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Herba Leonuri Can Help Prevent Heart Diseases
National University of Singapore (NUS) research studies show that Herba Leonuri, commonly known as Motherwort Herb,
has significant anti-oxidative effects and can help prevent heart diseases. Its ability to eradicate the negative effects of free
radicals matches even that of Vitamin C.
NUS Senior Research Fellow Dr. Zhu Yi Zhun said that the tests that he ran on rats in the experiments show that certain components
in Herba Leonuri has anti-oxidative effects and can prevent ischemia effectively. The rate of death after heart attacks in
rats that were injected with Herba Leonuri dropped from 50% to 30%.
Oxidation is the main reason for causing diseases. Oxygen free radicals can eliminate bacteria that attack the body and are an
important part of the human immune system. However, excessive amounts can result in the oxygen free radicals attacking the cells,
causing cell death, thus leading to aging and various diseases.
"Anti-oxidative effects" refers to solving the problem of the oxidation pressure. The oxidation pressure is closely related
to the cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, menopausal problems in women and cancer, among many other diseases.
Taking cardiovascular disease for example, when the body's anti-oxidizing system loses its balance, Oxygen free radicals will attack the
"bad cholesterol" and oxidize them, forming oxidized substances that accumulate in the walls of the arteries. This
is the main reason for atherosclerosis which can lead to clotting and bursting of arteries, and subsequently causing diseases and
symptoms such as stroke, heart disease, high blood pressure, chest pains and breathlessness.
Dr. Zhu said "Herba Leonuri is a common Chinese herb that is usually used to improve blood circulation, regulate
menstrual cycle and for anti-inflammatory and diuretic purposes. The Book of Compendium of Materia Medica also mentioned
that Herba Leonuri is beneficial to the heart but scientific evidence is not enough yet as of now. We hope this research will
let more people know that Chinese therapy can also be very scientific."
He had partnered with a local company in extracting and manufacturing Purified Herba Leonuri and marketing it as a health product.
This product is expected to hit the markets in a few months' time. They will also conduct clinical tests with patients, in
hope that Health Sciences Authority (HSA) will permit its use as a preventive drug for heart disease.
However, not all patients are suitable for taking Herba Leonuri to fight heart disease, for example, patients with hemorrhagic
stroke caused by cerebrovascular accident are not suitable for taking Herba Leonuri.
According to Dr. Zhu, three out of four stroke patients are is due to insufficient blood supply at the brain, the remaining one
caused by blood clot forming in the brain due to cerebrovascular accident. This 2nd type of stroke patient is not suitable for
taking Herba Leonuri.
Since Herba Leonuri has significant anti-oxidative effects and oxidation pressure is closely related to diseases like cancer,
does it mean that Herba Leonuri also has anti-cancer effects?
Dr. Zhu said "Theoretically speaking, it has the potential to do so, but more study is needed to prove this."
He also pointed out, although Herba Leonuri has the same capability as Vitamin C in eliminating free radicals, but
this does not mean that Herba Leonuri can totally replace Vitamin C. This is because Vitamin C still has other functions
which Herba Leonuri does not have, like replenishing the body's vitamins and keeping the skin moist.
Attaining The Standard Of Western Drugs
One of the main reasons why traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is not recognized by western doctors is because TCM manufacturers
are usually unable to guarantee that the chemical content of every single pill of the same medicine is the same.
The patented extraction process jointly developed by Dr. Zhu and Fudan University is the answer to this problem.
His team used this method to get rid of the components that does not have anti-heart disease effects and he can accurately extract
the same amount of chemical content for drug manufacturing each time.
He said "We use the method of fingerprinting to show that the active ingredients in every single pill are the same. In other
words, using this method to process Herba Leonuri will allow us to attain the standard of western drugs."
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