Popular Natural Remedies, Part XVI

This will be the 16th in a series of articles that I have written about natural products. In this particular article I will be discuss four natural products that I have not addressed before. As I have mentioned in the past, when I write these articles I'm aware that a large percentage of Americans use alternative natural products in the treatment of various medical conditions. Unfortunately, as I have read through the natural products literature over the years, it's my opinion that perhaps only 10-15% of the products purported and sold to treat various conditions are actually worth spending your money on to treat the condition. These four products, as most that I write about, have documented efficacy and some medical research to back up their claims for the conditions in which they treat. When I write these articles, I use four principle reference books to research these products. The four reference books/PDA's are The Lawrence Review of Natural Products, The Pharmacists Letter Natural Products Data Base, The German Commission E List, and Tyler's Honest Herbal.

A product that is been used in the last 10 to 15 years in the treatment of diabetes is fenugreek. One hundred and twenty-five years ago fenugreek was the principle ingredient in Lydia Pinkham's vegetable compound. It was a magical cure-all for many "female" problems. Fenugreek is still purported to be used to treat several dozen conditions, but its positive affect on diabetes seems to be the most medically well documented. Per Tyler's Honest Herbal, fenugreek seeds have traditionally been used in the treatment of diabetes for centuries. In the last several decades, various well-controlled studies have identified a hypoglycemic activity of various fenugreek seed extracts in rabbits, rats, and dogs. While there have been some human studies in India, the size has been too small to come up with a statistically significant result, although they do show that the seed extracts have a hypoglycemic affect in diabetics, which is to say - it lowers the blood sugar. Per The Pharmacists Letter Natural Medicines Comprehensive Data Base, it is believed the three chemical constituents of fenugreek that affect diabetes are trigonelline, 4-hydroxyisoleucine, and fenugreekine. The trigonelline showed a hypoglycemic affect by slowing glucose absorption from the intestinal tract, therefore, avoiding spikes in patient blood levels after meals. The 4-hydroxyisoleucine, on the other hand, directly appears to stimulate the production of insulin by the pancreas. Per The Pharmacists Letter, fenugreek can be used in both non-insulin-dependent diabetics and insulin-dependent diabetics. Fenugreek is contraindicated in children and especially in pregnancy, as it can have an oxytocic affect and stimulate uterine contractions causing premature deliveries. The three principle side effects of fenugreek, per The Pharmacists Letter, include diarrhea, flatulence, and hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), if particularly large doses are used. Besides its potential drug interactions, it has a number of potential herbal interactions as well. It would be my suggestion that anyone who would consider taking fenugreek should consult with a pharmacist or someone knowledgeable in herbs and drugs to see if things that they take are on the somewhat extensive list of excluded items for patients taking fenugreek. In general, fenugreek can have anticoagulant and antiplatelet potential. Therefore, on people who are taking medicines that can thin the blood, or have potential for thinning the blood, should perhaps not take this. Because this particular drug lowers blood sugar, it should be used with caution in patients taking other products that lower blood sugar, as concomitant use could cause a low blood sugar reaction. Other drug classes in which fenugreek is potentially contraindicated in are patients taking corticosteroids and estrogens. With regard to cross-sensitivity and allergies, people who have a soybean allergy have an increased potential of being allergic to fenugreek. It does not particularly interfere with any lab tests other than blood glucose levels. The only medical condition outside of diabetes that fenugreek interacts with is, in theory, the formation of kidney stones in those individuals where the stones are made of a calcium.

In Europe and other parts of the world, horse chestnut seed is used in the treatment of venous insufficiency such as varicose veins. Per The German Commission E List, there are indications of horse chestnut extracts affecting the activity of lysosomal enzymes that cause increased in chronic pathological conditions of the veins due to the breakdown of glycocalyx (mucopolysaccharides) in the region of the capillary walls. The filtration of low molecular proteins, electrolytes, and water into interstitium is inhibited through the reduction of vascular permeability. Per The Lawrence Review of Natural Products, the FDA officially classifies horse chestnut as unsafe in this country. Per The Pharmacists Letter, this is because horse chestnut contains significant amounts of the toxin uesulin, which can be lethal. If one does use horse chestnut, there is a standardized extract for which the uesulin has been removed that is manufactured by reputable manufacturers of natural products. Should an individual choose to use horse chestnut, one should check with the manufacturer for their standards and the removal of this particular product. Horse chestnut is considered unsafe to use in children, and is also considered unsafe during pregnancy and in nursing mothers. Per The Pharmacists Letter, the three principle adverse reactions of horse chestnut are GI irritation, nephropathy (kidney), and there is a possibility of severe bleeding or bruising due to the anticoagulant affects of the drug. Per The German Commission E List, whole body itching and puritis is also a possibility. Per The Pharmacists Letter and The Lawrence Review of Natural Products, there are no known interacts of horse chestnut with food or lab tests.

A natural product which has gotten some press recently in the treatment of PMS is chaste berry. Like so many natural products, chaste berry is promoted for probably two to three dozen different uses. However, when you are looking at the two areas where it's listed possibly effective, the treatment of PMS is one of the two areas. Per The Lawrence Review of Natural Products, the chaste tree is a small tree or shrub that grows in the moist river banks of southern Europe and in the Mediterranean region. It is also found in the Jingsu region of China. The plant is one of the most ancient of medicinals ever mentioned. It was mentioned hundreds of years before the birth of Alexander the Great in Homer's epic, The Iliad. It has been used in the treatment of female conditions since the earliest of ancient times. Also, like so many natural products, chaste berry contains a long list of chemical compounds. Isolating what the exact chemicals are that have a positive affect on PMS can be difficult. Again, per The Lawrence Review of Natural Products, after ingestion in females, chaste berries exert a progesterogenic affect balancing progesterone and estrogen production from the ovaries, therefore, regulating the menstrual cycle. Again, per The Lawrence Review of Natural Products, a fairly large study of 170 women over three menstrual cycles demonstrated that chaste berry was affective and well tolerated in relieving the symptoms of PMS. The Pharmacists Letter is a little bit more specific about isolating the chemicals that give chaste berry its affect. It states that chaste berry extracts are standarized to contain a 6% agnoside. However, there is recent evidence that the chemicals diterpenes and flavonoidcasticin are the chemicals that exert the pharmacological effects on treating PMS. Per The Pharmacists Letter, approximately 2-5% of the patients who take chaste berry discontinue it because of side effects. These side effects can include GI upset, headache, nausea, itching, and menstrual bleeding. With regard to drug interactions, The German Commission E List does not list any, but The Pharmacists Letter lists antipsychotic drugs, dopamine agents, estrogens, and all oral contraceptives. If you take any of these products, you should consult with your physician before taking chaste berry.

The last product that I would like to discuss is flaxseed. This is one of the oldest monographs in The German Commission E List, having been in this publication for over 20 years. The German Commission E List states that flaxseed is used for chronic constipation and for colons damaged by chronic laxative use. Interestingly, like most plant-derived drugs, it is also useful, per The Pharmacists Letter, in lowering cholesterol levels. Preparations can reduce total cholesterol by 5-9% and LDL cholesterol by 8-18%. Per The Pharmacists Letter, flaxseed's mechanism of action is that it stimulates intestinal peristalsis (movement through the colon). The only adverse reactions associated with flaxseed are diarrhea and GI distress if too much is used. The only two drug interactions with flaxseed are those with anticoagulants, and also that it can excessively lower blood sugar levels in diabetics causing a low blood sugar reaction.