Research

Scientific and Clinical Research

All of our health and nutrition products at Sacred Leaves Botanicals, Inc. are produced after rigorous study and investigation of herbal traditions such as Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurvedic Medicine. We also intensively reference all of the available modern scientific and clinical research in order to corroborate what tradition informs us. Modern science has in fact been able to independently verify what much of the ancient traditional herbal text and practices has taught through the ages. This independent modern scientific can not only help us bring the divide between natural and orthodox medicine, but it can lend itself to cultural understanding.

Below we have compiled a list of scientific references for our products. Please feel free to investigate further the scientific and clinical basis for our products and herbal supplements in general. If you have any questions please drop us an email at info@sacredleavesbotanicals.com.

Nature Rising™:
Male Sexual Vitality Tonic

Erectogenic and Neurotrophic Effects of Icariin, a Purified Extract of Horny Goat Weed (Epimedium spp.) In Vitro and In Vivo.
Shindel AW, Xin ZC, Lin G, Fandel TM, Huang YC, Banie L, Breyer BN, Garcia MM, Lin CS, Lue TF.
University of California Knuppe Molecular Urology Laboratory-Department of Urology, School of Medicine, San Francisco, CA, USA.
J Sex Med. 2010 Feb 5.

ABSTRACT

Introduction.Epimedium species (aka horny goat weed) have been utilized for the treatment of erectile dysfunction in Traditional Chinese Medicine for many years. Icariin (ICA) is the active moiety of Epimedium species. Aim. To evaluate the penile hemodynamic and tissue effects of ICA in cavernous nerve injured rats.
We also studied the in vitro effects of ICA on cultured pelvic ganglia. Methods-Rats were subjected to cavernous nerve injury and subsequently treated for 4 weeks with daily gavage feedings of a placebo solution of normal saline and Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) vs. ICA dissolved in DMSO at doses of 1, 5, and 10 mg/kg. A separate group underwent a single dose of ICA 10 mg/kg 2 hours prior to functional testing. Functional testing with cavernous nerve stimulation and real-time assessment of intracavernous pressure (ICP) was performed at 4 weeks. After functional testing, penile tissue was procured for immunohistochemistry and molecular studies. In separate experiments, pelvic ganglia were excised from healthy rats and cultured in the presence of ICA, sildenafil, or placebo culture media. Main Outcome Measure.Ratio of ICP and area under the curve (AUC) to mean arterial pressure (MAP) during cavernous nerve stimulation of subject rodents. We also assayed tissue expression of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), eNOS: endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), calponin, and apoptosis via immunohistochemistry and Western blot. Serum testosterone and luteinizing hormone (LH) were assayed using enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA). Differential length of neurite outgrowth was assessed in cultured pelvic ganglia. Results. Rats treated with low-dose ICA demonstrated significantly higher ICP/MAP and AUC/MAP ratios compared with control and single-dose ICA animals. Immunohistochemistry and Western blot were revealing of significantly greater positivity for nNOS and calponin in penile tissues of all rats treated with ICA. ICA led to significantly greater neurite length in cultured specimens of pelvic ganglia. Conclusion. ICA may have neurotrophic effects in addition to known phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibiting effects. Shindel AW, Xin Z-C, Lin G, Fandel TM, Huang YC, Banie L, Breyer BN, Garcia MM, Lin C-S, and Lue TF. Erectogenic and neurotrophic effects of icariin, a purified extract of horny goat weed (Epimedium spp.) in vitro and in vivo.


Enhancement of ATP generation capacity, antioxidant activity and immunomodulatory activities by Chinese Yang and Yin tonifying herbs.
Ko KM, Leung HY.
Department of Biochemistry, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, China. bcrko@ust.hk
Chinese Medicine. 2007 Mar 27;2:3.

Abstract

Chinese tonifying herbs such as herbacistanche, ganoderma and cordyceps, which possess antioxidant and/or immunomodulatory activities, can be useful in the prevention and treatment of age-related diseases. Pharmacological studies on Yang and Yin tonifying herbs suggest that Yang tonifying herbs stimulate mitochondrial adenosine triphosphate (ATP) generation, presumably through the intermediacy of reactive oxidant species, leading to the enhancement of cellular/mitochondrial antioxidant status. Yin tonifying herbs, however, apart from possessing antioxidant properties, exert mainly immunomodulatory functions that may boost a weak immune system and may also suppress overreactive immune responses. The abilities of Yang and Yin Chinese tonifying herbs to enhance ATP generation and to exhibit antioxidant and/or immunomodulatory actions are the pharmacological basis for their beneficial effects on the retardation of aging.

A substance isolated from Cornusofficinalis enhances the motility of human sperm.
Jeng H, Wu CM, Su SJ, Chang WC. Department of Anatomy, Taipei Medical College, Taiwan.
American Journal of Chinese Medicine 1997;25(3-4):301-6.

Abstract

The effects of a Chinese herb, Cornusofficinalis, on the motility of human sperm was studied. An aqueous extract was prepared from the dried fruits of the herb and used in this study. The crude extract at a final concentration of 0.5 microgram/microliter in phosphate buffered saline (pH 7.4) increased sperm motility from 25.8 +/- 7.7% to 42.8 +/- 10.3% (i.e. 68% increase, n = 7), as determined by the computer-aided-sperm-analysis (CASA) method. The crude extract was fractionated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) into four fractions: C1, C2, C3 and C4. Their effects on sperm motility were further studied by CASA. Only the C4 fraction showed substantial stimulatory effects on sperm motility. At a concentration of 5 ng/microliter, C4 increased the sperm motility from 15.7 +/- 3.8% to 34.5 +/- 6.4% (i.e. 120% increase, n = 6) by CASA and from 14.9 +/- 4.3 to 28.5 +/- 8.1 (i.e. 91% increase, n = 8) by transmembrane migration ratio (TMMR) method. This result suggests that C4 is the active component in Cornusofficinalis that enhances sperm motility.

Lyciumbarbarum polysaccharides: Protective effects against heat-induced damage of rat testes and H2O2-induced DNA damage in mouse testicular cells and beneficial effect on sexual behavior and reproductive function of hemicastrated rats.
Luo Q, Li Z, Huang X, Yan J, Zhang S, Cai YZ.
College of Public Health, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, Hubei, PR China.
Life Sci. 2006 Jul 10;79(7):613-21. Epub 2006 Mar 6.
Abstract
Lyciumbarbarum, a famous Chinese medicinal herb, has a long history of use as a traditional remedy for male infertility. Polysaccharides are the most important functional constituent in L. barbarum fruits. We systematically investigated the effect of L. barbarum polysaccharides (LBP) on rat testis damage induced by a physical factor (43 degrees C heat exposure), on DNA damage of mouse testicular cells induced by a chemical factor (H2O2), and on sexual behavior and reproductive function of hemicastrated male rats. The results showed that LBP provided a protective effect against the testicular tissue damage induced by heat exposure. When compared with negative control, a suitable concentration of LBP significantly increased testis and epididymis weights, improved superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, and raised sexual hormone levels in the damaged rat testes. LBP had a dose-dependent protective effect against DNA oxidative damage of mouse testicular cells induced by H2O2. LBP improved the copulatory performance and reproductive function of hemicastrated male rats, such as shortened penis erection latency and mount latency, regulated secretion of sexual hormones and increased hormone levels, raised accessory sexual organ weights, and improved sperm quantity and quality. The present findings support the folk reputation of L. barbarum fruits as an aphrodisiac and fertility-facilitating agent, and provide scientific evidence for a basis for the extensive use of L. barbarum fruits as a traditional remedy for male infertility in China.

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2002 May;962:372-7.

Ginseng, sex behavior, and nitric oxide.
Murphy LL, Lee TJ.
Department of Physiology, Southern Illinois University, School of Medicine, Carbondale, Illinois 62901, USA. lmurphy@siumed.edu

Abstract

In Asia, ginseng is commonly included in herbals used for the treatment of sexual dysfunction. Recent studies in laboratory animals have shown that both Asian and American forms of ginseng enhance libido and copulatory performance. These effects of ginseng may not be due to changes in hormone secretion, but to direct effects of ginseng, or its ginsenoside components, on the central nervous system and gonadal tissues. Indeed, there is good evidence that ginsenosides can facilitate penile erection by directly inducing the vasodilatation and relaxation of penile corpus cavernosum. Moreover, the effects of ginseng on the corpus cavernosum appear to be mediated by the release and/or modification of release of nitric oxide from endothelial cells and perivascular nerves. Treatment with American ginseng also affects the central nervous system and has been shown to significantly alter the activity of hypothalamic catecholamines involved in the facilitation of copulatory behavior and hormone secretion. Recent findings that ginseng treatment decreased prolactin secretion also suggested a direct nitric oxide-mediated effect of ginseng at the level of the anterior pituitary. Thus, animal studies lend growing support for the use of ginseng in the treatment of sexual dysfunction and provide increasing evidence for a role of nitric oxide in the mechanism of ginsenoside action.