In an unbelievably tragic turn of events, Bill Mitchell, co-founder of Bastyr University, died suddenly two days ago only hours after his eldest son also suddenly passed away. Both died from heart attacks. Bill was a friend, mentor and confidante for me, and the world of plant medicine is never going to be the same.

Om mane padme hum.

This is very neat - high isoflavone content in soy based rat food used by animal labs is likely rendering results of many experiments uninterpretable especially those investigating reproductive or hormone dependent cancers…..

How isoflavone levels in common rodent diets can interfere with the value of animal models and with experimental results.: Jensen MN, Ritskes-Hoitinga M. Lab Anim. 2007 Jan;41(1):1-18

Phytoestrogens are a diverse group of plant-derived compounds structurally or functionally mimicking mammalian oestrogens. A variety of effects, in vitro, in animal models and in humans, have been attributed to these compounds. It is generally not appreciated that many commercial rodent diets are formulated with soy as a source of protein and thus large daily doses of phytoestrogens in the form of isoflavones are delivered to the animals. The content of isoflavones in laboratory diets depends on a number of factors and, therefore, varies considerably, both between different formulations, and also from batch to batch of the same formulation. Dietary isoflavones can influence a number of different endpoints, rendering the dietary levels of such compounds an important experimental factor to consider. The levels of isoflavones in common laboratory diets are reviewed in relation to the dietary levels influencing different endpoints.

PMID: 17234046 [PubMed - in process]

That’s right. Essiac, at least in its promotional aspect, is a scam. Sure, a couple of the herbs contain compounds that have anti-cancer activity in vitro, ( so do all berries - so what) but to imagine that a tea blend is going to deal with advanced malignancy is delusional. Its really time that herbalists stopped tacitly promoting the stuff and got on with the job of meeting challenging diagnoses with the best botanical tools available rather than promoting misconceptions about this uninteresting and unproven formula.

Trial of Essiac to Ascertain Its Effect in Women with Breast Cancer (TEA-BC).:
Zick SM, Sen A, Feng Y, Green J, Olatunde S, Boon HJ Altern Complement Med. 2006 Dec;12(10):971-80

Background: Breast cancer is a major cause of morbidity, mortality, and medical expenditures among women in Canada. Essiac (Resperintrade mark Canada Limited, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada), a blend of at least four herbs (burdock root [Arctium lappa], Indian rhubarb [Rheum palmatum], sheep sorrel [Rumex acetosella], and the inner bark of slippery elm [Ulmus fulva or U. rubra]), has become one of the more popular herbal remedies for breast-cancer treatment, secondary prevention, improving quality of life, and controlling negative side-effects of conventional breast-cancer treatment. Objectives: Our primary objective was to determine the difference in health-related quality of life (HR-QOL), as assessed by the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy Breast Cancer Version, between women who are new Essiac users (since breast cancer diagnosis) and those who have never used Essiac. Secondary endpoints included differences in depression, anxiety, fatigue, rate of adverse events, and prevalence of complications or benefits associated with Essiac during standard breast-cancer treatment. Additionally, we described the pattern of use of Essiac in this cohort of women. Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study in 510 women, randomly chosen from the Ontario Cancer Tumour Registry, with a diagnosis of primary breast cancer in 2003. Results: With the exception changes in a Physical well-being subscale and a relationship with doctor subscale, Essiac did not have a significant effect on HR-QOL or mood states. Even for Physical well-being and relationship with doctor, Essiac seemed to have a negative effect, with Essiac users doing worse than the non-Essiac users. This might be attributed to the fact that the group of users comprised younger women with more advanced stages of breast cancer, and both of these subgroups of patients have been shown to be at a significantly increased risk for negative mood states and/or a decreased sense of well-being. The women were taking low doses (total daily dose 43.6 +/- 30.8 mL) of Essiac that corresponded to the label directions found on most Essiac products. Friends were the most common source of information, and most women were taking Essiac to boost their immune systems or increase their chances of survival. Only 2 women reported minor adverse events, whereas numerous women reported beneficial effects of Essiac. Conclusions: Essiac does not appear to improve HR-QOL or mood states. Future studies are needed to determine whether other clinical outcomes, such as cancer reoccurrence, are affected by Essiac.

PMID: 17212569 [PubMed - in process]

Another study from Pugh, Pasco et al down Mississippi ( that’s really hard for a Brit to spell) way who continue to elucidate the toll-like receptor mediated “pro-inflammatory” effects of botanical polysaccharides including NF-KappaB activation. Here we see TLR2 mediated effects in vivo in mice after 5 days on spirulina ( which is about all anyone can be expected to take)….these guys appear to be rather alone in pursuing this fascinating line of research. Keep watching.

Toll-like receptor 2-dependent activation of monocytes by Spirulina polysaccharide and its immune enhancing action in mice.
Balachandran P, Pugh ND, Ma G, Pasco DS: Int Immunopharmacol. 2006 Dec 5;6(12):1808-14

We reported previously that a high molecular weight polysaccharide fraction (Immulina) from Spirulina was a potent activator of NF-kappa B and induced both IL-1 beta and TNF-alpha mRNAs in THP-1 human monocytes. In the present study, we show that NF-kappa B activation by Immulina is suppressed by antibodies to CD14 and TLR2 but not by antibodies to TLR4. Similarly, NF-kappa B directed luciferase expression was enhanced by Immulina treatment when cells were co-transfected with vectors expressing proteins supporting TLR2- (CD14 and TLR2) but not TLR4-(CD14, TLR4, and MD-2) dependent activation. Mice that consumed a chemically defined chow mixed with an extract containing Immulina exhibited changes in several immune parameters. The ex vivo production of IgA and IL-6 from Peyer’s patch cells was enhanced 2-fold and interferon-gamma production from spleen cells was increased 4-fold in Immulina-treated mice. The enhanced production of these factors was most notable with mice that had consumed this extract for 4 or 5 days. These studies shed light on how Immulina activates cells of the innate immune system and suggests that oral consumption of this polysaccharide can enhance components within both the mucosal and systemic immune systems.

PMID: 17052671 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Immunomodulatory activity of polysaccharide isolated from Angelica sinensis.
Yang T, Jia M, Meng J, Wu H, Mei Q; Int J Biol Macromol. 2006 Nov 15;39(4-5):179-84

The immunomodulatory activities of an Angelica sinensis polysaccharide (AP), purified from the fresh root of A. sinensis Diels, were investigated in vitro in relation to the specificity to immune cells. AP consisted of rhamnose, arabinose, mannose, glucose, galactose with the molar ratio of 1.00:4.54:2.98:11.09:7.45. Cell proliferation results showed that proliferation of total spleen cells, macrophages and T cells were promoted by the action of AP. The treatment of AP increased the production of IL-2 and IFN-gamma, while that of IL-4 was decreased. RT-PCR analysis displayed that the IL-2 and IFN-gamma gene expression were enhanced but the IL-4 gene expression was decreased. Some differences in cytokines secretion pattern were also detected, the expression of IFN-gamma was rapidly augmented while that of IL-2 responded later. The flow cytometry results showed that the percentage of CD4(+)T cell in total spleen cells was remarkably increased by AP, while that of CD8(+)T cell was slightly decreased. In conclusion, AP has immunomodulatory activity by regulating expression of Th1 and Th2 related cytokines. The time-effect relation of cytokines response also suggests that macrophages and natural killer cells involved in nonspecific immunity were primary activated, and helper T cell were secondarily affected by AP.

PMID: 16839602 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Who DOES he think he is? Sounds like Tom Cruise…? Team America…?

The graph here shows (in blue) the number of opinion and editorial pieces (other articles) indexed on Medline authored by Edzard Ernst over the last 8 years compared to the number of so called “proper” systematic reviews. As you can see his opinions are outnumbering his “real” publications (if you can call systematic reviews real, which is of course a stretch) and are increasingly getting airplay, despite the fact thay are just his opinions. And as far as herbal medicine (never mind the rest of “CAM” is concerned) his opinions are largely a load of bollocks.

“We have a fundamental rule for the Integral Approach, which is: when a knowledge discipline makes claims about its own discipline, listen to it. When it makes claims about other disciplines, don’t.”

Ken Wilber, Integral Institute, 2007

The effect of modified citrus pectin on urinary excretion of toxic elements.
Eliaz I, Hotchkiss AT, Fishman ML, Rode D:Phytother Res. 2006 Oct;20(10):859-64

This study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of modified citrus pectin (MCP) on the urinary excretion of toxic elements in healthy individuals. MCP is a reduced molecular weight pectin (weight-average molar mass = 15,400) that is mostly linear homogalacturonan with a 3.8% degree of esterification and approximately 10% rhamnogalacturonan II based on the presence of 2-keto-3-deoxy-octonic acid. Subjects ingested 15 g of MCP (PectaSol, EcoNugenics Inc., Santa Rosa, California 95407) each day for 5 days and 20 g on day 6. Twenty-four hour urine samples were collected on day 1 and day 6 for comparison with baseline. The urine samples were analysed for toxic and essential elements. In the first 24 h of MCP administration the urinary excretion of arsenic increased significantly (130%, p < 0.05). On day 6, urinary excretion was increased significantly for cadmium (150%, p < 0.05). In addition, lead showed a dramatic increase in excretion (560%, p < 0.08). This pilot trial provides the first evidence that oral administration of MCP increases significantly the urinary excretion of toxic metals in subjects with a ‘normal’ body load of metals. It is suggested that systemic chelation of toxic metals by MCP may in part be attributable to the presence of rhamnogalacturonan II, which has been shown previously to chelate metals.

PMID: 16835878 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]