woensdag, augustus 26, 2015

Rode en andere zonnehoeden

Heemst en rode zonnehoed in Pont ar Gorret
Rode zonnehoed geeft nog volop kleur in de toch al wat aftakelende border. Ook de echte heemst laat nog wat wit-roze bloemen bloeien. Het zijn zonder meer stevige, geneeskrachtige kruiden voor een mooie en gemakkelijke sierborder. Van de rode zonnehoed kun je nu met enkele bloemen, wat blad en steel een immuunmodulerende tinctuur maken. Immuunmodulerend! Klinkt toch indrukwekkend niet? Dus de fijngesneden plantendelen in alcohol laten trekken om het immmuunsysteem te versterken en zo het najaar te trotseren.
Dat rode zonnehoed op alcohol getrokken niet werkzaam zou zijn, wat hier en daar beweerd wordt, wil ik toch ten stelligste tegenspreken, de werkzame stoffen, zogenaamde polysacchariden, zouden niet oplosbaar zijn in alcohol.

Wat argumenten voor de werking van een tinctuur
  • Een tinctuur is nooit gemaakt met pure alcohol maar met een mengsel van alcohol en water
  • De polysacchariden zijn ook gedeeltelijk oplosbaar in alcohol. The EP extracted with a 55% ethanol at 55℃ contained 22.3 ±1.0 mg gallic acid equivalent/g DW of total phenolic compounds and 86.0 ± 4.6 mg quercetin equivalent/g of flavonoid content.
  • Andere belangrijke inhoudstoffen zoals alkylamiden (tintelende stoffen, lipofiel) hebben juist een hoog alcoholgehalte nodig om op te lossen, ze hebben ook een directere werking.
  • Eigen ervaring, de ervaring van tientallen gerenomeerde herboristen en onderzoeken bewijzen de werking van een tinctuur.
Echinacea-tinctuur maken in 2 fasen
20 gr fijn gemaakt blad, bloem en steel in 100 cc ethanol van 30 % laten trekken (maceraat)
20 gr fijn gemaakt blad, bloem en steel in 100 cc ethanol van 60 % laten trekken (maceraat)
gedurende 3 weken, daarna onder druk uitzeven en de 2 vloeistoffen vermengen. Afvullen in bvb bruine 50cc flesjes. Koel en donker bewaren. 

Interessant artikel (uitreksel) over de werking van Echinacea species
The chemical components of plants can be divided into two categories: primary and secondary metabolites. Primary metabolites are essential for life processes or provide important structural elements for the plant. The utility to the plant of many secondary metabolites is unknown, although
some are thought to have a defensive or adaptive role for the plant in its natural environment. Most of the active components found in medicinal plants fall into the category of secondary metabolites. However, polysaccharides are generally primarymetabolites. Their functions include structural
elements beneath the cell wall and carbohydrate storage molecules. Because of their important role in primary metabolism, all plants contain polysaccharides. Moreover, the levels found in Echinacea preparations are not high when compared to mushrooms and other accumulators of polysaccharides, such as Althaea officinalis and Aloe species. 

The lipophilic components of Echinacea species comprise two main groups, the polyacetylenes and
the alkylamides. The occurrence of polyacetylenes (polyenes) is typical of the Asteraceae family, in which the highest levels are usually found in the roots. E. pallida root contains significant levels of some unique polyacetylenes, namely the ketoalkynes and ketoalkenes, which do not occur in the other Echinacea species. These compounds give E.pallida root a unique earthy-metallic taste which makes it easy to differentiate.
Alkylamides are not common plant constituents. Most compounds have been found to occur in two tribes of the Asteraceae. Many alkylamides (particularly isobutylamides) have been isolated from the roots and aerial parts of E. angustifolia and E. purpurea , but they are largely absent from E. pallida.
Since the alkylamides cause the characteristic tingling sensation on the tongue, it is therefore not surprising that E. pallida lacks this property. The alkylamides in Echinacea are composed of a highly unsaturated carboxylic acid (often with triple carbon-carbon bonds) and an amine compound, either isobutylamine or 2-methylbutylamine. It is possible this bond between the acid and the amine is broken during digestion, and the true active entity from these compounds is the carboxylic acid.
Being highly unsaturated, both the polyacetylenes and the alkylamides are prone to oxidation, although they are probably somewhat protected in the natural plant matrix. Nonetheless, Echinacea roots should not be stored in powdered form for prolonged periods.

Much of the confusion about Echinacea has arisen from misinterpretation or overemphasis of the polysaccharide research. Statements such as: “Echinacea will not be immunologically active if given as an ethanolic extract,” or “Echinacea is a T cell activator,” or “Echinacea is contraindicated in AIDS,” have all arisen from an overly enthusiastic interpretation of the pharmacological literature pertaining to Echinacea polysaccharides. It is worthwhile to examine what pharmacological studies on Echinacea polysaccharides do say and consider the relevance, if any, of these to the normal use of Echinacea in the English-speaking world.

Conclusions
The importance of polysaccharides to the activity of most Echinacea preparations has been misinterpreted and over-emphasized. Traditional ethanolic extracts of Echinacea do not rely on polysaccharides for their activity.....
The several hypotheses that: 1. Echinacea is a T-cell activator; 2. Echinacea will accelerate pathology in HIV/ AIDS; and 3. Arabinogalactan isolated from the Larch is therapeutically equivalent to Echinacea, are not supported by careful analysis of known data.
It is probably appropriate to include a quote from Bauer and Wagner, since most of this article is based on their research.
“The immunological investigations conducted to date permit the following conclusions. Lipophilic alkylamides as well as the polar caffeic acid derivative, cichoric acid, probably make a considerable contribution to the immunostimulatory action or activity of alcoholic Echinacea extracts." 


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