Category: Plants & Medicine

Diabetes is the fastest growing metabolic disease in the world. A new study has shown that traditional Aboriginal and Indian plant extracts could be used to manage the disease and may also have potential use in cancer treatment.

A compound called Celastrol, extracted from thunder god vine root, caused obese mice to spontaneously and voluntarily go on a diet. Celastrol-treated obese mice ate 80 percent less food than the control (non-treated) mice, and after three weeks of Celastrol treatment, the formerly fat mice had become positively svelte, shedding on average 45 percent of their body weight. The icing on the cake: Celastrol also decreased mouse cholesterol levels, improved liver function, and enhanced glucose metabolism.

A concentrated extract of maple syrup makes disease-causing bacteria more susceptible to antibiotics,

Muscles sore after a tough workout? Put the ibuprofen down and pick up some saffron instead. A new study has found that the spice might be more effective at easing exercise-induced muscle pain and weakness than over-the-counter anti-inflammatories.

A psychedelic drink used for centuries in healing ceremonies is now attracting the attention of biomedical scientists as a possible treatment for depression.

Scientists recreated a 9th Century Anglo-Saxon remedy using onion, garlic and part of a cow’s stomach. They were “astonished” to find it almost completely wiped out staphylococcus aureus, otherwise known as MRSA.

With silibinin we might have discovered a non-invasive treatment strategy not only for the rare Cushing Disease but also for other conditions with the involvement of glucocorticoid receptors such as lung tumors, acute lymphoblastic leukemia or multiple myeloma