Pharmacodynamic Basis of hErBaL mEdicinE SECOND EDITION 7050_book.fm Page ii Wednesday, July 12, 2006 3:27 PM Pharmacodynamic Basis of hErBaL mEdicinE SECOND EDITION manuchair Ebadi, Ph.D., F.A.C.C.P. Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor of Pharmacology and of Clinical Neuroscience Associate Vice President for Medical Research School of Medicine and Health Sciences University of North Dakota Grand Forks, North Dakota CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group 6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300 Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742 © 2007 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business No claim to original U.S. Government works Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 International Standard Book Number-10: 0-8493-7050-7 (Hardcover) International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-8493-7050-2 (Hardcover) This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. Reprinted material is quoted with permission, and sources are indicated. A wide variety of references are listed. Reasonable efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the author and the publisher cannot assume responsibility for the validity of all materials or for the consequences of their use. No part of this book may be reprinted, reproduced, transmitted, or utilized in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or in any informa- tion storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publishers. For permission to photocopy or use material electronically from this work, please access www.copyright.com (http:// www.copyright.com/) or contact the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC) 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400. CCC is a not-for-profit organization that provides licenses and registration for a variety of users. For orga- nizations that have been granted a photocopy license by the CCC, a separate system of payment has been arranged. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ebadi, Manuchair S. Pharmacodynamic basis of herbal medicine / Manuchair Ebadi.--2nd ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8493-7050-7 (alk. paper) 1. Herbs--Therapeutic use. I. Title. RM666.H33E23 2006 615’.321--dc22 2006043867 Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at http://www.taylorandfrancis.com and the CRC Press Web site at http://www.crcpress.com T&F_LOC_B_Master.indd 1 6/1/06 12:36:35 PM 7050_book.fm Page v Wednesday, July 12, 2006 3:27 PM I dedicate this book to my beloved grandchildren, Jesse Manu Ebadi, Caylin Jane McCormick, Christine Pari McCormick, and Jolie Manizeh Ebadi. 7050_book.fm Page vi Wednesday, July 12, 2006 3:27 PM In books lie the soul of the whole past time, the articulate audible voice of the past, when the body and material substances of it have altogether vanished like a dream. — Thomas Carlyle 7050_book.fm Page vii Wednesday, July 12, 2006 3:27 PM Preface to the First Edition Hippocrates (460-377 B.C.), who used many of the herbal medicines described in this book, lamented, “Life is short, and the art long; the occasion fleeting; experience fallacious; and judgment difficult.” Herbal remedies have become a major component of American health care. Botanicals like ginseng, ma huang, St. John’s wort, and valerian are now household words throughout the world, and the sales of herbal medicine are increasing exponentially. Alternative therapies include acupuncture, energy healing, folk medicines, herbal medicines, homeopathy, massage, and megavitamins, to name only a few. Millions of people in the third world have used and will always use herbal medicines because they believe in them and regard them as “their” medicine, in contrast to the “allopathic” (conventional Western) system of medicine brought in from “outside.” These medicinal herbs are available locally and are prescribed by traditional practitioners of medicine who are part of the community and in whose presence the patient feels comfortable. In Western countries, there is now an increased use of herbal medicines, largely because of a belief that powerful synthetic agents used in Western medicine can exert more unwanted side effects and are too often used indiscriminately and irrationally. Many of our present medicines are derived directly or indirectly from higher plants. Although several classic plant drugs have lost much ground to synthetic competitors, others have gained a new investigational or therapeutic status in recent years. In addition, a number of novel plant-derived substances have entered into Western drug markets. The word pharmacodynamic may be defined as the study of the actions and effects of drugs on organ, tissue, cellular, and subcellular levels. Therefore, pharmacodynamics provides us with information about how drugs bring about their beneficial effects and how they cause their side effects. By understanding and applying the knowledge gained in studying pharmacodynamics, physicians and other members of the health-care delivery team are able to provide effective and safe therapeutic care to their patients. Western physicians prescribing synthetic drugs may want to believe in herbal medicines and use them in their patients, but wish to see scientific documentation as they have learned in their pharmacology and therapeutic courses in medical school. Eastern physicians yearn to find out how their drugs, proven efficacious for thousands of years in ancient civilizations such as Chinese, Indian, Persian, and Egyptian, work and bring about their beneficial effects. This book bridges the past to the present and shows at the molecular level how the herbal medications most often used work. For example: • This book shows how Eastern physicians used meadow saffron, which is good for gout, but also provides evidence that meadow saffron possesses colchicines, an antigoutic medication, and provides the mechanisms of action for it. • This book shows how Eastern physicians used belladonna alkaloid for Parkinson’s disease but also provides evidence that belladonna alkaloid contains anticholinergic drugs, which counterbalance the dopamine deficiency syndrome seen in Parkinson’s disease. • This book shows how Indians used Rauwolfia serpentina to reduce blood pressure and as an antipsychotic, but also shows that it contains reserpine, which depletes norepi- nephrine in the periphery bringing about its antihypertensive effects and depletes dopam- ine in the mesocortical system causing tranquility. • This book compares the actions of fluoxetin, the most frequently used antidepressant in the world, with those of St. John’s wort, in altering the uptake of serotonin. 7050_book.fm Page viii Wednesday, July 12, 2006 3:27 PM • This book compares the hypnotic and sedative actions of valerian used for thousand years to treat insomnia with those of benzodiazepine derivatives in altering GABAergic transmission. • This book describes the existence of drugs isolated from food substances such as horse- radish, garlic, and rhubarb, and provides their mechanisms of action. • This book describes the efficacy of Shing Jing in male fertility and erectile dysfunction and compares its efficacy with those brought about by levodopa, amylnitrite, vitamin E, and sildenafil (Viagra). The majority of believers in alternative medicine are more educated, but they report poorer health status. They take herbal medicine not so much because are dissatisfied with conventional medicines, but largely because they find these health-care alternatives to be more congruent with their own values, beliefs, and philosophical orientations toward health care and life in general. M. Ebadi Grand Forks, North Dakota 7050_book.fm Page ix Wednesday, July 12, 2006 3:27 PM Acknowledgments for the First Edition The author expresses his appreciation to Liz Covello, the former publisher of life sciences for CRC Press LLC, and Barbara Ellen Norwitz, the current publisher of life sciences for CRC Press LLC for a gracious invitation to prepare a book on herbal medicine. The author acknowledges the support of Tiffany Lane, editorial assistant, and the magnificent contribution of Gail Renard, production editor, for polishing and refining the book. The author extends his expression of admiration to Debra Jean Kroese, Dawn Halvorson, Lacy Kay Boushee, and HaleyAnn Kroese for gathering reference materials and for typing certain sections of the book. The author remains indebted to Victoria Swift, the director of the art department at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences for her marvelous artistic talent in completing many of the diagrams; and to Betty Ann Karolski, the associate director, Biomedical Communications Information Technology Services at the University of Nebraska Medical Center for her support in completing this book. The author extends his grateful appreciation and eternal sense of indebtedness to KayLynn Marie Bergland for her magnificent dedication to her job, marvelous work ethics, and incredible skills in typing, reading, editing, proofing, and revising the entire book. The author pays an affectionate tribute and extends his heartfelt gratitude to H. David Wilson, M.D., the eminent Dean and Vice President for Health Affairs, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, for his unyielding support, Solomonic wisdom, and genuine friendship in facilitating the completion of this book.