Mark MD, Pediatrician, may find this interesting?
Chinese tea 'may cure jaundice'
A herbal tea used widely in China to treat jaundice could
soon be used by doctors in the West. Scientists in the
United States have found that Yin Zhi Huang (YZH) can stop
the build-up of a type of bile that causes the condition.
Writing in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, they said
the tea could form the basis of new treatments.
Jaundice is common in newborn babies. If untreated it can
lead to serious complications such as brain damage.
Waste product
Dr David Moore and colleagues at Baylor College of Medicine
in Houston, Texas, found that the tea activates a key
receptor in the liver.
This enables the liver to clear bilirubin - a waste
product that is created from the break down of
haemoglobin, a substance in red blood cells that carries
oxygen around the body.
Bilirubin is normally cleared by the liver. However, disease
or other problems can stop this from happening. A build-up
of bilirubin causes the yellowing of the skin and whites of
the eyes associated with jaundice.
Premature babies are often unable to clear bilirubin because
their livers are too small. They are treated by exposing
their skin to light, a process called phototherapy.
The scientists administered YZH to mice with jaundice.
They found mice which received the tea cleared bilirubin
much more quickly than other mice. The scientists said
the findings could lead to a new drug to treat jaundice
in humans.
Other experts said the study indicated that Western medicine
may have a lot to learn from Chinese medicine, which dates
back thousands of years.
In an accompanying editorial in the journal, Mitchell Lazar
from the University of Pennsylvania hailed the findings.
"This is a wonderful example of knowledge gained by
applying the Western scientific method to an Eastern herbal
remedy," he said.
He added further research was needed to see if scientists
could identify a compound in the tea that could form the
basis of a new drug.
"It will be very exciting if a pure compound emerges from
the tea leaves as a pharmacological therapy for neonatal
jaundice that is complementary to the current Western
practice of phototherapy."
news.bbc.co.uk3363223.stmOpen ↗
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