I have been researching the possible source plants for Cogane, and although first I thought it might be ginseng, the patent issued to Phytopharm hints that the source plant is in the Smilax family and, more specifically, sarpogenins from Sarsaparilla plants.

Here are some excerpts from the patent:

"A pharmaceutical composition having cognitive function enhancing properties which comprises a pharmacologically effective amount of a saponin or sapogenin derived from a plant of the genus Smilax, Asparagus,Anemarrhena, Yucca or Agave."
...
with these listed as of particular interest in the patent, with no mention of ginseng:

Smilax regelii (Kilip & Morton, Honduran sarsaparilla)
Smilax aristolochiaefolia (Miller, mexican sarsaparilla)
Smilax ornata (Hooker, Jamaican sarsaparilla)
Smilax aspera (Spanish sarsaparilla)
Smilax glabra (Roxburgh)
Smilax febrifuga (Kunth, Ecuadorian or Perivian sarsaparilla)
Anemarrhena asphodeloides (Bunge)
Yucca schidigera (Roezl ex Ortgies)
Yucca brevifolia (Engelm)

It's also interesting to see that original patents for this that were filed in early 2000's just talked about the plants themselves, while the latest patents filed in late 2000's (including 2010) talk about a "more effective" chemically modified version (a.k.a., patentable).

Has anyone ever heard of Sarsaparilla (or other Smilax plant) used for steroidal regeneration of neurons for treatment of Parkinson's and Alzheimers?
I have not seen any good info outside of what the patent says.

thankyou nickvalo for posting this. I was wondering what cogane was derived from. I got a prescription for some cactus flower essences from a QXCI assessment (probably too woo woo for the tastes of this forum)....but they weren't yucca. md

p.s. just checked and indeed my scrip was for spanish bayonet yucca essence!

Coincidence? Two active threads, this and the one on h. pylori, may be linked:

sarsaparilla may be effective against spirochetes;

h. pylori is a spirochete.

John

From an earlier post-

Rumor has it that Cogane started out as a rare member of the same family as Dong Quai, a common supplement used for menopausal troubles. But there are other, more common and better researched, possibilities. For example:

1: Neurosignals. 2005;14(1-2):34-45.Click here to read Links
Search for natural products related to regeneration of the neuronal network.
Tohda C, Kuboyama T, Komatsu K.

Research Center for Ethnomedicines, Institute of Natural Medicine, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Sugitani, Japan.

The reconstruction of neuronal networks in the damaged brain is necessary for the therapeutic treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. We have screened the neurite outgrowth activity of herbal drugs, and identified several active constituents. In each compound, neurite outgrowth activity was investigated under amyloid-beta-induced neuritic atrophy. Most of the compounds with neurite regenerative activity also demonstrated memory improvement activity in Alzheimer's disease-model mice. Protopanaxadiol-type saponins in Ginseng drugs and their metabolite, M1 (20-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(20S)-protopanaxadiol), showed potent regeneration activity for axons and synapses, and amelioration of memory impairment. Withanolide derivatives (withanolide A, withanoside IV, and withanoside VI) isolated from the Indian herbal drug Ashwagandha, also showed neurite extension in normal and damaged cortical neurons. Trigonelline, a constituent of coffee beans, demonstrated the regeneration of dendrites and axons, in addition to memory improvement. 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel

PMID: 15956813 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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The Phytopharm patent for Cogane (PYM50028) names the active ingredient as SMILAGENIN. See Wikipedia entry for Sarsasapogenin - "The epimer of sarsasapogenin with 25R configuration is known as smilagenin".

The patent states there are five known plant sources, plants of the genus - Smilax, Asparagus, Anemarrhena, Yucca and Agave. Of these five plants, Antonia Orsi, one of the advisors to Phytopharm, has published work on Anemarrhena, also known as "Zhi Mu", its Chinese name.

Other references in Phytopharm publicity state research began with investigations into a Chinese medicinal herb. Of the five plants named in the patent, two are used in Traditional Chinese Medicine - Asparagus and Anemarrhena.

Consulting the recent textbook "Handbook of Chinese Medicinal Plants" by Tang & Eisenbrand, 2011, Anemarrhena appears to be the richest source of smilagenin.


Paul Brennan & Sarah Mattocks

There is an interesting thread circulating on this board about the apparent success some are having with the ingestion of aloe vera ... just wanted to point out that one of the many active chemical compounds in aloe vera is saponin ... just like the plants mentioned in this thread regarding the source plant for Cogane. ... interesting ...

I'm the one who started the aloe thread and was very interested to read your post about a possible tie in to Cogane. I just stumbled into drinking aloe and noticed so many good effects but, really had no idea why aloe was causing the improvements. Fast sum up... I drink at least 16oz of aloe juice per day. The continuing effects include: cut meds by one third, better sleep, nausea eliminated completely, improved appetite and generally improved digestion and elimination. Plus... no negative side effects so far.

Cogane/smilagenin

A new e-book, edited by Finkelstein, available from the site "intechopen" called "Towards New Therapies for Parkionson's Disease" includes a chapter by Ana Saavedra and Graca Baltazar titled "GDNF and PD: Less Common Points of View" which gives favourable mention to Cogane/smilgenin, page 193.

If anyone out there is also on the Cogane trial, I would be interested to compare notes if you would like to PM me

Peter

I would very much like to talk to you but I do not seem to have access to the PM system yet.