Chinese Medicine for Immune Support

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Dear patients and friends,




I am currently offering short consults for herbal prescriptions for immune system support. There is some evidence that certain Chinese herbs may support immune-strengthening and immune-regulating effects such as Astragalus and Andrographis (1,2,3,4,5,6,7), and that might help with an anti-viral response such as Isatis (8,9,10,11,12).


Please contact me through the Contacts section or call my practices directly to arrange for a 15-minute appointment. Please do not come to the clinic if you are currently feeling cold/flu-like symptoms. A phone or video appointment can be arranged instead.




IMPORTANT NOTE:


We are currently experiencing a Coronavirus pandemic and there is currently no cure for this illness, only symptomatic treatment.


If you are experiencing symptoms such as fever, sore throat, tiredness, cough, shortness of breath; or other flu/cold-like symptoms you must contact your GP immediately, preferably by a phone call rather than a personal visit. 


You can also call the Coronavirus Information Helpline at 1800 020 080.

These are some online resources placed by the Australian Government that can give you more information regarding action and prevention:


www.healthdirect.gov.au/coronavirus

www.health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-health-alert

www.health.gov.au/health-topics/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov#treatment




References:

1. li, X., et. al. (2014). A Review of Recent Research Progress on the Astragalus Genus. Molecules 2014, 19, 18850-18880; doi:10.3390/molecules191118850
2. Bratkov, B. M., et. al. (2016). Flavonoids from the Genus Astragalus: Phytochemistry and Biological Activity. Pharmacogn Rev. 2016 Jan-Jun; 10(19): 11–32.doi: 10.4103/0973-7847.176550. Taken from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4791984/
3. Kim, B. H., et. al. (2014). Anti-inflammatory activity of compounds isolated from Astragalus sinicus L. in cytokine-induced keratinocytes and skin. Experimental & Molecular Medicine (2014) 46, e87; doi:10.1038/emm.2013.157
4. Zhou, L., et. al. (2019). Astragalus polysaccharides exerts immunomodulatory effects via TLR4-mediated MyD88-dependent signaling pathway in vitro and in vivo. Scientific RepoRts | 7:44822 | DOI: 10.1038/srep44822
5. Hossain, Md. S., et. al. (2014). Andrographis paniculata (Burm. f.) Wall. ex Nees: A Review of Ethnobotany, Phytochemistry, and Pharmacology. The Scientific World Journal Volume 2014, Article ID 274905, 28 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/274905
6. Wang, Y., et. al. (2018). Screening and Identification for Immunological Active Components from Andrographis Herba Using Macrophage Biospecific Extraction Coupled with UPLC/Q-TOF-MS. Molecules 2018, 23, 1047; doi:10.3390/molecules23051047
7. Gan, L., et. al. (2019). Diterpenoid Lactones with Anti-Inflammatory Effects from the Aerial Parts of Andrographis paniculata. Molecules 2019, 24, 2726; doi:10.3390/molecules24152726
8. Gao, B., et. al. (2018).Structure Analysis of Effective Chemical Compounds against Dengue Viruses Isolated from Isatis tinctoria. Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology Volume 2018, Article ID 3217473, 11 pages
9. Zhou, et. al. (2017). Transcriptome profiling of influenza A virus- infected lung epithelial (A549) cells with lariciresinol-4-β-D-glucopyranoside treatment. PLoS ONE 12(3): e0173058. doi:10.1371/journal.
10. Meng, et. al. (2017). Indole alkaloid sulfonic acids from an aqueous extract of Isatis indigotica roots and their antiviral activity. Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B 2017;7(3):334–341
11. Chang, S-J., et. al. (2012). Antiviral Activity of Isatis indigotica Extract and Its Derived Indirubin against Japanese Encephalitis Virus. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Volume 2012, Article ID 925830, 7 pages
12. Yin, J. et. al. (2017). Chinese herbal medicine compound Yi-Zhi-Hao pellet inhibits replication of influenza virus infection through activation of heme oxygenase-1. Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B 2017;7(6):630–637

Image Credit: Cara Faus. Taken from Flickr

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