Rick: Skullcap chinese herb
 

In my search for anticholinergic herbs to treat tremor, I found scullcap.
Rick: Scullcap is on your list of supplements .. can you pls tell us of your experience and why do you use it?
Imad

http://health.howstuffworks.com/well...l-remedies.htm
"Skullcap has been used for abnormally tense or twitching muscles, as occurs with rabies, Parkinson's disease, St. Vitus dance (acute chorea, a nervous system disease characterized by involuntary movements of the limbs), and epilepsy.

Skullcap has also been found to have an anti-inflammatory action. Guinea pig studies have shown that skullcap also inhibits release of acetylcholine and histamine, two substances released by cells that cause inflammation."

imark-

There are about 350 members of the skullcap family. The two that I am somewhat familiar with are American Skullcap (or Scullcap) Scutellaria laterfolia and Chinese Skullcap or Scutellaria baicalensis. I am experimenting with both at a slow pace while I make up my mind about quercetin. S. laterfolia is a relatively mild botanical that was used as a nerve tonic. It seems to have an anti-anxiety effect and I think it has great potential. (I think that it helped me immensely in dealing with the tornadoes that terrorized my neighborhood last night.)

S. baicalensis is another animal entirely. Consider-


1. J Biol Chem. 2004 Jun 25;279(26):26846-57. Epub 2004 Apr 19.

The flavonoid baicalein inhibits fibrillation of alpha-synuclein and
disaggregates existing fibrils.

Zhu M, Rajamani S, Kaylor J, Han S, Zhou F, Fink AL.

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Cruz,
California 95064, USA.

The aggregation of alpha-synuclein has been implicated as a critical step in the
development of Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's disease is a progressive
neurodegenerative disorder caused by the loss of dopaminergic neurons from the
substantia nigra; currently, no cure exists. Baicalein is a flavonoid with
antioxidant properties; upon oxidation, it forms several products including
quinones. We show here that low micromolar concentrations of baicalein, and
especially its oxidized forms, inhibit the formation of alpha-synuclein fibrils.
In addition, existing fibrils of alpha-synuclein are disaggregated by baicalein.
The product of the inhibition reaction is predominantly a soluble oligomer of
alpha-synuclein, in which the protein molecules have been covalently modified by
baicalein quinone to form a Schiff base with a lysine side chain in
alpha-synuclein. The binding of baicalein was abolished by conversion of the Tyr
residues into Phe, demonstrating that Tyr is involved in the interaction of
alpha-synuclein with baicalein. In disaggregation baicalein causes fragmentation
throughout the length of the fibril. These observations suggest that baicalein
and similar compounds may have potential as therapeutic leads in combating
Parkinson's disease and that diets rich in flavonoids may be effective in
preventing the disorder.


PMID: 15096521 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

tremor
 

Thanks Rick. Do you suffer from tremor? does American scullcap help with tremor?
The article you site indicates neuroprotection benifit. But does it have symptomatic relief properties?
The article I sited mentions that skullcap also inhibits release of acetylcholine and histamine, two substances released by cells that cause inflammation. I wish :) that this also means that it has anticholinergic effect which is generally acknowledged that it restores balance with diminishing dopamine hence reducing tremor.
cheers.
Imad

Imark-
No, I have little trouble with tremor. My big problems are gait and freezing. As to symptomatic relief, I would give it a definite "yes". This is not a clean cut experiment that I am running here, so let me sort it out here for a moment....

As I mentioned at the start of the quercetin thread, a few weeks ago I was in rough shape and growing frankly desperate. I keep a rather long list of things that should, based on published research, offer some relief - assuming that the reports are accurate. High on that list are the phytochemicals - the plant produced herbs that seem to offer so much. But research is spotty on most of them unless you read Chinese or Russian.

But, being desperate as my legs became more and more of a problem, and having the American skullcap on hand, I tried it and the results were too positive to be dismissed. This led me to a renewed determination to look at these botanicals. I tried Melissa officinallis (Lemon Balm) briefly with nothing to note in the short trial (although I will revisit it). It was at that point that I ran across quercetin which did have some interesting research published that seemed to be directed at my freezing problems. Further reading brought hope of improving mitochondrial function. So, I switched my focus to the greener pastures of quercetin and again experienced quick gratification.

This is the point where I posted my initial report. In the weeks since, I have formed the following opinions about the two herbs-

Quercetin has given me a great improvement in stability. While my initial response seemed to promise a longer time "on", it has instead kept me on a two-hour schedule that I can count on - something that I didn't have before. Also, and most importantly to me, I have completely eliminated the 24 mg of Requip from my daily diet. I am also undeniably stronger when I turn in bed. I have more stamina and heat tolerance, as evidenced by the three days I spent doing yard work in the hot sun last week. In addition, I have a sense that I have yet to have finished with what the quercetin is doing. The admittedly limited research points to an ability to increase mitochondrial biogenesis. Since poorly functioning mitochondria are considered to be critical to PD, it would be reasonable to expect a gradual improvement if this were happening and that is, indeed, just what I think that I have been seeing. And it would be reasonable to expect to see a heightening of mood as the mitochondria improve. Again I think that that is becoming more and more noticeable as I observe the passing days.

As if that weren't enough, two days ago I turned my attention to the American scullcap. While there is little research on it, it does have a strong historical base in that it was listed in the US Pharmacopia as a "nerve tonic". And it had shown promise in dealing with the tetany in my legs earlier. So, I began to introduce it that afternoon. Nothing earth shattering that first afternoon. Yesterday, I began my day with it as an ominous storm front began a march north across several states that killed over 200 people in the next 24 hours. I spent yesterday from about noon until midnight monitoring the series of tornadoes that were spun off and that required a quick response in the form of herding my wife, cat, and three dogs into the presumed shelter afforded by the enclosed four foot vertical space beneath our home. This task is not as simple as it sounds, requiring a "duck walk" posture that quickly exhausts even one who is in better shape and sans PD. It was necessary to repeat this exercise seven times, each with the expectation of a tornado at any moment and with the last three being enhanced by the addition of eight inches of cold, nasty water in the space as heavy rains brought flooding. Add in the darkness, the roaring wind, hail the size of golf balls, thunder, lightning, etc. and you have twelve hours of Hell to rival one of Dante's outer rings.

And I sailed through it so well that it startled me. I managed to keep reasonably on schedule on pills (I think) but if I had had to deal with that a week earlier there would have been no way. I would have been catatonic in the first two hours. Once I get back to base line, I will know more. :D

Congrats for standing up against storms and tornados ! after that PD will be a small matter:D
more on Am skullcap:
http://www.appliedhealth.com/index.p...icle&id=108465

Rick....keep up the good work, it's much more fun being a guinee pig for yourself than paying a doctor so you can be his! I'm still having great results with fermented papaya and hope that maybe you will make some of it to try. (natural Quercetin & papain....about the same thing as bromelain) God Bless....so glad you all made it thru the storms.

Papaya
 

Aunt Bean you are so oiginal! where do you ever get fermented papaya?

I make my own ferment. Have to buy papaya at market. Wash with good soapy water to get off germs and spray. rinse well and dry with paper towel. Cut in rings / peel of skin/ saving seeds to dry as medicinal pepper/ then mash paya well or put in food processor til smooth. Add a teaspoon of turmeric and a teaspoon of cinnamon (Ceylon best) *can be ordered thru Swansons Health products...best price I have found..MIX well and Place in a glass bowl or casserole dish and cover with plastic wrap....pushing out the air bubbles. You want it completely in a oxygen free invironment. I seal the edges and add another layer of plastic wrap. This needs to stand at room temperature for 5 to 7 days....depends on room temperature and the ripeness of the papaya as to how fast it ferments. You will notice the plastic push up from gas made from fermenting and bubbles in fruit blend. Wipe carefully around edge of container...removing any mold you see that formed around the edges. You can put in fridge in sealed container and eat 2 TBS a day or 2 times a day if you require more. I usuall add ground flax seed to thicken and a little sorghum molasses and pink himilayan sea salt to mine. Mix well and drop onto parchment paper (cookie size blobs) and dehydrate this. Then when it is dried....I grind it into powder and keep in the refrigerator and put 1 teaspoon on my breakfast in the morning. Happy fermenting to you

OFF topic, RICK is deceased but missed
 

kind of mixed feelings when i see his name in a post, but it is a reminder of the contribution he made to other pd'ers so i guess it's good. felt like i had to say something.

Rick Everett
 

Some profound cog in the mechanism that makes up our community has been missing with Rick's absence. He was always investigating possibilities, adding to our knowledge base, and asking questions that might help mitigate this irascible disease. His dialogues with Bob Crawford were worth the price of admission, full of humor and challenges to any received wisdom. And speaking of which: Bob Crawford, where are you??