BPS 1101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia, Herbalism, Ginkgo Biloba
Nutraceuticals
Nutrient & Pharmaceutical
Modern migration towards herbal remedies
• Organic products are becoming popular
o No additives
o No synthetic pesticides
▪ Can use synthetic but they need to be the same as the ones found in nature
o No synthetic fertilizer
o No GMO’s
• Look for the seal on the product (USDA Organic or Canada organic) that indicates the company
has been audited
• No regulations over use of the term natural
o Natural can be attached to anything
o Purchased with the word natural can mean anything. Look for the word organic
• Herbal remedies used by 40% of population
o $20 Billion business
Production of Herbals
• Grown industrially
o Mass produced
o Very few rules control the distribution, marketing and experiments that are done
▪ Can do, make, and claim whatever you want
▪ May not always get what you think you are getting
Modern Drugs
• Standardized material
o Every pill has the exact amount of substance stated to be in them
o Purified substances
o Consistent doses
• Herbal remedies are not standardized
o Wide variation in the amount of material in them
o Do’t really ko hat’ i the?
o Extract
▪ Can end up with different amounts of active ingredient (Variation)
▪ Ex. Coffee depending on the extraction you can get different amounts of the
active ingredient/amount of things within the coffee @ the end of the process
o Testing is limited or nonexistent
▪ Safety is based on past history
▪ Adverse event reporting is not required
▪ Efficacy based on previous reports
- Doctrine of signatures
- Doctrine of humors
- Anecdotal evidence
▪ No follow up on the products put on the market
• Which omega-3 is in your fish oil?
o Variability in the quality and quantity
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Echinacea
• Popular herbal remedy
• Used to treat colds
• In reality it has no effect on colds
• Original ingredients in snake oil
o Was a cure for arthritis
o When you have arthritis it is difficult to move your joints
▪ Snakes are able to move around so they must have some lubricant in them
which makes them not get arthritis like humans do
▪ CLAIM: Supposed to help lubricate your joints and make arthritis go away
▪ It actually worked
• Tested clinically
o Not effective in treating colds
o Does not help reduce cold symptoms
Cold-fX
• Popular cold remedy
• To see the benefits of this drug
o Combine the data of the 2 trials
• Clinical studies are low quality
o Manipulated the clinical trials
o Neither clinical trial showed any benefits so they combined the data
• Ginseng root on the label
o resembles a human body so it must be good for the body
Ginko Biloba
• Taken as a smart drug
• Active ingredient= Ginkolides
o Increase blood circulation in the brain
• People think this help their brain work better
• RESULT FROM TESTING
o Circulation does not translate to improved brain function
• Interferes with blood clotting
Saw Palmento
• Supports your prostate health
• Used for benign prostate hyperplasia
Garlic
• Egyptians used it to improve strength
• Garlic cleansing
o Adolphus Hohensee
o Insert a garlic clove into a persons rectum
o Over time the person develops garlic breath, believed to breath out all the toxins
• People like visible effects
o Ex. Alka Seltzer
▪ Baking soda with citric acid
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▪ Neutralizes stomach acid
o Assume that something works better if you see something that is physically occurring
Allicin thought to affect cholesterol
• Active ingredient in Garlic= Allicin
o Unstable molecule that gives the garlicy flavor
• Allicin
o Unstable is easily converted to another form after sitting for a long period of time
o Produces 2 substances (allyl mercaptan, allyl methylsulfide)
o Garlic breath: literally your breath where the material has decomposed in the stomach
• Fresh garlic contains the most alliin
• Garlic uses allicin for protection
o Garlic has the 2 chemicals: alliin and alliinase
• Humans like the taste of allicin
o Tingly sensation on the tongue
• Allicin has no impact on overall cholesterol levels
o Garlic does not reduce cholesterol
St. John’s Worts
• Popular supplement taken for depression
• Trials studies
o Does not improve depression
Herbal remedies are regulated as foods
• Do’t hae ay regulatios i ters of hat a e sold
• No efficacy testing is required
Clinical trials with herbals are poorly done
• No placebo is used
• Small groups of subjects
o Large #’s gie you ore aurate results
o Small studies are an easy way to get positive results
• High attrition rates
• Publication bias
o Only publish the positive results
o Easier to pulish thigs that say soethig orks rather tha soethig that does’t
work
• Many natural supplements do not contain the active ingredient
Decaffeinated tea
• Can sell more than one thing from a single product without being told what is a part of each one
• Ex. Tea leaves – Extract (tea) -- Caffeine
Purity of Natural Supplements??
• Pesticide residue
• Heavy metals
• Undeclared pharmaceuticals
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