http://www.herbological.com/herblog Sun, 07 Dec 2008 19:11:51 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Bakrim, A., A. Maria, et al. (2008). "Ecdysteroids in spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.): Biosynthesis, transport and regulation of levels." Plant Physiology and Biochemistry 46(10): 844-854. Many plant species produce phytoecdysteroids (PEs: i.e. analogues of insect steroid hormones). There is increasing evidence that PEs are used as a chemical defence by plants ... http://www.herbological.com/herblog/?p=227 Write to Sue Evans in Australia and ask her for a pdf of this recent paper, based on her doctoral thesis. Its important. sue.evans@scu.edu.au Changing the knowledge base in Western herbal medicine.: Soc Sci Med. ... http://www.herbological.com/herblog/?p=226 This is interesting - a week to get from SJW induction of 3A4 to return to steady state pre-induction levels of a 3A4 substrate. It suggests that week-on / week-off pulsing is a good bet for "tricking" the hepatic mixed oxidase system into maintaining steady levels of a 3A4 ... http://www.herbological.com/herblog/?p=225 The same flavonoid reported in the last post, this time extracted from Smilax, inhibiting cervical cancer cell line HeLa. Kaempferol-7-O-beta-D-glucoside (KG) isolated from Smilax china L. rhizome induces G2/M phase arrest and apoptosis on HeLa cells in a p53-independent manner.: Cancer Lett. 2008 Jun ... http://www.herbological.com/herblog/?p=224 Another study demonstrating the the anticancer properties of ginkgo and its constituents - now with pancreatic cancer. Ginkgo biloba extract kaempferol inhibits cell proliferation and induces apoptosis in pancreatic cancer cells. J Surg Res. 2008 ... http://www.herbological.com/herblog/?p=223 The Weber-headed study by Bastyr, using NCCAM money and featuring Harvard Pharma pimp Biederman used an ineffective product to treat a so-called condition for which no practitioner in their right mind would ever use the herb, based on a completely hokey survey by some pharmacists in Texas ... http://www.herbological.com/herblog/?p=222 Biederman's career highlights include a series of clinical trials to "prove" the efficacy of the ADHD drug atomoxetine (Strattera). Unlike Ritalin, this is not a direct stimulant, but appears to function as a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor. (indirect stimulant for FWIW) The drug is made by Ely Lilly, one of ... http://www.herbological.com/herblog/?p=221 One of the original  questions posed about this whole fiasco of a study is why on earth would a progressive-thinking center of excellence in natural medicine even contemplate trialling any medicine for so called ADHD?  Labels such as ADHD are arguably fictive (or philosophically nominalist) descriptors that do not refer ... http://www.herbological.com/herblog/?p=220 According to the full text The Bastyr Hypericum/ADHD trial used a SJW product supplied by Vital Nutrients Inc that is "marketed as standardized to 0.3% hypericin". The text further relates this material was "independently" verified prior to the trial, and also suggests that the extract was not a ... http://www.herbological.com/herblog/?p=219 As Dr Yarnell rightly points out - one really cannot criticize a study without reading the full text. So now we have the study, and the story continues to unravel. Here is one little issue..... The material used in the study contained, when tested at the end of the 8 week ... http://www.herbological.com/herblog/?p=218