That’s the conclusion of Italian scientists after performing a meta-analysis of studies looking at combined consumption of these two herbal remedies.

Berberine occurs naturally in medicinal plants such as goldenseal and Oregon grape, while silymarin is found in the seeds of the milk thistle plant.

The scientists reviewed the findings of five randomised, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled clinical trials (RCTs) – considered the gold-standard of evidence. Results showed that co-consumption of berberine and silymarin was associated with significant improvements in across several cholesterol measurements.

The findings, which showed that the combination was associated with reductions in total cholesterol of 25 mg/dl, of triglycerides of 28 mg/dl, and of LDL cholesterol of 29 mg/dl, while HDL cholesterol levels were increased by 6 mg/dl, were published in the journal Phytotherapy Research​​.

In addition to these benefits, the data also showed the herbal combo produced significant reductions in blood glucose levels were observed, with average decreases of 7.5 mg/dl.

A synergistic effect

The data suggest the two herbal remedies work best together.

“[Berberine] lipid‐lowering efficacy in humans is well‐known and definitely confirmed by a previous meta‐analysis of 27 clinical studies with overall 2,569 participants​,”​ write the scientists from the universities of Bologna, L’Aquila, and Palermo in Italy.

“In comparison with that meta‐analysis, our findings show that the addition of silymarin to [berberine] is able to improve its positive effect on lipid and glucose metabolism in humans, allowing for the administration of lower doses of [berberine] and accordingly reducing the associated risk of gastrointestinal discomfort which is demonstrably dose related. ​

“As a matter of fact, considerations on tolerability of low doses of [berberine] may also have important clinical implications, because it is well known that hypercholesterolemia is an asymptomatic clinical condition in which adherence and persistence on prescribed lipid‐lowering medications are relatively low, and discontinuation rates are even higher in presence of adverse events or drug reactions.

The studies analysed included data from 497 individuals and the length of the studies was between three to 12 months. Doses of berberine were 500 or 1,000 mg/day; doses of silymarin doses were either 105 or 210 mg/day.

Pollen collects on bees’ legs as they forage for nectar. It is a rich mixture of carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, vitamins, minerals, polyphenols, as well as small amount of other beneficial compounds. It is nourishing food for the hive and many small studies have demonstrated wide-ranging human health benefits from supplementing with bee pollen.

Writing in the Journal of Functional Foods, an international research team reviewed the evidence on the claimed benefits and nutritional properties of bee pollen and its potentially active metabolites such as polyphenolic acid and flavonoids.

Their conclusion? “Bee pollen is the nutrient rich treasure trove of active natural metabolites and benefits human health,” said the researchers

Range of health benefits

According to the team of Chinese and Brazilian researchers, previous studies have identified dozens of different types of flavonoids which contribute to its effectiveness.

A bee pollen rich diet, according to the data, could prove beneficial for children who have a loss of appetite and/or those suffering from malnutrition and can help ameliorate adverse reactions during chemotherapy and radiotherapy

In addition bee pollen has demonstrated mental/physical benefits to people undertaking strenuous or stressful work. Studies also show that a diet supplemented with bee pollen strengthens muscles and improves body conditioning

The researchers also looked at the safety profile of bee pollen – addressing concerns of its allergenic potential

In the researchers’ view, airborne pollen allergens caught in bee pollen are the main allergy risk factor and better quality control can help reduce that potential.

Bee pollen grains can be bought in most health stores and can be sprinkled yogurt, oatmeal, or smoothies. They can also be ground down as a supplement powder or into a capsule. There is no official recommended dose but as a guideline adults should consume 3-5 tbl per day, and children 1-2 tbl per day.

• If you’d like to know more about the health benefits of bee pollen see our article Bee pollen – nature’s complete superfood

In the same way that protein clumps build up in the brain in people with some neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, protein clumps appear to accumulate in the hearts of those who have suffered heart failure.

In recent experiments, involving humans and animals, a team of American and Italian scientists looking at diseased hearts, report identifying a protein that tends to clump. Visualizing it in the heart using a noninvasive positron emission tomography (PET) scan could, they say, lead to advances in monitoring disease progression and testing new therapies.

Heart failure is a chronic condition in which the heart doesn’t fill or pump blood as well as it should, leading to excessive fatigue. About 5.7 million people in the U.S. have heart failure, and about half of people diagnosed will die within five years, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“From a molecular standpoint there’s not a unified, clear mechanism for why the heart goes into failure,” says Giulio Agnetti, PhD, assistant professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and University of Bologna. “But by figuring out this mechanism, we may be able to devise better treatments and diagnostic tools.”

Current drugs used to treat heart failure – such as those that lower blood pressure by relaxing blood vessels – reduce stress on the heart and symptoms associated with heart failure without necessarily fixing the underlying cause. Once the heart fails to pump, the only treatment in the end is a heart transplant.

Amyloid clumps in the heart

Previous work by this team, published in 2014, showed that the protein desmin accumulates in clumps called amyloid in the hearts of dogs with heart failure. Desmin is a protein found in the cell’s “skeleton,” or supporting structure, and is known as intermediate filaments. Why it clumps in diseased heart cells isn’t known, Agnetti says.

To see if desmin protein clumps are also found in human heart failure, the researchers studied the proteins from heart tissue biopsies from people with or without heart failure. They used a fluorescent antibody commonly used in Alzheimer’s disease research and a new fluorescent stain for amyloid developed by Agnetti to visualize and quantify the desmin protein clumps. They observed twice as many desmin clumps in heart failure patients than those without heart failure.

The team used a common mouse model of heart failure to look for desmin clumps. In this model, the aorta – the main artery coming from the heart – is surgically constricted, which noticeably raises pressure and stress, and causes heart failure. After four weeks of pressure on the aorta, the mice develop symptoms of heart failure such as an enlarged heart and lung congestion. Desmin amyloid was more than doubled in the heart failure mice when using the same antibody and staining techniques used for the human tissue samples.

Green tea antioxidant keeps clumps at bay

Then the researchers treated proteins from the mice hearts with epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) – a chemical from green tea known to break up amyloid. The treatment cut by half the amount of protein clumps.

“Interestingly, green tea has already been demonstrated to curb the incidence of cardiovascular disease as well as improve cognitive impairment in Alzheimer’s models, though the mechanism for such action is unclear,” says Agnetti. “EGCG’s ability to ‘de-clump’ these sticky proteins could be one of green tea’s healthy effects. Knowing how this chemical works could open new avenues for designing a new class of drugs that target protein clumping.”

“PET imaging of protein clumps may be eventually used in patients to identify structural changes in the heart as the disease progresses, and this information likely holds prognostic value,” says Peter Rainer, M.D., Ph.D., a former postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins who is now at the Medical University of Graz in Austria. “It could be used as a nice measure of the effect of an intervention to halt or reverse disease progression.”

In future experiments, the research team plans to confirm its results in more human tissue samples. The investigators also hope to encourage the use of PET scanning to help identify early structural changes in the heart as well as more therapeutic substances that can prevent desmin from forming clumps.

“There is a lot of emphasis placed on the role of genes in modern times, but we’re born with our genes and at present we can do very little about the ones we have,” says Agnetti. “I think the next step is to follow up with the proteins that are dynamically modified in response to environment, which places a larger emphasis on lifestyle intervention to help prevent diseases. Natural compounds like EGCG in green tea and modified dietary interventions could play a role in keeping us healthy.”

EGCG is found in abundance in  green tea and can also be taken as a supplement.

Burnout is an increasingly common experience in a busy world. According to US research, fatigue affects 25% of adults and can produce troublesome symptoms like lack of energy, always feeling tired, and lapses in memory and concentration.

However in a new study, published in Minerva Medica​​​, a daily dose of oak wood extract from France (sold under the name Robuvit) for four weeks was associated with lower feelings of fatigue and improved tolerance in young surgeons and business managers.

Participants included 42 young surgeons in training and 66 managers. Over a 4 week period half were given 300 mg per day of Robuvit and half were given standard management focused on maintaining and improving interactions, professional ability, and retraining to make them able to operate with satisfaction and efficiency.

Reducing the stress and strain

The data indicated that Robuvit supplementation helped to alleviate fatigue (43% improvement in the surgeons and 27% in the managers), improve tolerance levels (45% improvement in the surgeons and 31% in the managers, versus between 0 and 13% in the control group), and reduced feelings of strain from interactions (21 % for the surgeons and 12 % for managers, compared to a worsening in both control groups).

Both groups also experienced improved feelings of satisfaction in their career path (31% and 35% for surgeons and managers, respectively, compared to worsening scores in the control groups).

Plasma free radicals levels, used as a marker of oxidative stress, also improved in both groups – by 11% in the young surgeons and by 19% in the managers – while no significant changes were observed the control groups.

“In this pilot supplement study on BOS [burnout syndrome] – a condition not easy to evaluate, measure or manage – Robuvit appears to control fatigue (the primary symptom in these groups) and the associated oxidative stress with most important symptoms associated to BOS,”​ wrote researchers led by Dr Gianni Belcaro from Irvine3 Labs in Pescara, Italy.

A flavonoid-rich extract

Tea consumption has been shown to have many benefits on mood and attention, such as improving relaxation and concentration, reducing tiredness and psychological distress. But now scientists in Japan are looking in to not just at overall benefits of tea, but how specific components that make of the flavour and aroma of tea might influence health and wellbeing.

In a small study, published in the Journal of Physiological Anthropology​, researchers at the University of Shizuoka, Chubu University, Mitsui Norin Co Ltd and Tokai University conducted a study to determine the effects of two kinds of black tea aromas on physical and psychological stress.

They recruited 18 healthy student volunteers (5 males, 13 females) aged around 21 years, and subjected them to a stressful psycho-diagnostic mathematics test which needed to be solved within 30 minutes. This was split into two 15-minute sessions. In between sessions, participants had one minute to inhale either black tea aroma (Assam or Darjeeling), or be exposed to warm water as a control.

The students were told to avoid consuming anything except water for three hours prior to the start of each trial.

The researchers then salivary levels a stress hormone chromogranin-A (CgA, a protein found in and released from neuroendocrine cells in response to stress) to determine the effect of inhaling black tea aroma in the participants.

They reported that compared to those in the control group, those who inhaled black tea aroma had lower salivary CgA concentration levels after half an hour of mentally stressful tasks.

Aromatherapy in a cup

They added that both the teas had the same effect, despite Darjeeling tea aroma having a higher concentration of anti-stress components, including hexanal and hexanol (green, herbaceous aromas, with some citrus notes), which have been reported to reduce mental stress response in laboratory animals, and linalool (a clean light floral also with citrus notes), which has sedative effects.

These same compounds are present in many essential oils which are also known to have anti-stress properties including vetiver, mandarin and other citrus oils, neroli, lavender and basil.

Olive oil – the aroma of which has been found to induce a feeling of satisfaction and fullness after a meal – is also rich in hexanol and hexanal.

The researchers noted that although the anti-stress effect of black tea aroma did not differ between the two types of tea the high levels of anti-stress aromatics in Darjeeling tea decreased the tension and/or anxiety more quickly.

“The above results indicated that inhaling black tea aroma may diminish stress levels caused by arithmetic mental stress tasks, and Darjeeling tea aroma tended to improve (the) mood before mental stress load.​

“More studies elucidating the mechanism of anti-stress responses are needed to help improve human adaptability stress…and to create a healthy and comfortable living environment.”​

• See also How to brew the healthiest cup of tea and Hot tea or cold tea – which is healthiest?

Oedema is a major risk factors of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and can result from lack of activity or being confined in a small space, like an airplane or car, for long periods of time. Those who are overweight, smoke, have high blood pressure or are taking the combined contraceptive pill or hormone replacement therapy (HRT) are most at risk.

DVT can be painful and, given the risk of a blood clot, it can be dangerous as well so finding ways of controlling it are important.

A natural solution

For the he study, published in Minerva Cardioangiologica, the Italian research team tested 295 people at varying risk levels for thrombosis, flying in economy class twice a week for more than eight hours. Participants were divided into three groups – a control group, a group wearing compression stockings and a group supplementing with Pycnogenol. These participants supplemented with 150mg of Pycnogenol daily during the three days leading up to their travel, and the three days following.

The supplement dose in this study was 150 mg per day delivered in three capsules per day. Supplementation started three days before the flights and stopped three days after the second flight.

Study participants were tested using D-dimer tests to detect blood clots and ultrasound scanning to study vein compression before and after each flight. Results show that those who supplemented with Pycnogenol experienced greater reduction of oedema in the lower legs and ankle circumference compared to control groups.

There was also a significant decrease in leg pain after flights (6% in those taking Pycnogenol compared to 19 and 17% respectively in the compression stocking and control groups).

Easing jet lag too

In addition to the reported benefits for oedema symptoms, participants in this new research also showed notable improvement in jet lag symptoms including improved sleep quality and cognitive function, reduced fatigue and visual impairment, better body clock synchronisation.

Pycnogenol is powerfully antioxidant and decades of research has shown it can boost blood circulation and act as a natural anti-inflammatory. This new study supports previous research – much of it performed by the same Italian team, linking the extract to better conditions post-travel, such as reduced venous thrombosis​​ and improvements in jet lag symptoms​​.

Pycnogenol supplements are widely available in health stores.

Natural Health News — New research has shown that a natural alkaloid extracted from daffodils activates anti-tumour pathways in the body.

It’s too soon to say whether daffodils could cure cancer, but the study from the Faculty of Sciences at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) in Belgium, offers some intriguing possibilities for how yet another cure from nature could help fight the disease.

Published recently in the journal Structure, the researchers reveal how they extracted a natural anti-cancer compound from daffodils (Amaryllidaceae narcissus).

Amaryllidaceae plants are among the 20 “most widely considered medicinal plant families”, due to their pharmacologically active compounds, say the researchers.

They established that this compound, an alkaloid named haemanthamine (HAE), binds to what is called the ribosome. Ribosomes are ‘nanomachines’ essential to the survival of our cells because they synthesise all our proteins. To sustain their unrestrained growth, cancer cells rely on increased protein synthesis: they are therefore particularly sensitive to treatments that inhibit the production and the function of ribosomes.

Their study goes some way into the mechanism by which a daffodil extract might work to slow cancer. It shows that haemanthamine blocks the production of protein by ribosomes, thus slowing growth of cancer cells. Haemanthamine also inhibits the production of these nanomachines in the nucleolus – the body’s “ribosome factory”. This in turn triggers the activation of an anti-tumour surveillance pathway leading to the stabilisation of the protein p53 and to the elimination of cancer cells.

Plant power

This study provides for the first time a molecular explanation to the anti-tumour activity of daffodils used for centuries in folk medicine.

Writing more about Amaryllidaceae alkaloids, the study authors note that the biological activities of extracts from this family are not restricted to anticancer effects.  Morphine, a potent pain killer, as well as quinine (which is used against malaria) and ephedrine (used in the treatment of asthma) are all part of the same family as HAE.

In a near future, the Belgian researchers hope to test the effect on ribosome production and function of four more Amaryllidaceae alkaloids, representative of the chemical diversity of these molecules. Their goal will be to identify rapidly the most promising chemical backbone to be further developed as a lead compound in cancer therapeutics.

Forty participants, 19 men and 21 women, were analysed in the study. All were non-smoking, moderately active men and women between the ages 22 and 50 years with a BMI between 19 and 30 kg/m2​. The researchers also narrowed down the study to include only participants who ate five or less portions of fruits plus vegetables on an average day.

The men and women were divided into two groups which received either 200mg of a lemon verbena supplement – Recoverben, a proprietary lemon verbena extract made by water extraction of organic dried lemon verbena (Aloysia citriodora​) leaves – or 200 mg of maltodextrin as a placebo.

Faster recovery

Participants were instructed to take their capsules each morning. In total, the study lasted 15 days – products were consumed for 10 days before an exhaustive exercise test, during the test day and four days after the test.

Perceived muscle soreness and general levels of pain post-exercise were used to judge the effectiveness of the lemon verbena.

Biochemical analyses were also performed to evaluate muscle damage and antioxidative capacity. Here the researchers were looking for levels of certain biomarkers: creatine kinase, glutathione peroxidase, and interleukin-6.

The researchers found that the participants who consumed lemon verbena benefited from less muscle damage as well as faster and full recovery. Compared to the placebo, the lemon verbena extract receiving participants had significantly less exercise-related loss of muscle strength over all time points, improved glutathione peroxidase activity by trend, and less induced pain by trend.

Polyphenols to protect muscles

According to the researchers, lemon verbena’s potential effects on exercise-induced muscle damage is similar to results seen in trials of other ingredients like ashwagandha, curcumin, pomegranate and blueberry. The key, they say, may be the high levels of antioxidants in these supplements.

“These natural ingredients are high in polyphenols, a trait shared by lemon verbena”, they said adding that, “It has been proposed, that polyphenols could be useful to prevent muscle damage or improve recovery.”​

The researchers concluded that lemon verbena extract is a “safe and well-tolerated natural sports ingredient ​[which reduces] muscle damage after exhaustive exercise.”​

Vital Solutions GmbH, a German ingredient company which owns Recoverben, funded the study and took part in discussions of the clinical trial design. However the results to mirror those of a 2011 study in which Spanish researcher also found that supplemental lemon verbena protected against oxidative damage, decreased the signs of muscular damage in participants taking part in a heavy running exercise.

In a small study published in the journal Phytomedicine, researchers at the Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in Iran, found that the 30 new mothers supplemented with 15 mg of saffron daily showed greater improvement in their symptoms compared to the same number of new mothers who took a placebo.

The intervention period lasted eight weeks, during which study participants were not allowed to receive any other behaviour therapy.

Symptom severity was judged, based on responses to what is known as the Beck Depression Inventory questionnaire, the most widely used psychometric test measuring severity of depression.

The researchers noted that in Iran, as elsewhere some degree post-partum depression is normal.

“Numerous adverse effects of antidepressants as well as the attitudes of breastfeeding mothers, who prefer to consume herbal medicine rather than chemical drugs, encouraged us to assess the effects of saffron (Crocus sativus L) on mothers suffering from mild-to-moderate postpartum depressive disorder,”​ they write.

Saffron’s mental health benefits​

Most saffron supplements available are aimed at assisting weight loss and satiety. Recently there has been research to suggest that antioxidants in saffron could help protect ageing eyes. But there is also emerging science to suggest mental health benefits.

A meta-analysis by researchers at the University of Florida, Gainesville included five studies in which saffron was compared to placebo (two studies) or to conventional anti-depressant treatment (three studies). ​

Results suggested that saffron (the dosage was 30 mg per day of powdered saffron) is significantly better than placebo in improving symptoms of depression and more or less equivalent to standard pharmaceutical antidepressants (i.e., imipramine or fluoxetine).”

This latest study adds on to the existing evidence for the benefits of saffron for people suffering from mild to moderate depression.”

One of the most expensive spices

Saffron is derived from derived from the stigma of the flower Crocus sativus, commonly known as the saffron crocus. It is one of the world’s most expensive spices because the stigmas of each flower need to be collected by hand and there are only a few per flower. A pound of saffron can cost $1,500 (£1,100). By comparison, a pound of organic turmeric root powder can sell for around £8).

This might seem to put the remedy outside the reach of many mothers. But commenting on the various studies of saffron benefits Stefan Gafner, chief scientific officer of the American Botanical Council noted that, “Not all studies were carried out with saffron stigma (which is the rather expensive saffron plant part used as a spice), but quite a few were done with the saffron petals, which are much less costly”.​

He adds that even if the stigma are used, the dosage of 30 mg per day (twice what was used in the current study) is so low that it is possible to manufacture an affordable saffron supplement.

It’s worth noting that there is no evidence yet on the safety or effectiveness of saffron for post-partum depression breastfeeding mothers, nevertheless the early results from these small trials are encouraging.