АНОНС: Доказательная Аюрведа., Лекарственные препараты.

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Indian J. Exp Biol. 2000 Feb;38(2):119-28.
Adaptogenic activity of Siotone, a polyherbal formulation of Ayurvedic rasayanas.
Bhattacharya SK, Bhattacharya A, Chakrabarti A.
Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221 005, India.
Siotone (ST) is a herbal formulation comprising of Withania somnifera, Ocimum sanctum, Asparagus racemosus, Tribulus terristris and shilajit, all of which are classified in Ayurveda as rasayanas which are reputed to promote physical and mental health, improve defence mechanisms of the body and enhance longevity. These attributes are similar to the modern concept of adaptogenic agents, which are, known to afford protection of the human physiological system against diverse stressors. The present study was undertaken to investigate the adaptogenic activity of ST against chronic unpredictable, but mild, footshock stress induced perturbations in behaviour (depression), glucose metabolism, suppressed male sexual behaviour, immunosuppression and cognitive dysfunction in CF strain albino rats. Gastric ulceration, adrenal gland and spleen weights, ascorbic acid and corticosterone concentrations of adrenal cortex, and plasma corticosterone levels, were used as the stress indices. Panax ginseng (PG) was used as the standard adaptogenic agent for comparison. Additionally, rat brain levels of tribulin, an endogenous endocoid postulated to be involved in stress, were also assessed in terms of endogenous monoamine oxidase (MAO) A and MAOB inhibitory activity. Chronic unpredictable footshock induced marked gastric ulceration, significant increase in adrenal gland weight and plasma corticosterone levels, with concomitant decreases in spleen weight, and concentrations of adrenal gland ascorbic acid and corticosterone. These effects were attenuated by ST (50 and 100 mg/kg, p.o.) and PG (100 mg/kg, p.o.), administered once daily over a period of 14 days, the period of stress induction. Chronic stress also induced glucose intolerance, suppressed male sexual behaviour, induced behavioural depression (Porsolt's swim despair test and learned helplessness test) and cognitive dysfunction (attenuated retention of learning in active and passive avoidance tests), and immunosuppression (leucocyte migration inhibition and sheep RBC challenged increase in paw oedema in sensitized rats). All these chronic stress-induced perturbations were attenuated, dose-dependently by ST (50 and 100 mg/kg, p.o.) and PG (100 mg/kg, p.o.). Chronic stress-induced increase in rat brain tribulin activity was also reversed by these doses of ST and by PG. The results indicate that ST has significant adaptogenic activity, qualitatively comparable to PG, against a variety of behavioural, biochemical and physiological perturbations induced by unpredictable stress, which has been proposed to be a better indicator of clinical stress than acute stress parameters. The likely contribution of the individual constituents of ST in the observed adaptogenic action of the polyherbal formulation, have been discussed.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.f...l=pubmed_docsum

Am J Clin Nutr. 2000 Aug;72(2 Suppl):624S-36S. Selected herbals and human exercise performance. Bucci LR.
Weider Nutrition International, Salt Lake City, UT 84104-4726, USA. lukeb@weider.com
Herbs have been used throughout history to enhance physical performance, but scientific scrutiny with controlled clinical trials has only recently been used to study such effects. The following herbs are currently used to enhance physical performance regardless of scientific evidence of effect: Chinese, Korean, and American ginsengs; Siberian ginseng, mahuang or Chinese ephedra; ashwagandha; rhodiola; yohimbe; CORDYCEPS: fungus, shilajit or mummio; smilax; wild oats; Muira puama; suma (ecdysterone); Tribulus terrestris; saw palmetto berries; beta-sitosterol and other related sterols; and wild yams (diosgenin). Controlled studies of Asian ginsengs found improvements in exercise performance when most of the following conditions were true: use of standardized root extracts, study duration (>8 wk, daily dose >1 g dried root or equivalent, large number of subjects, and older subjects. Improvements in muscular strength, maximal oxygen uptake, work capacity, fuel homeostasis, serum lactate, heart rate, visual and auditory reaction times, alertness, and psychomotor skills have also been repeatedly documented. Siberian ginseng has shown mixed results. Mahuang, ephedrine, and related alkaloids have not benefited physical performance except when combined with caffeine. Other herbs remain virtually untested. Future research on ergogenic effects of herbs should consider identity and amount of substance or presumed active ingredients administered, dose response, duration of test period, proper experimental controls, measurement of psychological and physiologic parameters (including antioxidant actions), and measurements of performance pertinent to intended uses.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.f...l=pubmed_docsum


Indian J Exp Biol. 1997 Mar;35(3):297-9.
Effect of Trasina, an Ayurvedic herbal formulation, on pancreatic islet superoxide dismutase activity in hyperglycaemic rats.
Bhattacharya SK, Satyan KS, Chakrabarti A.
Department of Pharmacology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India.
Diabetes mellitus was induced in male CF strain rats by streptozotocin (STZ) and hyperglycaemia and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity of pancreatic islet cells was assessed on days 7, 14, 21 and 28. STZ induced significant hyperglycaemia and a concomitant decrease in islet cell SOD activity. Transina (TR), an Ayurvedic herbal formulation comprising of Withania somnifera, Tinospora cordifolia, Eclipta alba, Ocimum sanctum, Picrorrhiza kurroa and shilajit, had little per se effect on blood sugar concentrations and islet SOD activity in euglycaemic rats, in the doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg, p.o. administered once daily for 28 days. However, these doses of TR induced a dose- related decrease in STZ hyperglycaemia and attenuation of STZ induced decrease in islet SOD activity. The results indicate that the earlier reported anti-hyperglycaemic effect of TR may be due to pancreatic islet free radical scavenging activity, the hyperglycaemic activity of STZ being the consequence of decrease in islet SOD activity leading to the accumulation of degenerative oxidative free radicals in islet beta-cells.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.f...l=pubmed_docsum

Neurochem Int. 1997 Feb;30(2):181-90. Systemic administration of defined extracts from Withania somnifera (Indian Ginseng) and Shilajit differentially affects cholinergic but not glutamatergic and GABAergic markers in rat brain.
Schliebs R, Liebmann A, Bhattacharya SK, Kumar A, Ghosal S, Bigl V.
Paul Flechsig Institute for Brain Research, Department of Neurochemistry, University of Leipzig, Germany.
Although some promising results have been achieved by acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, an effective therapeutic intervention in Alzheimer's disease still remains an important goal. Sitoindosides VII-X, and withaferin-A, isolated from aqueous methanol extract from the roots of cultivated varieties of Withania somnifera (known as Indian Ginseng), as well as Shilajit, a pale-brown to blackish brown exudation from steep rocks of the Himalaya mountain, are used in Indian medicine to attenuate cerebral functional deficits, including amnesia, in geriatric patients. The present investigation was conducted to assess whether the memory-enhancing effects of plant extracts from Withania somnifera and Shilajit are owing to neurochemical alterations of specific transmitter systems. Therefore, histochemistry to analyse acetylcholinesterase activity as well as receptor autoradiography to detect cholinergic, glutamatergic and GABAergic receptor subtypes were performed in brain slices from adult male Wistar rats, injected intraperitoneally daily with an equimolar mixture of sitoindosides VII-X and withaferin-A (prepared from Withania somnifera) or with Shilajit, at doses of 40 mg/kg of body weight for 7 days. Administration of Shilajit led to reduced acetylcholinesterase staining, restricted to the basal forebrain nuclei including medial septum and the vertical limb of the diagonal band. Systemic application of the defined extract from Withania somnifera, however, led to differential effects on AChE activity in basal forebrain nuclei: slightly enhanced AChE activity was found in the lateral septum and globus pallidus, whereas in the vertical diagonal band AChE activity was reduced following treatment with sitoindosides VII-X and withaferin-A. These changes were accompanied by enhanced M1-muscarinic cholinergic receptor binding in lateral and medial septum as well as in frontal cortices, whereas the M2-muscarinic receptor binding sites were increased in a number of cortical regions including cingulate, frontal, piriform, parietal and retrosplenial cortex. Treatment with Shilajit or the defined extract from Withania somnifera affected neither GABAA and benzodiazepine receptor binding nor NMDA and AMPA glutamate receptor subtypes in any of the cortical or subcortical regions studied. The data suggest that Shilajit and the defined extract from Withania somnifera affect preferentially events in the cortical and basal forebrain cholinergic signal transduction cascade. The drug-induced increase in cortical muscarinic acetylcholine receptor capacity might partly explain the cognition-enhancing and memory-improving effects of extracts from Withania somnifera observed in animals and humans.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.f...l=pubmed_docsum

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Transforming ‘traditional anecdotes’ to ‘evidence-based medicine’ and its relation to diabetes.
The article by Tiwari [1] is a timely compilation which may open up new vistas in realizing the therapeutic potential of Ayurveda in the treatment of diabetes and other chronic diseases. Diabetes mellitus is considered as a metabolic, inflammatory and vascular disease, whose pathogenesis originates from multiple cellular alterations and gene–environment interactions.
It is interesting to note that Ayurveda recognizes Vata–Vriddhi (oxidative stress) as the cause of majority of diseases. Extensive research directed to better understanding of the pathogenesis of diabetes now points out that oxidative stress could be the common denominator linking various molecular disorders of diabetes [2]. The theoretical importance of oxidative stress in diabetes is highlighted by its potential double impact on metabolic dysfunction on the one hand, and the vascular system on the other. Thus, pancreatic β-cells producing insulin as well as its target adipose or muscle cells can be negatively affected, as can blood elements and various cell types in the large and small blood vessels implicated in diabetic complications. The importance of oxidative stress is also supported by various recent findings in which most of the existing classes of anti-diabetic and antihypertensive agents produce beneficial effects partly by correcting oxidationrelated modifications.
By nature, plants make more antioxidants to protect themselves from ultraviolet light from the sun and environmental stress. Therefore, there is also logic in that medicinal plants have strong Vata-Nasak (antioxidant) properties that should be exploited by research to treat multifactorial diseases like diabetes. The fact that a number of tissues are susceptible to oxidative stress in diabetes, the most susceptible being the pancreatic β-cells, suggests that intervention against oxidative stress could be a powerful therapeutic approach in both prevention and treatment of diabetes and other chronic diseases. The idea that medicinal plants with antioxidant properties may also prevent the disease is conceivable, because many of the oxidative reactions and abnormalities can already be evidenced in prediabetic states, long before diabetes is detected.
Recent molecular investigations all over the world highlight the power of herbs. These investigations also create much hope in transforming ‘traditional anecdotes’ to ‘evidence-based medicine’. For example, curcumin, the product of turmeric has been extensively studied recently [3], and is shown to exhibit intracellular molecular actions which modulate specific cell-surface receptors, nuclear receptors, ion channels, transporters, etc. These mechanistic studies position curcumin to become a new ‘lead’ or ‘chemical entity’ in prevention and treatment of certain cancers, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, diabetes, atherosclerosis, cystic fibrosis and many other chronic diseases. While the popular prescription drug ‘aricept’ has been shown to offer no real benefit to Alzheimer’s patients, a recent study [4] found that turmeric holds the potential to fight against Alzheimer’s disease. In this study, turmeric not only inhibited accumulation of beta amyloid, a protein in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients, but also broke up the existing plaques.
There has not been a serious institutional effort to test ayurvedic treatment leads in early human trials. Large pharmaceutical companies have little commercial or professional incentive to test low-cost, nonproprietary treatments. However, a paradigm shift in this direction is underway in India through the diabetes herbal project of CSIR, under the New Millennium Indian Technology Leadership Initiative, whose results are expected to move herbal medicine into the mainstream.
The transformation of digitalis from a folk medicine, foxglove to a modern drug, digoxin, illustrates principles of modern pharmacology that allow development of safe and effective drugs from nature. In her book Regulating Bioprospecting, Gehl Sampath has recently voiced her concern that ‘developing nations are not mining their green gold’. There is no doubt that India’s biodiversity offers greatest bioprospecting opportunity, but we have to address the important issues of standardization, effectiveness and safety with regard to traditional medicine. In treating diseases like diabetes, we need to have collaborations between conventional and traditional care providers to improve results and help reform the health sector in developing nations.
1. Tiwari, A. K., Curr. Sci., 2005, 88, 1043–1051.
2. Ceriello, A. and Motz, E., Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol., 2004, 24, 816–823.
3. Balasubramanyam, M., Koteswari, A. A., Kumar, R. S., Monickaraj, S. F., Maheswari, J. U. and Mohan, V., J. Biosci., 2003, 28, 715–721.
4. Yang, F. et al., J. Biol. Chem., 2005, 280, 5892–5901.
M. BALASUBRAMANYAM Madras Diabetes Research Foundation, 6B, Conran Smith Road, Gopalapuram, Chennai 600 086, India. e-mail: drbalu@mvdsc.org
CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 89, NO. 3, AUGUST 2005.
http://www.iisc.ernet.in/currsci/aug102005/428.pdf