Chinese herb could cut stroke damage

Hagerstown, United States, October 13: In a remarkable medical feat, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institute claim to have discovered a herbal remedy that can help minimize the damage caused by strokes.

Grown in the small areas in Zhejiang province in Eastern China, the herb - ginkgo biloba – is already used in the ancient Chinese therapies for enhancing blood circulation, especially to the brain.

In the latest rodent trial, two groups of mice, normal mice and genetically engineered mice, were fed on laboratory-quality form of the extract ginkgo biloba.

The genetically engineered mice lacked the gene that produced the HO-1 enzyme. The enzyme helps the body cells in responding to the beneficial effects of ginkgo.

All mice were administered once-daily dose of ginkgo for a week before they were induced a stroke by briefly blocking an arterydefine to one side of the brain.

Post-stroke analysis revealed that mice who were fed on the extract of ginkgo biloba reportedly suffered a 50 per cent lesser brain damage, compared to the non-fed counterparts.

"Our results suggest that some element or elements in ginkgo actually protect brain cells during stroke," lead researcher of the study, Sylvain marked.

Though the exact working of the herb is still unclear, researchers believe that ‘ginkgo's protective effects work by increasing levels of HO-1, stepping up antioxidant production and eliminating harmful free radicals at the site of the stroke’.

"It's still a large leap from rodent brains to human brains but these results strongly suggest that further research into the protective effects of ginkgo is warranted," Dr. Doré assured.

The results of the study are published in the latest issue of the journal ‘Stroke’.