Guest guest Posted June 6, 2000 Report Share Posted June 6, 2000 >I am new to this list, and would like to obtain some information on >the herb family Aristolochia. I recieved this article, and was >wondering what the health benefits might be of the herb, and if there >is a hidden agenda to fact that the FDA is going to block it. None of the varieties of Aristolochia are given in the Wicke Materia Medica. He only covers the most used herbs. Warner J.W. Fan, MD, in A Manual of does list Aristolochia debilis, A. contosta (Madouling). The part used is the ripe fruit, its taste is bitter, and its energy is cold. It targets the Lung meridian. It's used to cool the lungs and lower Qi, " to dissolve sputum and stop cough " (p. 179) The dose is 3-9 grams. It's contraindicated in cough due to Deficiency Cold and in Spleen Deficiency with diarrhea. With that Cold energy you wouldn't want to give it to someone who already is too Cold because of Yang Deficiency (Deficiency Cold)- at least not without mixing it with a lot of herbs with warming energy. It's for people who are too Hot, have Hot lungs, and have Hot Phlegm in the Lungs. There's also Guang Fang Ji - Radix Aristolochia Fangchi - but I don't have any information on it besides some I'm forwarding in in another post. Someone else on the list may have a more complete Materia Medica than I do. Victoria ______________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 6, 2000 Report Share Posted June 6, 2000 I am new to this list, and would like to obtain some information on the herb family Aristolochia. I recieved this article, and was wondering what the health benefits might be of the herb, and if there is a hidden agenda to fact that the FDA is going to block it. I would appreciate any information or opinions on this. Dottie FDA to block Chinese herb suspected of kidney toxicity June 05, 2000 WASHINGTON (AP) - The government is preparing to stop the import of a Chinese herb that caused kidney failure in Britain and Belgium. It has also alerted doctors to be on the lookout for the herb. The herb family is called Aristolochia, and the kidney-toxic ingredient is called aristolochic acid. The ingredient also is suspected of causing cancer. The Food and Drug Administration warned doctors that a list of botanical products is suspected of containing or being contaminated with aristolochic acid. No American is known to have been injured. Nor does the FDA know how many such products are sold here. Federal law severely restricts oversight of dietary supplements unless the government proves there's a health concern. But the FDA decided to crack down on the possible threat after Britain last summer reported two cases of kidney failure in people taking aristolochic-containing Chinese herbs to treat a skin condition. One needed a kidney transplant; the other is on dialysis awaiting a transplant. Also, Belgian doctors have reported at least 70 people who needed dialysis or a transplant after taking a aristolochic-containing Chinese herb to lose weight. " This one is extremely dangerous. It destroys your kidneys, " said FDA dietary supplement chief Christine Lewis. " We're trying to head it off at the pass. " Within weeks, the FDA will stop at the docks all imports of herbs suspected to contain aristolochic acid, Lewis said. The FDA wrote dietary supplement manufacturers this week urging that they test certain botanical products for the ingredient, and wrote thousands of physicians to alert them about the concern. The hope is that doctors check patients with unexplained kidney failure, and that they educate patients to avoid the suspected products. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 6, 2000 Report Share Posted June 6, 2000 >Go to http://www.china-med.net/ and do a search there. You will find >several entries on this word. Search using keyword at the bottom of the >search screen. I didn't see any indications of toxicity, assuming this is >the same herb you are asking about. Thanks. This is a handy online resource to bookmark. It has a lot more herbs than other lists I'm aware of. The disadvantage is that the entries don't give the thermal energy, the taste, or the target meridians. The advantage - besides being extensive - is that if you're growing herbs, this site tells you how to process them. I haven't seen that feature anywhere else. Time for some translations of the pharmaceutical names: Two of the entries I got when I typed in Aristolochiae were for the varieties Arstolochia contorta Bge or Aristolochia debilis Sleb. et zucc. (These Latin names start to run together for me after a while.) One was for Fructus Aristolochiae (the fruit), and the other was Herba Aristolochia (in some cases the leaves, in some cases whole plant). One entry was for Caulis Aristolochiae Manchuriensis. Caulis means the tails of the root. Another entry was for Radix Aristolochiae Fangchi, the root of the Aristolochiae Fanchi variety. The entry I found that was the most interesting was for Herba Asari Machuria, Xi Xin, which is wild ginger. It's in the Aristolochiae family. The reason I found this interesting is because I've been on this herb. This is a fairly widely used herb. It's for relieving Wind Chill. It's an herb of choice for dispersing Cold when chronic Kidney Yang Deficiency is present. The reason it's an herb of choice for Relieving Wind Chill when chronic Yang Deficiency is present is it will disperse the Exterior Cold without damaging what Yang the person does have. But it won't increase Yang. You also need to include an herb for tonifying the Yang in the formula along with the Xi Xin in these cases. Unlike some of the other Aristolochia herbs, this one has Warm energy. Its taste is spicy, and it targets the Lung, Kidney, Heart, and Spleen. Xi Xin is contraindicated in Yin Deficiency (Deficiency Heat) and in Heat in the Lungs. (You don't want to add Heat to someone who is already too Hot, and you especially don't want to add Heat to the Lung in someone who already has too much Heat in the Lung. This herb targets the Lung. Herba Asari (wild ginger) has a numbing effect on the mucous membranes. It can be used as a mouthwash for temporary relief for toothache and gum pain. The dose is low on this one. .3 to 1 qian. That's .9 to 3 grams. Something that has numbing properties would tend to have a low dose if you drink it in a tea. Victoria ______________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 7, 2000 Report Share Posted June 7, 2000 Dottie, Go to http://www.china-med.net/ and do a search there. You will find several entries on this word. Search using keyword at the bottom of the search screen. I didn't see any indications of toxicity, assuming this is the same herb you are asking about. Lynn >I am new to this list, and would like to obtain some information on >the herb family Aristolochia. I recieved this article, and was >wondering what the health benefits might be of the herb, and if there >is a hidden agenda to fact that the FDA is going to block it. > >I would appreciate any information or opinions on this. > >Dottie > >FDA to block Chinese herb suspected of kidney toxicity > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 7, 2000 Report Share Posted June 7, 2000 I went to this web-site and didn't see anything as far as toxicity really either. Dottie - Lynn Long Chinese Traditional Medicine Tuesday, June 06, 2000 11:11 PM Re: [Chinese Traditional Medicine] question-herb family Aristolochia Dottie,Go to http://www.china-med.net/ and do a search there. You will findseveral entries on this word. Search using keyword at the bottom of thesearch screen. I didn't see any indications of toxicity, assuming this isthe same herb you are asking about.Lynn>I am new to this list, and would like to obtain some information on>the herb family Aristolochia. I recieved this article, and was>wondering what the health benefits might be of the herb, and if there>is a hidden agenda to fact that the FDA is going to block it.>>I would appreciate any information or opinions on this.>>Dottie>>FDA to block Chinese herb suspected of kidney toxicity>> www. ..com Post message: Chinese Traditional Medicine Subscribe: Chinese Traditional Medicine- Un: Chinese Traditional Medicine- List owner: Chinese Traditional Medicine-owner Shortcut URL to this page: /community/Chinese Traditional Medicine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 7, 2000 Report Share Posted June 7, 2000 I thought that possibly the usage was inappropriate, since I have seem even Western herbs use inappropriately and not tailored to the person, and maybe this is the problem. Dottie - Judy Fitzgerald Chinese Traditional Medicine Tuesday, June 06, 2000 10:25 PM Re: [Chinese Traditional Medicine] question-herb family Aristolochia >I am new to this list, and would like to obtain some information on>the herb family Aristolochia. I recieved this article, and was>wondering what the health benefits might be of the herb, and if there>is a hidden agenda to fact that the FDA is going to block it.None of the varieties of Aristolochia are given in the Wicke Materia Medica. He only covers the most used herbs.Warner J.W. Fan, MD, in A Manual of does list Aristolochia debilis, A. contosta (Madouling). The part used is the ripe fruit, its taste is bitter, and its energy is cold. It targets the Lung meridian. It's used to cool the lungs and lower Qi, "to dissolve sputum and stop cough" (p. 179) The dose is 3-9 grams. It's contraindicated in cough due to Deficiency Cold and in Spleen Deficiency with diarrhea. With that Cold energy you wouldn't want to give it to someone who already is too Cold because of Yang Deficiency (Deficiency Cold)- at least not without mixing it with a lot of herbs with warming energy. It's for people who are too Hot, have Hot lungs, and have Hot Phlegm in the Lungs.There's also Guang Fang Ji - Radix Aristolochia Fangchi - but I don't have any information on it besides some I'm forwarding in in another post.Someone else on the list may have a more complete Materia Medica than I do.Victoria______________________Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com www. ..com Post message: Chinese Traditional Medicine Subscribe: Chinese Traditional Medicine- Un: Chinese Traditional Medicine- List owner: Chinese Traditional Medicine-owner Shortcut URL to this page: /community/Chinese Traditional Medicine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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