By Rob McCaleb,
HRF President
For over 4,000
years, the Chinese have used certain herbs to prevent common diseases. The
ancient Chinese knew nothing of bacteria or viruses, yet some of these herbs
were said to "strengthen the exterior", or the "shield".
Modern scientific research is confirming that they were right. Thousands of years later, and sixty years after the
discovery of penicillin, the study of herbs affecting the immune system is one
of the hottest topics in pharmacological research. Can herbs really strengthen
our resistance and help us lead healthier lives? Both the wisdom of centuries
of observation, and the scrutiny of the scientific laboratory, support the view
that they can.
HOW THE IMMUNE SYSTEM WORKS
Our immune system recognizes and destroys anything
foreign to the body, including cells like bacteria and other microbes, and
foreign particles including toxic compounds. This recognition and destruction
is performed by cells in the circulatory and the lymphatic systems. These cells
are produced in the bone marrow and lymphatic tissue (thymus, lymph nodes,
spleen and tonsils) respectively. The cells begin their lives as "stem
cells". These cells are so featureless that there is no way to determine
what type of blood cell they will ultimately become. They may develop into any
of a number of different kinds of cells, for instance: red blood cells, various
types of white blood cells, etc. These cells are then released into the blood
stream and are carried to all parts of the body. There are essentially two
types of cells, one of which is called "memory cells". Memory cells,
as the name implies, remember specific foreign cells or chemicals to which they
have been exposed, and react immediately when they are next exposed to those
compounds. Drugs which affect the memory cells stimulate immunity only to one
disease or antigen. Vaccines are an example of drugs which effect memory
cells. Most herbs for the immune system
don't affect memory cells, but are general immune system stimulators (immunostimulants). They increase the activity of the immune
system but are not specific to a particular disease or "antigen" (a
protein against which immune cells act). Rather, they increase resistance by
mobilizing "effector cells" which act
against all foreign particles, rather than just one specific type (i.e.
a measles virus).
Remarkably, since the discovery of penicillin, our
scientists, in search of drugs against infectious disease, have looked only for
chemicals which kill bacteria or viruses. Finally, they are coming to realize
that it is possible to boost the immune system, which can then fight naturally
against infectious agents, without the drawbacks of antibiotic therapy. While immune stimulants cannot replace antibiotics
in some cases, they have proven far superior in others.
Here are a few reasons why astragulus
is one of the best researched immune boosters:
ASTRAGALUS: Chinese astragalus root, Astragalus
membranaceus, is widely used throughout the
Orient as a tonic food and medicinal plant. In
Perhaps the best evidence to date for the powerful immunostimulant effects of astragalus comes from the University of Texas
Medical Center in Houston. There, scientists tested damaged immune
system cells from cancer patients, compared against cells from the blood of
normal human subjects. Astragalus extracts were able to completely restore the
function of cancer patients' immune cells. In some cases, the compromised cells
were stimulated to greater activity than those from normal human subjects. The
study concluded, "A complete immune restoration can be achieved by using a
fractionated extract of Astragalus membranaceus,
a traditional Chinese medicinal herb found to possess immune restorative
activity in vitro".
Astragalus has also been found to stimulate the
production of interferon, and increase its effects in fighting disease. The
combined effect of interferon and astragalus root "resulted not only in
decreased common cold incidence but also in shortening the course of illness...
The average course of illness of the patients in the combined treatment group
was 2.6 days as compared to 4.6 days in the control group." Also, the
astragalus root was found to increase the life span of human cells in
culture. The authors report no toxicity to human cells. "On the contrary,
cell counts indicated that the vital cells in cultures treated with this drug for
three weeks were markedly more numerous than those without treatment". The
treated cells also became resistant to a common virus and astragalus promoted
regeneration of cells in the bronchi of virus-infected mice.
As if this weren't impressive enough, another study
probed the activity of macrophages, one of the major cells responsible for
consuming invading microbes. The activity of the macrophages was significantly
enhanced within six hours of treatment, and the enhancement persisted for at
least seventy-two hours. The extract also significantly inhibited the growth of
tumor cells in mice, especially when combined with the extract Ligustrum lucidum (privet). The authors remark that astragalus
extract "may thus restore immunocompetence;
potentially beneficial for cancer patients as well as AIDS patients".
Most consumers probably use astragalus to prevent
and treat colds and other minor diseases. In the Chinese research mentioned
above, astragalus reduced the incidence of common colds among users, and
shortened the duration of colds by almost half.
Astragalus
References:
Bensky, D. and Gamble, A., Chinese Herbal Medicine, 1986, Eastland
Press.
Rou, Ma and Ren Fu-Xie, Journal of Traditional
Chinese Medicine, 1983, 3(3) pp. 199-204.
Iwama, H, et al., 1986, Planta
Medica, pp. 247-50.
Mavligit, G.M. et al., 1979, J. Immunology,
123, pp. 2185-88.
Sun, Y., Cancer, 52(1), 1983, 7/3, pp. 70-3.
Yunde, H., Chinese Medical Journal, 1981, 94(1), pp.
35-40.
Lau, B. et al., Phytotherapy Research, 1989, 3(4),
pp. 148-53.