Chinese Herb Lowers Blood Pressure, Reduces Hypertension

“An herb called danshen — traditionally used in China as a medicine for high blood pressure — has been shown to reduce hypertension in hamsters, according to a study published in the American Journal of Physiology. Researchers at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey administered danshen’s active ingredient — the chemical tanshinone IIA — to hamsters with hypertension. The hamsters’ blood vessels dilated in response, and their blood pressure decreased as a result. Researchers hypothesize that danshen causes this effect by increasing the body’s production of nitric oxide. Danshen, known by the scientific name Salvia miltiorrhiza, is a variety of sage. David Kim, author of the study and assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, is a licensed acupuncturist who prescribes danshen to his own high-blood-pressure patients. ‘Traditionally, we knew this was working for high blood pressure,’ he said, ‘but we didn’t know what the mechanism was.’ Kim says he wants to further study how long danshen’s effects last after it is administered. ‘In Western medicine, [a treatment] works fast but doesn’t last long,’ he said. ‘In Oriental medicine, it works slowly, but it lasts.'”

Chinese herb lowers blood pressure, reduces hypertension

As it is with most Naturopathic and Natural Health remedies… it takes a while to see a difference, but the effects are long lasting, and have fewer, or no, side effects! So, patience, good, natural approaches… lead to better health!