WHO monographs on selected medicinal plants - travolekar.ru

<strong>WHO</strong> <strong>monographs</strong> on selected medicinal plants
administration of the powdered fruit to 10 patients with type II diabetes,
at a dose of 2.0 g/day for 11 days, reduced blood glucose and total cholesterol
levels by 10.02%. The reduction in blood glucose levels during the
glucose tolerance test was 10.64–15.15% in the patients with diabetes, and
was highly significant (p < 0.001).
The effects of the crude drug on fasting and post-prandial serum glucose
levels (2 hours after oral administration of 75 g glucose) were studied in
100 subjects with moderate non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. Drinking
the aqueous homogenized suspension of the vegetable pulp led to a significant
reduction (p < 0.001) of both fasting and post-prandial serum glucose
levels. This hypoglycaemic action was observed in 86 (86%) of the patients.
Five patients (5%) showed lowering of fasting serum glucose only (24).
Immune stimulation
Cervical cancer patients have a decreased total white blood cell count,
including that of natural killer cells. Natural killer cells, one type of lymphocyte,
play a role in eliminating cancer cells by antibody-dependent
cell-mediated cytotoxicity. A clinical study assessed the effect of the crude
drug in cervical cancer patients undergoing normal treatment (radiotherapy).
Subjects were divided into three groups:
— normal control (women aged 35–55 years, n = 35);
— patient control (n = 30); and
— patient treatment (n = 30).
The women in the patient control and patient treatment groups were cervical
cancer patients (stage II or III) being treated with radiotherapy
(without or with addition of the crude drug). Blood samples from women
in the patient control and patient treatment groups were analysed for percentage
of natural killer cells and concentration of P-glycoprotein. The
results showed an increased percentage of natural killer cells in the patient
control and patient treatment groups. The increase in both groups was
significant (p < 0.05) when the percentage of natural killer cells from second
and third blood samples (taken after radiation with or without addition
of the crude drug for 45 and 90 days) was compared with that from
the first blood sample (taken before treatment). The results for the women
in the patient treatment group also showed a significant decrease of
P-glycoprotein level (p < 0.05) in the second and third blood samples
when compared with the first blood samples. There was no significant
difference in the P-glycoprotein (P-gp) level between the first, second and
third blood samples from the women in the patient control group. Ingestion
of the crude drug did not affect numbers of natural killer cells, but it
did affect the decrease of P-gp level on natural killer cell membrane (52).
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