Epilobium en prostaat hypertrofie? Aan Maria Treben komt de eer toe, ons bewust gemaakt te hebben van dit plantje, dat lange tijd totaal in de vergetelheid geraakt was. De basterdwederik soms ook kleinbloemig wilgenroosje genoemd telt wel een tiental verschillende ondersoorten. Het onderscheid tussen deze soorten is moeilijk te maken en er zijn aanwijzingen, dat de kleinbloemige Epilobiumsoorten zoals Epilobium parviflorum, Epilobium montanum, Epilobium roseum en Epilobium palustre, medisch gezien het meest werkzaam zijn. Ondertussen blijken ook alle andere Epilobium en Chamaenerionsoorten werkzaam te zijn. Sinds het grote succes van de boeken van Treben werden de kruiden in vele gevallen puur empirisch gebruikt, hetgeen interessante successen heeft opgeleverd.
Ondertussen zijn er verschillende klinische onderzoeken gepubliceerd, die bevestigen dat Epilobium-thee of het in capsules geleverde totale extract van de plant, daadwerkelijk een werkzaam en beslist onschadelijk middel is, met een breed werkingsspectrum voor prostaatadenoom en ziekten, die eruit voortkomen.
Dit geneeskrachtige kruid is in de eerste plaats een preventief middel, dat iedere man boven de 50 jaar regelmatig zou moeten innemen; ten tweede is het een uitstekend middel voor een ononderbroken en langdurige therapie en ten derde is het een ondersteunend middel dat zich probleemloos met alle andere vormen van prostaat-therapieën, inclusief een operatie, laat combineren.
Een studie toont aan, dat thee en waterige extracten van Epilobium parviflorum naast looistoffen, flavonoiden, tnterpeenzuren en vooral beta-sitosterine bevat. Epilobium parviflorum is onder de vele andere planten, die beta-sitosterine bevatten, één van de weinige, die deze stof, medisch gezien, in voldoende mate bevat.
De symptomen verminderen drastisch en tamelijk snel; niet in de laatste plaats kan door het drinken van deze theeën of het innemen van de capsules voor veel patiënten een prostaat-operatie vermeden worden.
Onderzoek
Lesuisse D, Berjonneau J, Ciot C, Devaux P, Doucet B, Gourvest JF, Khemis B, Lang C, Legrand R, Lowinski M, Maquin P, Parent A, Schoot B, Teutsch G. 1996. Determination of oenothein B as the active 5-alpha-reductase-inhibiting principle of the folk medicine Epilobium parviflorum. J Nat Prod 1996 May; 59(5): 490-2.
Rauha JP, Remes S, Heinonen M, Hopia A, Kahkonen M, Kujala T, Pihlaja K, Vuorela H, Vuorela P. 2000. Antimicrobial effects of Finnish plant extracts containing flavonoids and other phenolic compounds. Int J Food Microbiol 2000 May 25; 56(1): 3-12.
Phytother Res. 2009 May;23(5):719-24. Antioxidant and antiinflammatory effect of Epilobium parviflorum Schreb. Hevesi BT, Houghton PJ, Habtemariam S, Kéry A. Epilobium parviflorum Schreb. (Onagraceae) is used for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), but its biological action is not entirely identified. This paper aims to report data on E. parviflorum with respect to its antioxidant and antiinflammatory effects. The aqueous acetone extract of E. parviflorum showed higher antioxidant effect in the DPPH assay than well known antioxidants and inhibited the lipid peroxidation determined by the TBA assay (IC(50) = 2.37 +/- 0.12 mg/mL). In concentrations of 0.2-15.0 microg/mL the extract possessed a protective effect, comparable to catalase (250 IU/mL), against oxidative damage, generated in fibroblast cells. In the COX inhibition assay E. parviflorum decreased the PGE(2) release, so showing inhibition of the COX-enzyme (IC(50) = 1.4 +/- 0.1 microg/mL).
Referenties
Farmaco. 2001 May-Jul;56(5-7):483-9. PMID: 11482783 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]
J Pharm Pharmacol. 2003 May;55(5):683-90.. PMID: 12831512 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE].
Acta Physiol Pharmacol Bulg. 1991;17(4):50-2. PMID: 1841518 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE].
Epilobium
Small-flowered willow herb, Epilobium parviflorum SCHREBER [Fam. Onagraceae], is widespread in Central and Eastern Europe and in disturbed areas of North America. Small Flower Epilobium Herb species have been used as remedies in folk medicine, particularly in Central Europe, for the treatment of prostate disorders and abnormal growths.
This pleasant herb and flower tea was highly recommended by Austrian herbalist, Maria Treben, for ailing men with prostate abnormalities. Based on customer feedback to health food stores and companies in Canada and the U.S., small-flowered or small flower willow herb extract quickly helps men to recover from the annoying symptoms of prostatitis.
All willow herb species contain flavorglycosides, especially derivatives of kaempferol, quercetin, and myricetin. Epilobium parviflorum also contains b-sitosterol, various esters of sitosterol, and sitosterol glucoside have been detected. These are the compounds considered to be the active ingredients of Saw Palmetto, another major herb used for treating the prostate. Gallic-acid derivatives are also present. Gallic acid and ellagitannins are considered to be the actives associated with the drinking of green tea. Two of these macrocyclic ellagitannins, oenothein A and oenothein B, have been identified as the main constituents responsible for the inhibition of 5-alpha-reductase and aromatese enzymes. These enzymes are considered to play key roles in the cancer of the prostate.
Preliminary (in vitro) studies at the Prostate Center of Vancouver found that very low concentrations of an extract from small-flowered willow herb tea, in the micrograms per ml level, was among the most active ever seen against abnormal cells and growths of the prostate. Several extracts from Epilobium parviflorum, were evaluated in biochemical assays with 5-alpha-reductase and aromatase, two enzymes involved in the etiology of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Aqueous extracts displayed inhibition of these enzymes and the active compounds identified were macrocyclic ellagitannins, oenothein A1, B1 and B2, which can make up to 14% of crude plant extracts. Out of a total of 92 plant phenolic extracts tested, small-flowered willow herb was also found to have high antioxidant activity.
Small-flowered willow herb tea is also recommended for treating urinary tract infections in women. In one study, both the large-flowered willow herb (Epilobium angustifolium) and small-flowered willow herb E. parviflorum were found to reduce inflammatory prostaglandins in the carrageenin-induced rat paw edema test; in this study, E. angustifolia was found to be 5 times more powerful than E. parviflori. Antimicrobial screening of 13 phenolic substances and 29 extracts prepared from Finnish plant materials against selected microbes found that small flower willow herb (Epilobium angustifolium L.) was one of the most active plant extracts tested against bacteria.
Active Ingredients: As far as known, all willowherb species contain flavonoids, especially derivatives of kaempferol, quercetin, and myricetin. In E. parviflorum and E. angustifolium, b-sitosterol, various esters of sitosterol, and sitosterol glucoside have been detected. Gallic-acid derivatives may be present. Two macrocyclic ellagitannins, oenothein A and oenothein B, have been identified as the main constituents responsible for the inhibition of 5-alpha-reductase and aromatase enzymes. Quantitation of oenothein B in 10 different species of Epilobium has shown that amounts of up to 14% in the crude plant extracts are possible. [Ducrey B, Marston A, Gohring S, Hartmann RW, Hostettmann K. 1997. Inhibition of 5 alpha-reductase and aromatase by the ellagitannins oenothein A and oenothein B from Epilobium species. Planta Med 1997 Apr; 63(2): 111-4].
B.C.Phytother Res. 2013 Dec;27(12):1842-8. doi: 10.1002/ptr.4941. Epub 2013 Feb 25.
Extracts from Epilobium sp. herbs, their components and gut microbiota metabolites of Epilobium ellagitannins, urolithins, inhibit hormone-dependent prostate cancer cells-(LNCaP) proliferation and PSA secretion.Stolarczyk M1, Piwowarski JP, Granica S, Stefańska J, Naruszewicz M, Kiss AK.
Extracts from Epilobium sp. herbs have been traditionally used in the treatment of prostate-associated ailments. Our studies demonstrated that the extracts from Epilobium angustifolium, Epilobium parviflorum and Epilobium hirsutum herbs are potent prostate cancer cells (LNCaP) proliferation inhibitors with IC50 values around 35 µg/ml. The tested extracts reduced prostate specific antigen (PSA) secretion (from 325.6 ± 25.3 ng/ml to ~90 ng/ml) and inhibited arginase activity (from 65.2 ± 1.1 mUnits of urea/mg of protein to ~40 mUnits of urea/mg protein). Selected constituents of extracts (oenothein B, quercetin-3-O-glucuronide, myricetin-3-O-rhamnoside) were proven to be active in relation to LNCaP cells. However, oenothein B was the strongest inhibitor of cells proliferation (IC50 = 7.8 ± 0.8 μM), PSA secretion (IC50 = 21.9 ± 3.2 μM) and arginase activity (IC50 = 19.2 ± 2.0 μM). Additionally, ellagitannins from E. hirustum extract were proven to be transformed by human gut microbiota into urolithins. Urolithin C showed the strongest activity in the inhibition of cell proliferation (IC50 = 35.2 ± 3.7 μM), PSA secretion (reduced PSA secretion to the level of 100.7 ± 31.0 ng/ml) and arginase activity (reduced to the level of 27.9 ± 3.3 mUnits of urea/mg of protein). Results of the work offer an explanation of the activity of Epilobium extracts and support the use of Epilobium preparations in the treatment of prostate diseases.
Phytomedicine. 2011 May 15;18(7):557-60. doi: 10.1016/j.phymed.2010.10.016. Epub 2010 Nov 26. Oenothein B's contribution to the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity of Epilobium sp. Kiss AK1, Bazylko A, Filipek A, Granica S, Jaszewska E, Kiarszys U, Kośmider A, Piwowarski J.
Willow herb tea or preparation are available and relatively popular in the European market, and claimed to be effective inter alia because of their anti-inflammatory activity. The present study is therefore aimed at comparing the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity of extracts of the three most popular Epilobium species (E. angustifolium, E. hirsutum and E. parviflorum) and at juxtaposing this activity against the dominating compounds from the following extracts: oenothein B (OeB), quercetin-3-O-glucuronide and myricetin-3-O-rhamnoside. The phytochemical analysis of the extracts has shown that OeB quantities vary between 20% and 35%, while flavonoids content does not exceed 2%. All extracts have inhibited the activity of hyaluronidase and lipoxygenase with IC₅₀ around 5 μg/ml and 25 μg/ml. The inhibition of hyaluronidase is related with the presence of OeB, a strong inhibitor of this enzyme (IC₅₀) 1.1 μM). Additionally, the extracts inhibited myeloperoxidase (MPO) release from stimulated neutrophils. OeB inhibited MPO release similarly to the anti-inflammatory drug indomethacin with IC₅₀ 7.7 μM and 15.4 μM, respectively. Tested extracts significantly reduced the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) from f-MLP and PMA induced neutrophils with IC₅₀ 5 μg/ml and 25 μg/ml, respectively. The flavonoids content seems to exert little influence on extracts' activity, contrary to OeB, whose high concentration explains the activity of extract obtained from Epilobium. Tested currently marketed Epilobium preparations are often wrongly assigned, but we should stress that the level of OeB in all tested herbs was high and always exceeded 2% in raw material.