Intake of Novel Red Clover Supplementation for 12 Weeks Improves Bone Status in Healthy Menopausal Women

Red clover (RC) contains phytoestrogens (i.e., isoflavones: formononetin, biochanin A, genistein, and daidzein), which bind to the estrogen receptors and can elicit a weak agonist, antagonist, or partial agonist antagonist response. The effect depends on the compound and the target tissue. The isoflavones are activated when the glucose residue is removed by the bacterial enzymes in the gastrointestinal flora. Thus, the bioavailability of phytoestrogens is particularly dependent on the bacterial flora, which varies considerably between individuals [10]. Unlike soy, RC has a high content of both formononetin and biochanin A, and studies in ovariectomised rat models have shown that formononetin contributes to bone formation process by stimulation differentiation of osteoblasts [14, 15, 25].

By Ivar Leidus (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
 

Efficacy of Auricular Therapy for Pain Management: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Pain is a highly prevalent and costly health problem in the United States. Back pain, in particular, affects at least 84% of individuals at some point during their lives [1, 2], and pain recurs in up to 80% of cases within 1 year [2]. The pain can occur at any age but is most prevalent during the third decade of life [2]. In the United States, back pain is the second most common cause of disability [3], the second leading cause of lost workplace productivity (after the common cold) [4], and the third most common reason for visiting a health provider [5]. These effects place an enormous burden on U.S. society and health care systems, as reflected by an estimated cost ranging from $84.1 billion (direct cost of health care) to $624.8 billion (indirect cost including loss of productivity) per year [6–8]. Pain in its various manifestations is also responsible for work absences, which create an enormous economic burden on individuals, families, communities, industry, and government [1, 9].

Image sourced from Wikimedia Commons. Available here. Alphabetisches Verzeichnis zur ICD-10-WHO Version 2019, Band 3. Deutsches Institut für Medizinische Dokumentation und Information (DIMDI), Köln, 2019, S. 456.

The History, Mechanism, and Clinical Application of Auricular Therapy in Traditional Chinese Medicine

Auricular therapy includes acupuncture, electroacupuncture, acupressure, lasering, cauterization, moxibustion, and bloodletting in the auricle. For 2500 years, people have employed auricular therapy for treating diseases, but the methods have been limited to bloodletting and cauterization. Only after 1957, the international scientific community became aware that the map of the ear resembles an inverted fetus, its introduction has led to auricular acupuncture (AA) becoming a more systemic approach, and, following the identification and standardization of more precise points, AA has been employed in clinical applications.

This sketch of a human ear appeared in a 1905 advertisement for hearing aids. Image sourced from Wikimedia Commons. Available here.

Eye exercises of acupoints: their impact on myopia and visual symptoms in Chinese rural children

 Chinese traditional “eye exercises of acupoints” have been advocated as a compulsory measure to reduce visual symptoms, as well as to retard the development of refractive error, among Chinese students for decades. The exercises are comprised of a 5-min, bilateral eye acupoint self-massage. This study evaluated the possible effect of these eye exercises among Chinese rural students.

See page for author [CC BY 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Taste receptors if the gut: emerging roles in health and disease

Recent progress in unravelling the nutrient-sensing mechanisms in the taste buds of the tongue has triggered studies on the existence and role of chemosensory cells in the gut. Indeed, the gastrointestinal tract is the key interface between food and the human body and can sense basic tastes in much the same way as the tongue, through the use of similar G-protein-coupled taste receptors. These receptors ‘taste’ the luminal content and transmit signals that regulate nutrient transporter expression and nutrient uptake, and also the release of gut hormones and neurotransmitters involved in the regulation of energy and glucose homeostasis.

By Internet Archive Book Images [No restrictions], via Wikimedia Commons

Winter Congee Recipe for Colds & Flu

This simple rice soup is easily digested and assimilated, tonifies the blood and qi, harmonizes digestion, and is demulcent and nourishing.

By sfllaw from Restaurant Lotte Furama [http://www.google.ca/local?f=l&hl=en&q=lotte+furama&near=Montreal,+QC&ll=45.508497,-73.564432&spn=0.013383,0.014977 in Montréal, Québec] (Flickr) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Effects of Lung Support Formula on respiratory symptoms among older adults: results of a three-month follow-up study in Shanghai, China

With the acceleration of industrialization in low or middle-income nations, the prevalence of respiratory symptoms among older adults is even more significant now in China. Contemporary treatments using Western medicine, such as anti-inflammatory regimens, may be effective in relieving the symptoms, but may have unexpected side effects. Some natural products may be effective in improving respiratory functions, yet their efficacies remain to be examined in randomized, placebo-controlled studies. To evaluate the effects of Lung Support Formula, a nutritional supplement which contains naturally derived Chinese herbal medicines, we conducted a clinical study among older adults in Shanghai, China.

By Sigismund von Dobschütz (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Chinese Herbal Medicine Treatment Improves the Overall Survival Rate of Individuals with Hypertension among Type 2 Diabetes Patients and Modulates In Vitro Smooth Muscle Cell Contractility

 The Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) prescription patterns of hypertension individuals among T2D patients have yet to be characterized. This study, therefore, aimed to determine their prescription patterns and evaluate the CHM effect. A cohort of one million randomly sampled cases from the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) was used to investigate the overall survival rate of CHM users, and prescription patterns. After matching CHM and non-CHM users for age, gender and date of diagnosis of hypertension, 980 subjects for each group were selected. The CHM users were characterized with slightly longer duration time from diabetes to hypertension, and more cases for hyperlipidaemia. The cumulative survival probabilities were higher in CHM users than in non-CHM users.

By Cpl. Christina Oneil [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
 

Kampo Medicine: Evaluation of the Pharmacological Activity of 121 Herbal Drugs on GABAA and 5-HT3A Receptors

Kampo medicine is a form of Japanese phytotherapy originating from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). During the last several decades, much attention has been paid to the pharmacological effects of these medical plants and their constituents. However, in many cases, a systematic screening of Kampo remedies to determine pharmacologically relevant targets is still lacking. In this study, a broad screening of Kampo remedies was performed to look for pharmacologically relevant 5-HT3A and GABAA receptor ligands.

Shutterstock. (n.d.). [Close-up of Andrographis Paniculata herbal antipyretic capsules]. Shutterstock. Available here.

Qing Bi Tang For Allergy Season

Qing Bi Tang is one of the most commonly used herbal formulas for treating sinusitis, rhinitis and sinus infection. It clears nasal obstruction caused by damp heat: stuffy nose, yellow and sticky nasal discharge, sneezing, headache, itchy nose and throat, decreased sense of smell and energy level, and fatigue.

Diagram of the nose and the nasal cavities. Image sourced from Wikimedia Commons. Available here.

How a newly discovered body part changes our understanding of the brain (and the immune system)

The discovery of brain lymphatics will open many new doors to understanding the brain, but it is also remarkable simply because there is so little about the human anatomy that has not yet been mapped. Indeed, because of these vessels’ hidden location deep within the brain and their close proximity to prominent blood vessels, brain lymphatics had legitimately escaped the notice of the biomedical community. That is, until now. 

Wikimedia Commons. (n.d.). [MRI image of a human head, side view]. Wikimedia Commons. Available here.

Origin of the name 'patchouli' (Huo Xiang) and its history

Patchouli herb has been used in the major medical systems of the world, viz. traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda for both external and  internal applications. In Chinese medicine, it has been used for centuries as decoction with other drugs for treating cold, nausea, diarrhoea, dermatitis, vomiting, abdominal pain, headache, fever, dampness and to stimulate appetite. In India, in the ancient times, leaves of the patchouli plant had been primarily used as insect repellent to keep insects away from garments.

Credit: Kamwo

The Peculiar Importance of a dead Plant Library

It is (there is no better way to put this) a dead-plant library.Not a library of books about dead plants—though there are books here, and photos and oil paintings—but of plants themselves. They lie in wait on big, stiff sheets of yellowed paper, wrapped gingerly in envelopes and stacked on top of each other, before being inserted into dozens and dozens of cabinets. This is the fifth-largest dead-plant archive in the country, and you can turn a corner and see yards and yards of these cabinets. It is a menagerie of dead plants.

By Herbariumweb (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Smelfies, and other experiments in synthetic biology

What if you could take a smell selfie, a smelfie? What if you had a lipstick that caused plants to grow where you kiss? Ani Liu explores the intersection of technology and sensory perception, and her work is wedged somewhere between science, design and art. In this swift, smart talk, she shares dreams, wonderings and experiments, asking: What happens when science fiction becomes science fact?

By CDC/Dr. William Kaplan [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

New study shows severity of tinnitus is related to emotional processing

A recent study out of the University of Illinois revealed not only that those who have tinnitus process emotional sounds differently than those who do not have tinnitus, but also that among those who have tinnitus, there are significant differences in which regions of the brain are used when processing emotions.

By ABC Television (eBay item photo front photo back) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons