Elderberry Extract may help people recover from flu faster

Traditionally, elderberry has been used to treat flu and colds for a long time. Scientists have also carried out clinical trials on patients suffering from different kinds of flu. They found that elderberry extracts helped people to recover faster. They also tested elderberry extracts on flu viruses in vitro. They found that the extracts inhibited the flu viruses.
More recently scientists have tested elderberry extracts to see what effect they would have on the H1N1 virus (which is related to the virus that causes swine flu). They found that chemical compounds called flavonoids from the elderberry bind to the surface of the H1N1 virus and interfere with the virus’s ability to enter human cells. They thought that this would interfere with the spread of the virus in the infected person. They expected that people taking elderberry would suffer less severe flu symptoms. So they decided to carry out a clinical trial with elderberry extract on patients suffering with flu.

They carried out the trial in Shanghai, China, in March-April 2009. The patients were aged 16-60 and all had had flu-like symptoms for less than 24 hours. They had at least three of the following symptoms: fever, headache, muscle aches, coughing, mucus discharge and blocked nose. Half of the patients received elderberry extract lozenges and the other half received lozenges that looked and tasted like the elderberry lozenges but did not contain any elderberry extract.

At the beginning of the trial 15 patients in the elderberry group and 9 in the other group had fevers ranging from 37.3-38.8 degrees C. After 24 hours all the patients taking elderberry had lower temperatures and after 48 hours they all had normal temperatures. Most of the patients taking the placebo (lozenges without elderberry extract) still had high temperatures after 48 hours. Similarly after 48 hours most of the patients taking elderberry had no more headache, whereas the other patients had worse headaches. In fact all symptoms improved in the group taking the elderberry lozenges.

The author of this study concludes that this particular elderberry extract “can rapidly relieve influenze-like symptoms” and that it is similar to or even better than antiviral drugs for treating flu like symptoms. It does not have any of the side effects of antiviral drugs, so is much safer.

Scientists are always very careful not to jump to hasty conclusions, so, as this was a very small clinical trial, the author suggests that more research needs to be done. He also suggests that this particular extract should be tested against H5N1 flu virus (the one that causes bird flu) because scientists have already demonstrated that flavonoids from elderberry extract stick to the bird flu virus in vitro.

References

Marissa Oppel-Sutter, MS. Elderberry Extract Shows Activity for Treating Influenza Symptoms in Pilot Trial.

Reviewed: Kong F. Pilot clinical study on a proprietary elderberry extract: efficacy in addressing influenza symptoms. Online Journal of Pharmacology and Pharmacokinetics. 2009; 5:32-43
HerbalGram 85 page 21
http://www.herbalgram.org/

St. John's wort may cool hot flashes

Most people who have heard of St. John's wort know that it is used as a herbal antidepressant. However researchers have also investigated the herb's effects on menopausal symptoms, focussing on its impact on mood. But no-one, until recently, had investigated its effect on the physical symptoms of menopause.

Marjan Khajehei, of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in Iran, who carried out a new study, found that St John's Wort can also be used to treat menopausal hot flashes. 

Khajehei and her colleagues carried out a placebo controlled trial, giving either St John's Wort, or a placebo to a group of women (who did not know whether they were taking the herb or the placebo). After eight weeks they found that the women who had taken the herb noticed that they were suffering from fewer hot flashes, that they were less severe and were lasting for less time..

Khajehei and her colleagues reported their findings in the journal Menopause.

The study included 100 women who were 50 years old, on average, and had been having moderate to severe hot flashes at least once per day. The women were randomly assigned to take either drops containing St. John's wort extract or placebo drops three times a day for eight weeks.

While women in both groups saw their hot flashes improve, those taking the herbal extract had a better response, on average.

St. John's wort contains estrogen-like plant compounds called phytoestrogens, and it's possible that these compounds explain the benefits seen in this study, according to Khajehei. However, she said, further research is needed to confirm that the herb eases hot flashes and that phytoestrogens are the reason.

Contraindications
Khajehei said that St. John's wort is generally considered safe when taken as directed, but since phytoestrogens have mild estrogen-like effects in the body, women who have a history of breast or endometrial cancers should talk with their doctors before starting St. John's wort.
The herb has also been shown to interact with certain medications, including antidepressants, the heart medication digoxin and the blood thinner warfarin. Experts generally recommend that people on any medication talk with their doctors before starting a herbal remedy.

SOURCE: Menopause, February 2010.


Fri Jan 15, 2010 10:15am ESTNEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The popular herbal remedy St. John's wort may help ease menopausal hot flashes, a small study suggests.

Herbal medicine in post earthquake Haiti

Seeking to find a meaning for the earthquake in Haiti, some news accounts have portrayed ideas of why Mother Nature and the land would create such devastation, while others have attempted to put the earthquake in the context of Haitian Vodou* and spirituality. Common in many of these stories are themes of punishment, wrath, and pity. But in this time of tragedy, a Haitian traditional medicine system offers a more positive relationship for the people, their religion, and the land.

The importance of this Vodou-based medicine system, which can be used to treat illnesses, infection, pain, and other ailments,1 is magnified as the slow-moving pace of medical and food aid continues. More than a week after the earthquake, hundreds of people in Chatuley, Haiti could be seen gathering in a field, some cooking potatoes from the surrounding fields and others boiling herbal remedies of leafs, twigs, and spices to avoid infection.2 A week earlier, a UN peacekeeper observed Vodou practitioners providing medical care for survivors in the slums of Cite Soleil because other organized conventional medical care had not yet arrived.3

“Vodou medicine is very active today in treating patients, even those with broken bones or [collapsed] organs,” said Max G. Beauvoir, PhD, founder of the Temple of Yehwe in Haiti (e-mail, January 25, 2010), which aims to foster the understanding of Vodou.4

Prior to the earthquake, conventional Western medicine was available in the capital of Port-au-Prince and other large cities, but was not easily accessible by the majority of the population.5

“Haitians fend for themselves,” said Nicole Miller, a mambo, or Vodou priestess of the Temple of Yehwe (e-mail, January 27, 2010). “The Haitian people have been using herbal medicines for generations and will continue to do so. It is our tradition and has always been a safe and better way for healing—physically and spiritually.”

The system traditional medicine commonly used in Haiti includes 3 main levels of practice that are believed to work synergistically and aim to consider the connection between a person’s mind, spirit, body, society, and universe.5 The most prevalent and “simple” level includes non-professionals, such as family members or close friends who recommend herbs or infusions based on a moral responsibility to others. The middle level includes professional healers, such as hugans or mambos, vodou priests and priestesses who serve as guardians of ancestral knowledge and tradition, as well as Doktè-Fèy (leaf doctor), Fanm-Chaj (midwife), and Ganga (healer). The highest level of expertise is referred to as a “masterly medical system,” and is based upon a dynamic life energy force that can be tapped into by professionals to cure certain ailments. Professional healers use herbal baths, teas, infusions, and ointments in order to give to or take away energy from the patient.

This complex system of traditional medicine features contributions from Haitians’ African ancestors and indigenous groups, and it varies depending upon the plant life of the region in which it is practiced. Herbal treatment is an important aspect, and it is considered essential to collect herbs from the wild only after proper respect has been given to the plant through dance, song, or monetary payment.

The current body of research and documented information on Haitian traditional and vodou medicine is sparse. American ethnobotanists wrote in 1993 that the religious, cultural, and political atmosphere in Haiti has made studying the country’s enthnomedicine difficult.6

Some US-based natural medicine organizations are conducting relief efforts in Haiti and are using or planning to use information and herbs from Haitian traditional medicine.

Herbs for Orphans, a US nonprofit, has been supplying Haitian orphanages with herbs and nutritional dietary supplements for about 2 years. When the earthquake happened, the group expanded its efforts into the larger community,7 and it now has 2 teams working in Haiti. In about a week the teams plan to come back to the United States to be re-supplied, and then plan to return to Haiti.

The nonprofit Natural Doctors International (NDI), meanwhile, is currently organizing a Haiti relief effort made up of experts in the naturopathic community.8

“It is so important to mobilize as soon as logistically possible,” said Sabine Thomas, ND, who has partnered with NDI to lead the relief effort (oral communication and e-mail, January 25, 2010).

Dr. Thomas, whose parents are Haitian and who has family currently in Haiti, is currently collecting donations and assembling a group of North American naturopathic doctors (NDs) to travel to the island nation. She is also coordinating with various organizations in Haiti that use and promote natural medicine, including the Temple of Yehwe.

“The innate use of traditional medicine will be a huge asset to any naturopathic medical relief effort in Haiti,” she said

“NDI will work with anyone in Haiti that is in need,” said Tabatha Parker, ND, executive director of NDI (e-mail, January 25, 2010). “We would be honored to work with any Haitian traditional medicine practitioners. We look forward to working with the Haitian peoples and openly accept their use of traditional, herbal and vodou medicines.”

In addition to naturopathic physicians, the NDI team may also include herbalists, massage therapists, nutritionists, and other natural medicine practitioners, including some with training in emergency medicine and disaster relief. Conditions such as mental health issues, insomnia, and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), are already setting in, and having naturopathic physicians who address the mind, body, and spirit will aid in healing these types of multi-factorial conditions that arise in post-disaster settings, said Dr. Thomas.

“We may not be surgeons, but we are primary care practitioners,” she said. “As the shock of the earthquake settles in, people will benefit from the holistic care that naturopathic physicians excel at providing.

According to Dr. Thomas, the NDI team is planning to work at preventing and treating wound infections by using various modalities, such as botanical and homeopathic medicines. NDs, who often excel at preventative and chronic care, can also address Haiti’s high rate of diabetes and hypertension, which will be accelerated by the complete change in flora and nutrition after the earthquake, she said.

“In Nicaragua, naturopathic physicians have been working for over 5 years in the Ministry of Health system treating both chronic and acute conditions very successfully,” said Dr. Parker. “Our use of natural medicine has been embraced by the Nicaraguan culture, and I am confident that Haitians will benefit from such holistic medicine, especially during a time of such disjointedness and chaos.”

Because traditional medicine is mainly used by the rural population, it could play a big role in helping people heal as the Haitian government moves earthquake survivors from Port-au-Prince into the countryside, said Dr. Thomas. The situation will give Haitians the opportunity to regain exposure to the traditional medicine that their parents and grandparents taught them, but that they may have since forgotten, she said.

“Chances are that [herbal medicine] is probably what is available there,” she continued. “My hope is that there will be a complete revival of sustainable use and access to natural and traditional medicine.”

*While most Western news reports use the spelling “voodoo,” Haitians commonly use the spelling “vodou,” or “vodoun.”

More information is available at Herbs for Orphans’ website, NDI’s website, and the Temple of Yehwe's website.

—Lindsay Stafford
HerbalEGram: Volume 7, Number 2, February 2010

References

1. Nicolas G., DeSilva A., Grey K., et al. Using a multicultural lens to understand illnesses among Haitians living in America. Professional Psychology: Research and Politics. 2006:37(6);702-707.

2. McLean J. City ‘must have 20,000 dead, but nobody’s talking about it.’ The Toronto Star. January 20, 2010. Available at: http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/753092--city-must-have-20-000-dead-but-nobody-s-talking-about-it#article. Accessed January 21, 2010.

3. Schneider A. Rush of medical aid to Haiti follows history of suffering. January 15, 2010. AOL News. Available at: http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/rush-of-medical-aid-to-haiti-follows-history-of-suffering/19318488. Accessed January 27, 2010.

4. What is the Temple of Yehwe? The Temple of Yehwe website. Available at: http://www.vodou.org/whatis.htm. Accessed January 27, 2010.

5. Of herbs. The Temple of Yehwe website. Available at: http://www.vodou.org/of_herbs1.htm. Accessed January 26, 2010.

6. Paul A., Cox P. An ethnobotanical survey of the uses for Citrus aurantium (Rutaceae) in Haiti. Economic Botany. 1995:49(3);249-256.

7. Homepage. Herbs 4 Orphans website. Available at: http://www.herbs4orphans.org/. Accessed February 1, 2010.

8. Help the earthquake victims in Haiti. Natural Doctors International website. Available at: http://www.ndimed.org/api/Index.cfm/cms.page/i/3633/t/Haiti.htm. Accessed January 21, 2010.

American Botanical Council, 6200 Manor Rd, Austin, TX 78723

Phone: 512-926-4900
Fax: 512-926-2345
Email: abc@herbalgram.org