic nerve cell survival rates. The dosages of Ginkgo were comparable to those an average person could safely consume.

Dosage dependence of the effect of Ginkgo biloba on the rat retinal ganglion cell survival after optic nerve crush - Abstract 

Does Licorice Increase Intraocular Pressure?

Submitted by dave on Sun, 06/28/2009 - 7:19pm

Does Licorice Increase Intraocular Pressure? I attempted to answer this question for a friend today.

Here is the information I have so far:

1. Glycyrrhizin is the main sweet tasting compound from liquorice root.

2. A derivative of glycyrrhizin is glycyrrhetinic acid.

3. Glycyrrhetinic acid inhibits 11β-HSD1 (11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1; 11βHSD1 is an NADPH-
dependent enzyme highly expressed in the liver and adipose tissue).

Nutritional Supplements: Too Much of a Good Thing by Dr. Reader

Submitted by dave on Sun, 06/28/2009 - 6:08pm

The information in the Review of Ophthalmology article by August L. Reader III, MD, FACS, San Francisco, is very interesting. However, as you read it keep in mind that what is presented is a mix of strongly supported evidence and speculation. For example, section on carrot-family herbs contains a lot of pure speculation. It is still interesting and I have presented a portion of the article here.

Click this link to read the whole article: http://www.revophth.com/index.asp?page=1_479.htm

Lowering of intraocular pressure by wild carrot seed extract in rabbits

Submitted by dave on Fri, 06/19/2009 - 7:53am

In normotensive rabbits topical application of Daucus carota seed extract at the concentration of 0.3, 0.6 and 1.2% resulted in mean IOP reduction of 19.33. 23.20 and 25.61% respectively from baseline.

As no significant difference was observed between the change in IOP in 0.6 and 1.2% extract treated groups, 0.6% concentration was chosen for further evaluation in rabbits with experimentally elevated IOP.

Saffron: Golden Secret of Clearer Sight

Submitted by dave on Wed, 05/20/2009 - 7:56pm

The Ayurvedic herb saffron may hold one of the keys to preventing the loss of sight in old age – and may even help to improve vision in people suffering certain blinding eye diseases.

Research by Professor Silvia Bisti of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Vision Science (The Vision Centre) and University of L’Aquila, Italy, has established that saffron has remarkable effects on the genes which regulate the performance of the eye’s key vision cells.

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