Introduction:
Shanzha (crategeous pinnatifida) is also known as “Hawthorn” in some regions. In China, shanzha has been eaten for improving digestive ailments and cardiovascular disorders. Shanzha is utilized together with other herbs in prescription formulas to dissolve food and resolve stagnant digestion caused by accumulations of poor digested foods, characterized by abdominal distention and pain, or diarrhea; and it is also used alone or in combination with other herbs for the treatment of cardiovascular disorders. Shanzha preparations are also commonly prescribed by physicians in Germany and elsewhere for the treatment of diminished heart performance at the early stages of congestive heart failure (CHF), for angina pectoris, and to help in long-term recovery from heart attacks. It is also used to reduce a sensation of pressure or anxiety in the heart area, age-related heart problems, mild forms of arrhythmias, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis).
Studies in China and other countries show that shanzha extract lowers serum cholesterol levels and improves cardiac oxygenation and contractility; is useful in the prevention and treatment of arteriosclerosis; and improves circulation to the extremities by helping to reduce resistance in the arteries.
Here I am exposing the use of shanzha (crateageous pinnatifida) 5:1 concentrated extract powder as an effective treatment for lowering excessive blood levels of cholesterol and triglycerides.
I think that knowing the benefits of Shanzha (cratageous pinnatifida) can be of great help to patients and to health care providers as well. On one hand it is true that most physicians in the West has not been exposed to Traditional Chinese Medicine and know very little about it, and on the other hand, the conventional medications and protocols to achieve success in lowering LDL are limited and come with serious side effects. Therefore, knowing that there are effective and safe natural products that can lower cholesterol is very important. Shanzha is a commonly used herbal medicine in Asia and in some European countries.
It is known that the mechanism of action of statins (the conventional drugs for lowering bad cholesterol) while effective, it interferes with healthy muscle functions. I would like to mention that in China, whenever possible, most physicians prefer to indicate Shanzha (cratageous pinnatifida) rather than conventional cholesterol lowering drugs (statins). Shanzha is very useful, especially in cases where besides lowering bad cholesterol, maintaining healthy muscles (including the myocardial) is a priority.
Mechanism of action:
Shanzha extract can help improve the amount of blood pumped out of the heart during contractions, widen the blood vessels, and increase the transmission of nerve signals. Studies show that shanzha extract has blood pressure-lowering activity. It relaxes the blood vessels, due to a component in hawthorn called proanthocyanidin. The studies have shown that hawthorn can lower cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or “bad cholesterol”), and triglycerides (fats in the blood). It seems to lower accumulation of fats in the liver and the aorta. Shanzha extract may lower cholesterol by increasing the excretion of bile, reducing the formation of cholesterol, and enhancing the receptors for LDLs. It also seems to have antioxidant activity.
Hyperlipidemias, particularly hypercholesterolemia and the hyperlipoproteinemias, are among the most potent risk factors in the causation of atherosclerosis. Hyperlipoproteinemias are also implicated in the development of pancreatitis. A long-established theory suggests that the higher the circulating levels of low-density lipoprotein, the more likely they are to gain entrance to the arterial wall and cause atherosclerosis.
Lipoproteins, including intermediate density lipoprotein (IDL) and low density lipoprotein (LDL), are the major carriers for triglycerides and cholesterol, in the form of cholesteryl esters, in the plasma. The core of an IDL or LDL particle is cholesterol rich. About three-fourths of the total cholesterol in normal human plasma is contained in LDL particles. In the liver, LDL is taken up from the blood through binding to LDL receptors on hepatocytes. In humans, 70 to 80 per cent of LDL is removed from the plasma each day by the LDL receptor pathway in hepatocytes.
Some of the cholesterol from LDL particles is used by hepatocytes in the synthesis of bile acids, which are excreted along with some free cholesterol through the biliary system into the intestine, and some is used in the cell for synthesis of cellular membranous organelles or distributed to other tissues for use in organelle and steroid hormone synthesis. If uptake is blocked at the receptor level, cholesterol accumulates in the blood and can contribute to atherosclerosis.
Cells needing cholesterol for membrane synthesis make LDL receptors and insert them into the cell membrane, where they associate with coated pits. When LDL receptors bind LDL, the coated pits pinch off into the cytoplasm, form coated vesicles, and thereby internalize LDL into the cell. LDL receptors are subsequently recycled to the cell membrane, and the cholesterol is used in membrane synthesis. If too much cholesterol accumulates in a cell, the cell's own synthesis of cholesterol and LDL receptor protein is shut down. Then less cholesterol is taken up by the cell.
In hypercholesterolemia, the increase in the blood cholesterol level is associated mainly with a rise in LDL concentrations. However, the specific causes of hypercholesterolemia are complicated, varied, and largely, unknown. At least one kind of hypercholesterolemia is caused by a mutation in the gene for the LDL receptor. Both heterozygotes and homozygotes for the defect manifest a significant elevation in the concentration of total plasma cholesterol, which is attributable to an elevation in the level of serum LDL.
Reduction of hypercholesterolemia results in a delayed onset of atherosclerosis and a decrease in progression of atherosclerosis, thus reducing the risk of coronary heart disease in humans and other primates. Specifically, there is evidence in animals, most notably primates, that relatively complicated plaques induced by hyperlipidemia will regress, and that further progression of atherosclerosis will cease when hyperlipidemia is removed. Therefore, efforts to prevent atherogenesis, to interrupt progression, and perhaps to promote regression of existing lesions by risk factor reduction are warranted. E. L. Bierman, "Disorders of the Vascular System: Atherosclerosis and Other Forms of Arteriosclerosis," in Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine 1014-1024, (E. Braunwald et al. 1987).
Some forms of hyperlipidemia, including hypercholesterolemia, are potentially partially reversible with current techniques of preventive management. However, none of the current techniques is completely successful and many are associated with unwanted side effects and complications. Dietary therapy is usually recommended for patients with hypercholesterolemia but is not always effective. Methods that result in an increased production of LDL receptors, thus allowing the liver to take up more LDL from blood, have also been proposed. For example, bile acid binding resins, such as cholestyramine, may be used to trap the bile acids excreted by the liver. When bile acids are depleted, the liver responds by converting additional cholesterol into bile acids. To step up the synthesis of bile acids, an enhanced production of LDL receptors by the liver occurs, which in turn lowers the plasma level of LDL. One complication of this approach to treating high serum cholesterol by reduction of bile acids is that the liver may also respond to bile acid depletion by enhancing cholesterol synthesis. Bile acid binding resins may also cause gastrointestinal bloating, cramps, and constipation.
Methods for treating disease states associated with high blood levels of lipids by increasing the number of LDL receptors in hepatocytes by a class of drugs that exhibit 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMGCoA reductase), an enzyme involved in cholesterol synthesis, have also been proposed. However, long term administration of HMGCoA reductase inhibitor may lead to a suppression of cholesterol synthesis that in turn may affect the availability of precursor for essential steroid hormones such as mineralocorticoids, glucocorticoids, and the sex hormones. Further, some patients using HMGCoA reductase inhibitor have developed cataracts prematurely. Accordingly, what is needed are other effective methods and compositions for use in lowering blood lipid levels and in treating disease states associated with high levels of blood lipids. It is therefore very useful to know that a natural product with little to none side effect can be used to treat hypercholesterolemia and related disease states, such as atherosclerosis.
Shanzha apparently lower serum cholesterol through inhibition of LDL receptor down-regulation. Typically, in a hypercholesterolemic subject, the LDL receptor is down regulated, and the further removal of intermediate density lipoproteins (IDL) and LDL from the plasma is prevented. By inhibiting this down-regulation, shanzha enables hepatocytes to take up more LDL from the blood. Cholesterol in the hepatocytes is then cleared through excretion as bile acids or free cholesterol into the biliary system, which drains into the small intestine. This mode of action in reducing serum LDL complements that of the HMGCoA reductase inhibitors, since shanzha can act in combination with these drugs to produce an even more powerful method of treatment of hypercholesterolemia.
This discovery allows shanzha to be used as a therapeutic agent to treat hyperlipidemia, hyperlipoproteinemia, hypercholesterolemia, and diseases associated with each of these, such as atherosclerosis and pancreatitis.
Shanzha can be used for the treatment of hyperlipidemias, including hypercholesterolemia; hyperlipoproteinemia, including high serum levels of LDL and IDL; and disease states associated with each, such as atherosclerosis and pancreatitis. Shanzha can also be used in normal subjects as a preventative measure to prevent the occurrence of these disorders. People suffering from any of these disorders or wishing to prevent any of these disorders can be treated with shanzha 5:1 extract powder, in an amount effective to decrease blood lipids.
Typical dosages of shanzha 5:1 concentrated extract powder:
Adult dosage range: 1-2 teaspoonfuls b.i.d. or t.i.d. (equivalent to 40-50 gm of crude extract per day for a 60 kg of body weight). Preferably, 3 times a day, in the morning, afternoon, and at night.
Patients can be maintained on shanzha indefinitely to achieve and maintain low serum cholesterol levels of between 160 and 200 mg/dl. Observation and monitoring (blood tests) for possible interaction should take place, if shanzha extract would be given along with blood thinner medications.
Shanzha 5:1 concentrated extract powder (pharmaceutical graded) is available from our clinic in Miami.
Regreso
