Archive for the ‘herbal vs medicine’ Category
Alternative Viagra.
The soft green in the form of heart of the sheet of Horny Goat Weed could hold the key to a new medication for the treatment of the erectile dysfunction.
The researchers say that this alternative Viagra could be as effective as the famous blue pill, but they have fewer side effects.
Mario Dell’Agli at the University of Milan Italy and colleagues tested four plants that are used as natural aphrodisiac in traditional cultures to establish its potential as alternatives to the Viagra.
The active compound of Viagra is the “sildenafil”, works by inhibiting an enzyme called phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE5).
Because of the PDE5 helps control blood flow to the penis, inhibition of this compound promotes the erection male.
Dell’Agli and his colleagues tested the four plants in vitro to see how were effective in inhibiting PDE5. Only an “Epimedium brevicornum”, also known as “Horny Goat Weed” and “Bishop’S Hat”, took effect. Read the rest of this entry »
Beware of mixing herbs and drugs
We all know that certain herbal remedies can pose a health risk. Some of them (including the most used) are usually contraindicated in children or pregnant women or in people with certain diseases due to side effects that they may have.
But things get more complicated if we interfere with conventional medical treatment introducing herbal medicine to complement without physician endorsement, something that complicates the case of dual treatments for cardiovascular disease because of how delicate they are.
A recent research has shed light on this, and warns against the use of medicinal plants widely used in herbal medicine in the case of treatments for heart disease, because they can interfere negatively with the action of drugs.
Thus, St. John’s wort can increase blood pressure or cholesterol increase in people taking cardiac medications, and ginkgo biloba and garlic may increase the risk of internal bleeding.
It is therefore recommended that patients resort to cardiovascular disease physician before taking herbal extracts, as his health is at serious risk.