Scientific Research of Herbs

--Herbs as Antioxidants

As free radicals and oxidative stress are considered important factors of aging, antioxidants may play significant roles in anti-aging and treating age-related diseases such as cardiovascular diseases.  Recent studies have been done in several herbs that are used for cardiovascular disorders in Chinese Herbal Medicine, including Salvia miltiorrhiza, Rhizoma ligustici, Herba leonuri, Radix achyranthis bidentatae, and Camellia sinensis (Zhu et al., 2004).  The studies found that these herbs enhanced activities of antioxidant defense enzymes including superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione S-transferases in the liver of rats treated with herbs.  It has also been discovered that those herbs have components that are effective inhibitors of oxidative reactions mediated by the inflammatory oxidants, peroxynitrite, hypochlorous acid and hydroxyl radical, as well as iron-dependent lipid peroxidation.  

Reference:

Zhu YZ, Huang SH, Tan BK, Sun J, Whiteman M, Zhu YC.  Antioxidants in Chinese herbal medicines: a biochemical perspective. Nat Prod Rep. 2004 Aug;21(4):478-89.