I was genuinely sorry that no one answered all the questions correctly in our Summer Quiz.  However Donna Noonan did come awfully close and, in fact, did guess all the names. An excellent effort but, unfortunately, she attributed an allopathic offering to Jean Valnet and a medicine of the terrain to Edward Bach. Still, a suitable consolation prize is on its way!

Meanwhile, as we seem to have missed taking a holiday this year, we have been taking the odd “longer”weekend. I must admit that I rather like this arrangement as it enables us to visit a number of places where I would not consider spending a week or a fortnight because I would soon run out of road.  One such spot is the Isle of Wight, shaped like a diamond, 13 miles from north to south, 23 miles across and 147 square miles in area. Amongst other things, it is home to some of the world’s rarest tigers and other big cats, my favourite animals.  Tigers have been on earth for millions of years but in five years, or less, may be completely extinct in the wild. The average length of life of wild tigers is only four months.  Jack Corney’s Tiger Sanctuary is doing a great job to conserve the species.

The Island is a super place, particularly in good weather, but definitely not for the motoring enthusiast. I doubt that I exceeded 40mph all weekend. Nevertheless I much enjoyed exploring the length and breadth of old Vectis, as the Romans called it. I shall not leave my next visit there for another forty years!

Speaking of running out of road, I was absolutely horrified to learn about Len and Shirley Price’s terrifying accident. Travelling to meet Rhiannon and Bob Harris in Sisteron, their state-of-the-art Jaguar S-type suddenly went out of control, careering across the road and crashing down a steep hillside.  Fortunately they were both wearing seatbelts, which undoubtedly saved their lives. Thank the Lord that they are comparatively unscathed.  A very narrow escape from all accounts, but why would such a sophisticated automobile go out of control in this way?  Len intends to find out. I, for one, am making enquiries amongst my motoring colleagues.  Anyone else have any theories, or similar experiences? 
Sandalwood Addendum.
Through the excellent IFAroma newsgroup on the internet (Ann@ecosse.net. if you wish to know more), I recently received an interesting presentation about Australian Sandalwood (Santalum spicatum (R. Br.) A. DC.).  It points out that the oil from Australian Sandalwood contains basically the same compounds as East Indian Sandalwood (S. album L.). However the combination of these is somewhat different.  The East Indian oil contains more of the compounds alpha- and beta-santalol than the Australian, while the Australian oil contains more farnesol, alpha-bisabolol and bergamotol. It is suggested that crude oil of Australian sandalwood has a richer and more complex aroma than the East Indian oil. This, allied to its proven inhibitory effects against Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans, [make it] ideal to introduce into cosmetic formulations for its antiseptic activity. Perhaps it is even interesting enough to be the active ingredient in a whole cosmetic line (Perfumer & Flavorist, April/May 1979, Vol. 4, 23-25).

The knowledgeable Australian Ron Guba considers that, in terms of anti-inflammatory action, S. spicatum  is superior to S. album on account of its demonstrated anti-inflammatory compounds such as beta- and epi alpha-bisabolol and beta-santalene.  Hence, S. spicatum is likely to be better suited for nerve or muscular pain and inflammation and skin inflammations than S. album. Based upon its composition, and empirical evidence, it is suggested that it could be useful for dermatitis, eczema, and possibly even psoriasis.

Therefore I was delighted to receive today an e-mail from Valerie Gearon, Scientific Officer at Mt Romance, Australia, producers of Australian sandalwood, who has been following my sally into sandalwood on the Net. She advises that they extract the oil using a high grade pure solvent, which is removed entirely and ensures that the extracted material closely resembles the original plant matter - unlike steam distillation, which causes chemical reactions between components of the product and hydrogen ions and, hence, from a purely scientific perspective produces an oil which cannot be considered natural. An interesting comment?

Three years ago, whilst attending Pacific Oils 2000 in New Zealand, I listened to a team from the Department of Chemistry at the University of Western Australia speak about the compositional variation in the essential oil of sandalwood species.  They compared the effects of three extraction techniques: steam distillation, solvent extraction and SFE (supercritical fluid extraction). 

I suspect, but am going to ask Valerie, that they might be using SFE with carbon dioxide as the solvent, having mild critical parameters of 31.1 ºC and 72.8atm.  The use of low temperature for extraction enables the efficient collection of volatile components and minimisation of thermal degradation. It has been reported that the aromas of extracts obtained using supercritical carbon dioxide better resemble the aroma of the natural plant than do steam distilled extracts as a consequence of reduced thermal degradation and reduced loss of the more volatile compounds. SFE also provides cleaner extracts for analysis.     
Another aid for Alzheimer’s?
A recent item in the Technology Worth Watching column of The Financial Times had me really devilling.  Apparently researchers in the US and Hong Kong have developed a drug, based on Chinese herbal medicine, that may be able to improve the memory of patients suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer’s Disease.  The work was based on huperzine A, a compound isolated from the Chinese herb Qian Ceng Ta.

It seems that, although the herb has been shown to be a memory-enhancer for patients with Alzheimer’s, it has not been developed in the West because of a scarcity of the source plant, its complicated molecular structure and the difficulty of securing intellectual property rights for the compound.  All fascinating stuff, but what is Qian Ceng Ta?

I searched endlessly through the two volumes of Peter Holmes’ Jade Remedies. At last, amongst his Cross Index of Mandarin Remedy Names, I found Qian Cang Ta, apparently also known as Pu Di Wu Gong, Guo Jiang Long, Yu Bai, or Jin Jang Tap in Cantonese. The scientific name is listed as Lycopodium serratum and spp.  However I could find no mention of its use in the treatment of Alzheimer’s.

Lycopodium L. is a genus of the Lycopodiaceae family of evergreen herbs, sometimes epiphytic. Some of these club mosses, as they are commonly called, contain alkaloids, and are the only pteridophytes that do.  [Pteridophytes? Pteridophyta: a division of the plant kingdom, comprising plants that reproduce by spores or gametes rather than seeds.]  Some club mosses are cultivated as ornamentals, and others are used for stuffing upholstery, bag-, basket- and fishing-net making. The spores, called lycopodium powder, were formerly used in sound experiments in physics, perhaps because they are exceptionally uniform in size, and spores of the arctic Lycopodium alpinum L. are used as a natural yellow dye and those of temperate L. clavatum L., being highly flammable, were formerly used in fireworks! 

Eventually I stumbled across a report in Phytochemistry (1994) 37 (6) 1759-176: The alkaloids huperzines C and D and huperzinine from Lycopodiastrum casuarinoides. Two new Lycopodium alkaloids, huperzines C and D, had been isolated from whole plants of L. casuarinoides, along with huperzinine. Huperzine C showed marked inhibitory activity against acetylcholinesterase.  Aha!  Just what I was writing about in my July 2000 Newsletter in connection with Professor Elaine Perry’s research into Melissa oil (Melissa officinalis L.).

More recently Phytochemistry (1999) 6 (3) 197-203  reported that researchers at the Research Institute for Wakan-Yaku [Traditional Sino-Japanese Medicines] in Toyama had been screening crude drug extracts for prolyl endopeptidase inhibitory activity.

Prolyl endopeptidase (PEP) is an enzyme which plays a role in the metabolism of proline-containing neuropeptides, such as vasopressin and thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH), which are suggested to be involved with learning and memory processes.  Therefore, a specific inhibitor of PEP is expected to have antiamnesic effects.

Forty-six water- and methanol-extracts from crude drugs, selected on the basis of traditional Chinese medicine theory, were screened for Flavobacterium PEP inhibition. Among them the methanol-extract of Lycopodium clavatum showed strong inhibitory activity.

However the group of researchers from Virginia Tech, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center have designed a molecule based on a simplified fragment of the huperzine A compound, which could be easily synthesised from cheap, commercially available molecules. So much for nature!       

Statistics.
I was delighted to receive my copy of Professional Organisation of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the United Kingdom 2000, published by The Centre for Complementary Health Studies, University of Exeter [www.ex.ac.uk/chs]. Good value for £11.50.  Hopefully it would provide a few statistics.

I readily admit that I am quite preoccupied with statistics, but not without good reason.  As an advertiser in several trade journals, I do like to know their circulation figures. Somewhat surprisingly, to my mind at least, such data is not readily forthcoming.  Of course there are exceptions like International Therapist (net average circulation 14,402) which gushes statistics, and probably with some justification having doubled its distribution in just three years. 

Published by the Federation of Holistic Therapists, it claims to be read by over 14,000 therapists.  As the Federation has 15,000 registered practitioners, this does not seem an unreasonable claim.  I therefore wondered if the number of registered practitioners of other organisations could perhaps give me a clue as to the circulation of their “house” journals.  Probably not, but as good a point as anywhere to start!

Without being facetious, I was frankly surprised by how small the numbers are. The Guild of Complementary Practitioners (GCP) leads the aromatherapy table with 2,333, comparatively closely followed by the International Society of Professional Aromatherapists (ISPA) with 1850 and the International Federation of Aromatherapists (IFA) with 1500. The total estimated number of aromatherapy practitioners is quoted as 6,943, which compares with 12,648 reflexology practitioners and 7,634 massage practitioners. Bearing in mind that there is also probably considerable overlap between these disciplines, you can perhaps understand why I am going to cut back my advertising in favour of the Newsletter and the Website.

Caveat lector: Let the reader beware!
Keen though I am on the internet I rarely surf myself, preferring to search for my information in newspapers, journals, periodicals, and books. However, the other day, I was encouraged to take a peek at Quackwatch (www. quackwatch.com), a site run by psychiatrist Dr. Stephen Barrett, dedicated to exposing health fraud wherever he can find it.  If you are at all interested in any form of complementary or alternative medicine you will find Quackwatch full of dire warnings, but it is well worth a visit.

Whilst there is much good stuff on the web, there are also a lot of extravagant and dangerous claims being made in respect of natural treatments.  The surfer needs to read with care. As interest in complementary and alternative therapies increases, even amongst doctors, there is a serious need to know whether these treatments really work.

If you are not too sure about what therapies do and do not work, and want to find out, take a look at the Complementary Health section under More Options at www.patient.co.uk, which provides loads of useful links. The US National Institute for Health has a National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (altmed.od.nih.gov), set up by Congress to study the issues and assess the evidence. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is also being assessed by Bandolier (www.jr2.ox.ac.uk/Bandolier/) - a part of the NHS Research and Development Directorate. Believe you me, it’s all out there for those who have the time and inclination to surf the net!

Encouragement for St. John’s wort.
St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum L.) has taken a bit of a hammering of late and, therefore, I was pleased to read that a recent study, comparing the herbal remedy St. John’s wort with the synthetic antidepressant imipramine, suggests that St. John’s wort should be considered as the first line of treatment in patients with mild to moderate depression.
The study, carried out by Dr. Helmut Woelk at Giessen University in Germany, was of 300 patients who were randomly treated with either St. John’s wort or imipramine.  Although the overall effect on depression was the same for the two, the side effects were somewhat different.  Only 39% of patients using St. John’s wort reported dry mouth, sweating or dizziness, compared to 63% taking imipramine.  Accordingly, only 3% taking St. John’s wort stopped treatment, compared to 16% of imipramine patients.

Dr. Woelk suggests that these and other recently published results, along with the superior safety record of St. John’s wort, provide compelling evidence for its use as a standard antidepressant.

Meanwhile scientists at Cambridge University believe that they may be able to develop a synthetic version of St. John’s wort which does not interact with other medications [vide: April 2000 Newsletter].  The crucial question though is how such a product would be classified by the MCA.

The scientists are working to develop a synthetic version of hyperforin [the key ingredient of St. John’s wort], as they claim to have discovered that hyperforin helps stimulate the production of a liver enzyme - CYP3A - which affects the breakdown of many drugs.  An over-stimulation of this enzyme may mean that drugs are being broken down too quickly to be effective.  Are we going to be left with anything natural?!

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
I was recently asked by Colleen Shears in Greece if I knew of any essential oils that might assist a young girl who was suffering from ADHD, or could I introduce her to any therapists who had experience of treating the disorder.  Colleen advised that the 8 year old has temper tantrums, lack of concentration, behavioural problems, insomnia, dyslexia, and much more. She has been treated with Ritalin, but suffered unpleasant side-effects.

Methylphenidate hydrochloride (Ritalin) is a central stimulant and indirect-acting sympathomimetic [capable of producing changes similar to those produced in stimulation of the sympathetic nerves] with actions and uses similar to those of dexamphetamine. It is used in the treatment of narcolepsy [an irresistible tendency to fall into deep sleep during the daytime] and as an adjunct to psychological, educational, and social measures in the treatment of hyperactivity disorders in children.

Small studies have indicated that different aspects of attention deficit disorders in children might respond to different doses of methylphenidate.  In addition to the morning and noon doses commonly used in hyperactivity disorders, studies have shown improved clinical outcome with little adverse effect on sleep patterns if a third late afternoon dose is given (Kent, JD, et al. Effects of late afternoon methylphenidate administration on behavior and sleep in attention deficit hyperactivity disorders. Pediatrics 1995; 68: 748-56).

The side-effects are commonly symptoms of overstimulation of the CNS and include insomnia, night terrors, nervousness, restlessness, irritability, and euphoria that may be followed by fatigue and depression.  Concern has also been expressed about the effects of central stimulants on growth rate when used to treat hyperactivity in children.

The Pediatric Subcommittee of the FDA Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee reviewed the growth-suppressing effects of stimulant medication in hyperkinetic children (Roche, AF, et al. The effects of stimulant medication on the growth of hyperkinetic children.  Pediatrics 1979; 63: 847-50). There was reasonable evidence that stimulant drugs, particularly in higher doses, moderately suppressed growth in weight and might have a minor suppressing effect on growth in stature.  Careful monitoring during treatment was recommended.

According to the current edition of  PROOF! there is overwhelming evidence that ADHD results from allergies to food additives, chemicals, preservatives, pesticides, or inhalants as well as foods containing salicylates. Sally Bunday and her mother, Irene Colquhoun, who founded the Hyperactive Children’s Support Group (HACSG) at 71 Whyke Lane, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 2LD, have amassed data over 22 years to show that at least three-quarters of ADHD can be sorted out if you are willing to do the detective work to find out what foods and nutritional deficiencies are making your offspring a problem child. Among nutritional deficiencies, the most common are essential fatty acids. Numerous studies have shown that children given evening primrose oil plus co-factors like zinc, B3, B6, vitamin C and magnesium, quickly settle down to normal.  When investigating what foods or deficiencies could be causing the child’s problem, it’s vital that you work with a qualified, experienced, professional. HACSG can provide a list of suggested therapists trained in this area - send them an SAE.

My own references suggest that massage may calm hyperactivity, with the use of lavender (Lavandula angustifolia L.) or roman chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile (L.) All.). Neroli (Citrus aurantium L. ssp. amara L.), rose (Rosa damascena Mill.), and sandalwood (Santalum album L.) can have a calming action on the nervous system, and a few drops of roman chamomile added to the bath water can soothe and encourage sleep.

You may also wish to have the child looked at by a cranial osteopath.  Cervical segmental dysfunction can predispose a child to ADHD.  Also have the child checked out for toxic metal accumulation, including lead, mercury, copper or aluminium.

Morinda - Myth or Magic?
I have been reading much recently about the juice of Morinda citrifolia L., more popularly known as noni juice, which has been used by Polynesian and Hawaiian healers for centuries and is often primarily used today for “immune system enhancement”.

Noni juice, according to PROOF!, is yet another alternative magic bullet which claims to act beneficially on all the body’s system. It is sold through multilevel marketing groups as a potential cure for Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, macular degeneration, diabetes, uterine fibroids and more. Apparently, there is no convincing evidence that it actually aids any of these conditions.

Maybe: but there is a very recent study by researchers at the John A. Burns School of Medicine in Honolulu (Phytotherapy Research (1999) 13 (5) 380-387) which suggests that an immunomodulatory polysaccharide-rich subtance from the fruit juice of noni may suppress tumour growth through activation of the immune system.

However, for those who wish to know more, I did read (Economic Botany (1999) 53(1) 51-68) a paper which explores how the cultural novelty of noni, in conjunction with its equivocal pharmacology, contributes to its explosive market success in contemporary Hawaii, and worldwide, but I did not keep a copy.

Nonetheless a recent study suggests that noni juice may have unexpected side-effects.  Doctors in America report (Mueller, BA, et al. Am. J. Kidney Dis., 2000; 35: 310-12) on the case of a man with chronic insufficiency who was self-medicating with noni juice.  When the man first sought help at the medical clinic, he was found to have hyperkalaemia (excessive potassium in the circulating blood), even though he claimed to adhere to a low-potassium diet.  Further investigation revealed that the potassium concentration of noni juice was similar to that in orange juice and tomato juice. Individuals who need to avoid or limit potassium intake should be aware of noni’s [and presumably orange and tomato as well] ability to raise potassium levels.

Vitamins, ‘E’ in particular.
Vitamins, formerly known as “accessory food factors”, are present in many animal and vegetable foods. Their absence from the diet causes deficiency diseases, such as scurvy, beri-beri, rickets and night blindness.  The value of citrus juices in the treatment of scurvy was realized in the eighteenth century.  Systematic feeding experiments began about 1873 and much work on the subject was done from 1906 to 1912.  Researchers established that beri-beri was produced in people living mainly on polished rice, who could be cured if “rice-polishings”, the outer part of the grain removed in making polished rice, were added to the diet.  I believe that it was a gentleman named Funk who, in 1911, coined the name ‘vitamine’ for the active fraction of rice-polishings. The existence of vitamin A was proved in 1915 and other letters were applied to later vitamins discovered.

Chemically, vitamins vary from very simple compounds to very complex ones. They belong to no one chemical type.  Vitamins differ from one another in physical properties such as solubility, and have traditionally been classified according to their water-solubility and fat-solubility properties. In the main, the water-soluble are non-toxic and can be consumed in large doses without harm; they also remain in the body for a realatively short time.  On the other hand the fat-soluble vitamins are more toxic in large doses and are stored in the fatty reserves of organs of the body for long periods of time. The solubilities also determine the type of food products in which the two groups occur, e.g. fatty dairy products as opposed to plant juices. Amongst the fat-soluble vitamins is Vitamin E.

Vitamin E contains a number of tocopherols [the methylated derivatives of tocol], prefixed alpha-, beta-, gamma-, etc. which are of wide occurrence in plants, especially in the germ of cereals. Alpha-, beta-, and gamma-tocopherols are among those found in the germ of wheat, barley and rye, whereas others are found in soya beans, ground nuts and maize. Oats contain some five different tocopherols.

Dating from the 1930s, vitamin E has been considered to improve fertility but I do not think that this has ever been proven, similarly I am unsure that beneficial effects in the treatment of high blood cholestrol, angina pectoris and ageing conditions have been definitively substantiated.  More recently its use in the treatment of intermittent claudication and fibroblastic breast disease have been suggested.  Most seem to agree that it probably acts as an antioxidant and prevents lipid peroxidation, but generally its biochemistry is still unclear. Nevertheless it is certainly worth trying, particularly when on special offer!

Worth a Look!
For too long, when asked about aromatherapy in nursing, I have referred enquirers either to Jane Buckle’s Clinical Aromatherapy in Nursing or to an excellent lecture by Carol Horrigan, Aromatherapy in Patient Care, which was published in the proceedings of  Aroma ‘93. Now I can point them in the direction of another gem.  The current edition (Vol.7, 3, 2000) of the ever-informative aromatherapist’s journal, The Aromatherapist, has an excellent article by Leslie Thompson, who explains.....

“An overview of aromatherapy programmes in some UK health facilities seeks to provide an overview of how several health facilities have integrated clinical aromatherapy into their health care programmes.  Also included are some issues these facilities have taken into consideration when implementing their programmes.

The selection of examples used in this paper is not meant to be comprehensive. This paper was developed from several books on professional and clinical aromatherapy and a collection of protocols and correspondence from health care facilities, along with published articles and research.” Highly recommended.

Where to get a copy? The Aromatherapist Subscriptions, Shirley Price Aromatherapy Ltd., Essentia House, Upper Bond St., Hinckley, Leicestershire, LE10 1RS.  It’s good value too!

Boy or Girl?
Natural Products News reports that scientists at Nottingham University, who were studying the impact of diets on 6,000 pregnant women and its relation to birth weight, came up with an unexpected finding - that vegetarian women were much more likely to give birth to baby girls than non-vegetarian women!

Fishy Findings.
At a time when most are concerned about the genetic modification of crops - a concern not shared by the Princess Royal apparently - it seems that we may involuntarily be responsible for some ‘gender-bending’ midst the piscine population.

The Financial Times reports that in some British rivers male fish are exhibiting female characteristics, such as the production of yolk proteins normally found in female fish.  In extreme cases ‘intersex’ fish have been found to have female eggs growing in male testes.

Apparently, feminisation is thought to be caused by oestrogen from industrial detergents and natural hormones excreted by humans, particularly pregnant women.  Although humans excrete inactive oestrogen, scientists now say that some forms of sewage treatment “reactivate” the hormones.

According to Prof. Alan Pickering, of the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Windermere, no direct link has been identified between feminisation and a decline in fish population.

Meanwhile The Natural Environmental Research Council is calling for research to look at the impact of oestrogen on predators in the aquatic food chain.  My goodness, where will it all end?

previous     next