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Artemesia Annua And Cancer

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Artemisia Anua "Qing Hao" is an herb used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for the treatment of malaria, intestinal worms, febrile diseases, and malignancy. Artemisinin is the active ingredient of Artemisia Anua, and it is the most effective treatment, so far known, against malaria. Scientific studies have also proven that artemisinin has selective cytotoxic action against iron overloaded abnormal cells. The powerful Artemisia Annua in full spectrm 5:1 concentrated powder is now available at ourclinic: Hua Tuo Medical Center, 7360 Coral Way, Suite 7, Miami, FL 33155. 31

Artemisia annua is an herb traditionally used in Chinese medicine to treat fever, inflammation, and malaria. Artemisinin, the active component of artemisia, has been shown to be effective in treating malaria in a recent clinical trial. A recent case study showed that Artemisia was effective in treating chronic bladder infection. There is also preliminary data according to which Artesunate, a compound derived from artemisinin, prevents cancer cells from dividing but clinical trials have not been conducted to support the data. 9

The same research team also investigated the clinical efficacy of an Artemisia annua tea in the treatment of subacute malaria in Africa. In an uncontrolled study, 48 patients received the tea for 4 days (5g dried leaves infused in 1 liter of hot water). After the treatment, 92% of patients had no detectable parasites in their bloodstream and there were significant improvements in subjective symptoms in 70% of the treated patients. 14

The above pharmacokinetic study would support that this is the case. Interestingly, the pilot trial of the Artemisia annua tea preparation in malaria suggests that there could well be a synergistic advantage in using the tea or the galenical prepared from the whole herb, rather than the isolated compound artemisinin or its derivatives. The tea used in the pilot trial only delivered at best 10% of the normal therapeutic dose of artemisinin, but resulted in a substantial clinical effect. 14

Back in the 1960’s, on the urging of Chairman Mao, the Chinese put a great deal of time and energy into investigating medicinal plants. It was a political thing for them; they wanted to do without Western Medicine. From that time to the present a chemical extract of the plant called artemisinin has been researched and used therapeutically to treat malaria. It appears to be significantly more effective at killing the malaria causing parasite than any of the pharmaceutical drugs currently available. The World Health Organization is now promoting the manufacture and use of these extracts as a new, more effective and lower cost treatment. The Artemisia extracts are not just cheap and safe, it apparently the malaria bugs don’t become resistant to the drug, a major drawback of the synthetic drugs currently in use. 4

For many years, access to the purified drug and the plant it was extracted from were restricted by the Chinese government. However, Artemisia annua is a common shrub and has been found in many parts of the world, including along the Potomac River, in Washington, D.C. 8

Epigenetic studies haveshown thatour life styleplays a definitive role in triggering the methylation of cancer genes. According to traditional Chinese Medicine, aspects such as a balanced diet, proper physical activity, and good emotional state of mind are very important in the prevention as well as in the treatment of illnesses. 30

Artemisia has been used medically for over 2,000 years, and it is mentioned in both the Recipes For 52 Kinds Of Diseases found in 168 B.C., and in the Handbook of Prescriptions for Emergency Treatments, written in 340 A.D. In 1596, artemisinin was named as a treatment for Malaria by Li Shizhen. The major active ingredient was isolated in China in 1972. 41

The World Health Organisation has recommended that a switch to ACT should be made in all countries where the malaria parasite has developed resistance to chloroquine. Artemisinin and its derivatives are now standard components of malaria treatment in China, Vietnam, and some other countries in Asia and Africa, where they have proved to be safe and effective anti-malarial drugs. They have minimal adverse side effects. Currently, artemisinin is not widely available in the United States or Canada, but is easy to find in Africa and Asia. There have been some concerns about the quality of some products on offer in Africa. 8

Artemisia annua leaves have been consumed by local Chinese over several centuries for promoting general health. Its extract, Artemisinin, has been used over several decades. Its derivatives (chemically altered, not natural products) have been developed and used to treat various diseases. 35

In the tomb they uncovered a silk scroll labeled "Medical Treatments for 52 Diseases" that contains 283 medical treatments, including herbal recipes. This silk scroll document is now the oldest existing text on Chinese medicine. One of the recipes describes soaking the leaves and branches of the artemisia herb in water overnight and then drinking the water as a treatment for malaria. 42

In 1972 the active compound from wormwood was determined to be artemisinin (quinghaosu). Concentrated dosages of the active compound either in the form of artemisinin or several other derivatives have been used successfully since its discovery to treat malaria even when it has become resistant to traditional antimalarial drugs. Malaria is still a serious disease in tropical areas of the world with a yearly death toll of 1.5 - 2.7 million, so this rediscovery of wormwood’s usefulness has and will continue to save many lives. 42

Novartis’ malaria drug Coartem stems from this plant , a cure for fever. Mention of the plant, sweet wormwood-or Artemisia annua L. was found in a Chinese medicine book written on silk, unearthed from a tomb of the West Han Dynasty, which began around 200.B.C Chinese military scientists developed the drug from the plant in the 1970s to treat Chinese soldiers suffering from malaria in Vietnam. In the early 1990s, Novartis struck a deal with the Chinese to buy the rights to Coartem, a combination of a derivative of the plant and another antimalarial treatment, paying a few million dollars up front and royalties on future sales. 7

Artemisia annua anamed contains not only artemisinin, but several constituents which are effective in the treatment of malaria. This plant can be cultivated in most tropical climates, and tea made from the leaves has been shown to be just as effective in treating malaria as artemisinin extracted from the plant[2]. 43

During a phone conversation in 1994, Dr. Lai asked a colleague who had just returned from a malaria seminar what was new in the field. Suddenly, the idea of using artemisinin to selectively kill cancer cells "jumped into his mind", as he says. Dr. Lai had made the simple but profound connection to the known fact that all cancer cells sequester iron just as the malaria parasite does. 42

The Panacea offers these health-extracts to help people investigate health-related subjects in greater depth using the references given in each paragraph. Kindly note that these are current extracts from the web, meant for research, and that these are not meant to be medical advise. For all your health-related needs you must consult trained and licensed personnel.

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