Influenza is a viral infection which affects mainly the nose, throat, bronchi and, occasionally, lungs. This infection usually lasts for about a week, and is characterized by sudden onset of high fever, aching muscles, headache and severe malaise, non-productive cough, sore throat and rhinitis. The influenza virus is transmitted easily from person to person via droplets and small particles produced when infected people cough or sneeze.
Most people eventually recover from influenza after a week, however what is bothersome to most patients are the signs and symptoms associated with it. Thus this heralds the quest for the application of complementary and alternative medicine practices in providing symptomatic relief and nutritional support to flu. It is in this context that PSC Plant Stem Cells Nutrition has created a product to provide relief and immune support to colds, in the form of the Black Elder- Sundew Combo. This product is being distributed by PSC Distribution LLC in the US and Canada through their website planstemells.net.
This complex contains Sambucus Nigra (Black Elder) and Drosera (Sundew). Sambucus Nigra contains a powerful antioxidant which acts as an immune stimulant. This herb has been used through centuries to treat bronchitis, cough, upper respiratory tract infections and fever. A double blind clinical trial published in 1990 showed reduction in both duration and severity of flu-like symptoms for patients receiving elderberry infusion versus placebo.
A study done by Roschek et al (2009) showed that Elderberry flavonoids bind to and prevent H1N1 infection in vitro, a fact which makes them a potential natural alternative to Tamiflu.
Drosera (Sundew) contains several medicinally active compounds including flavonoids, (kaempferol, myricetin, quercetin and hyperoside, quinones (plumbagin, hydroplumbagin glucoside and rossoliside (7 – methyl – hydrojuglone – 4 – glucoside), and other constituents such as carotenoids, plant acids (e.g. butyric acid, citric acid, formic acid, gallic acid, malic acid, propionic acid), resin, tannins and ascorbic acid (vitamin C).
Sundews were used as medicinal herbs as early as the 12th century, when an Italian doctor from the School of Salerno by the name of Matthaeus Platearius described the plant as an herbal remedy for coughs under the name “herba sole“. It has been used commonly in cough preparations in Germany and elsewhere in Europe. Sundew tea was especially recommended by herbalists for dry coughs, bronchitis, whooping cough, asthma and “bronchial cramps”. A modern study has shown that Drosera does exhibit antitussive properties.
Culbreth’s 1927 Materia Medica listed D, rotundifolia, D. anglica and D.linearis as being used as stimulants and expectants, and “of doubtful efficacy” for treating bronchitis, whooping cough, and tuberculosis. Sundews have also been used as an aphrodisiac and to strengthen the heart, as well as to treat sunburn, toothache, and prevent freckles. They are still used today in some 200-300 registered medications, usually in combination with other active ingredients. Today Drosera is usually used to treat ailments such as asthma, coughs, lung infections, and stomach ulcers.
The Black-Elder Sundew Complex—an all-natural alternative to Tamiflu for H1N1 infections!
References:
- Culbreth, David M. R. Materia Medica and Pharmacology. Lea & Febiger, Philadelphia, 1927.
- Lewis, Walter H., 1977 Medical Botany – Plants Affecting Man’s Health; John Wiley & Sons, St. Louis, Misouri. pg. 254. Plant decoction of “Drosera sp..” used in Mexico to treat toothache.
- Oliver-Bever B. Plants in Tropical West Africa. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 1986: 129.
- Roschek B Jr, Fink RC, McMichael MD, Li D, Alberte RS. Elderberry flavonoids bind to and prevent H1N1 infection in vitro. Phytochemistry. 2009 Jul;70(10):1255-61. Epub 2009 Aug 12. Black Elder (Sambucus Nigra)
- Serkedjieva, J., N. Manolova, I. Zgorniak-Nowosielska, B. Zawilinska and J. Grzybek (1990). “Antiviral Activity of the Infusion (SHS-174) from Flowers of Sambucus nigra L., Aerial Parts of Hypericum perforatum L., and Roots of Saponaria officinalis L., against Influenza and Herpes Simplex Viruses.” Phytotherapy Research 4: 97.
- Schilcher, H. & M. Elzer 1993. Drosera (Sundew): A proven antitussive. Zeitschrift Phytotherapie 14(50): 4.
