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motherwort patch.jpg
I have the wild herb, motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca) growing in front of my barn on my farm and I harvest it when the tops are in bloom to make a tincture extract. I have a friend D.O that owns an Alabama clinic and in one email she mentions she is trying to import a rather toxic herb from South America for her husband's heart arrhythmia which needs to be remedied before an upcoming surgery. I suggested to her to try some motherwort and I would send her some of my extract to try. After about 3 weeks, she writes back:
Quote:
"Wanted to wait long enough to be sure- but your kind gift is working wonderfully! My husband has been in a regular sinus rhythm since 24 hrs of first dose. I can’t thank you enough!! "
I have been keeping track of his progress and she writes that he has been stable the entire summer and Fall while on motherwort!
Quote:
Planta Med. 2014 May;80(7):525-32. doi: 10.1055/s-0034-1368426. Epub 2014 May 19.
The effect of Leonurus cardiaca herb extract and some of its flavonoids on mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation in the heart.
Bernatoniene J1, Kopustinskiene DM1, Jakstas V2, Majiene D1, Baniene R3, Kuršvietiene L4, Masteikova R5, Savickas A1, Toleikis A3, Trumbeckaite S3.
Abstract
Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca) possesses antibacterial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic activities, and is used as a complementary remedy to improve heart function and blood circulation. Since cardiovascular diseases are often associated with an alteration of mitochondria, the main producers of ATP in cardiac muscle cells, the aim of our work was to determine bioactive constituents present in motherwort aerial parts extract in ethanol and investigate their effects on the functions of cardiac mitochondria. Quantitative determination of polyphenols in L. cardiaca herb extract was performed by HPLC. Mitochondrial respiration rates were evaluated using a Clark-type oxygen electrode. Mitochondrial ROS generation was determined fluorimetrically with Amplex Red and horseradish peroxidase. The results showed that constituents (chlorogenic acid, orientin, quercetin, hyperoside, and rutin) of L. cardiaca herb extract uncouple (by 20-90 %) mitochondrial oxidation from phosphorylation, partially inhibit (by ~ 40 %) the mitochondrial respiratory chain in cases of pyruvate and malate as well as succinate oxidation, and effectively attenuate the generation of free radicals in mitochondria. Since partial uncoupling of mitochondria, respiratory inhibition, and decreased ROS production are proposed as possible mechanisms of cardioprotection, our results imply that L. cardiaca herb extract could be a useful remedy to protect cardiac muscles from the effects of pathogenic processes.