Amazon Slim™

1. Screening Brazilian plant species for in vitro inhibition of 5-lipoxygenase.
Braga FC, Wagner H, Lombardi JA, de Oliveira AB.
Faculdade de Farmacia, UFMG, Belo Horizonte, Brazil. fernao@dedalus.lcc.ufmg.br
Phytomedicine. 2000 Jan;6(6):447-52.
PMID: 10715848 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

2. Glycaemic effects of traditional European plant treatments for diabetes. Studies in normal and streptozotocin diabetic mice.
Swanston-Flatt SK, Day C, Flatt PR, Gould BJ, Bailey CJ.
Department of Biochemistry, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK.
Diabetes Res. 1989 Feb;10(2):69-73.
PMID: 2743711 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

3. Studies on the constituents of Cyclanthera pedata fruits: isolation and structure elucidation of new triterpenoid saponins.
De Tommasi N, De Simone F, Speranza G, Pizza C.
Dipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche, Facolta di Farmacia, Universita di Salerno, Ponte Don Melillo Invariante 11C, 84084 Fisciano (SA), Italy.
J Agric Food Chem. 1999 Nov;47(11):4512-9.
PMID: 10552843 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

4. Flavonoids from the leaves of Cyclanthera pedata: two new malonyl derivatives.
Montoro P, Carbone V, Pizza C.
Dipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche, Universita di Salerno, Via Ponte don Melillo, 84084 Fisciano (SA), Italy.
PMID: 15997855 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

5. Amazon Medicines of Brazil, Columbia, Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador
by J. River Jones, Amazon Therapeutic Laboratories, unpublished field journals 1994-2005.

6. Medical Anthropology field notes and databases.
Amazon Therapeutic Laboratories, unpublished 2003-2004.

7. “Excitatory and inhibitory effects of paraguayan medicinal plants Equisetum giganteum, Acanthpspermum australe, Allophlus edlis, and Cordia salicifolia on contraction of rabbit aorta and giunea-ig left atrium.”
Matsunaga, K., et al. Natural Medicines 1997; 51: 478-481.
Laboratory analysis found Cha de Bugre to contain caffeine, potassium, allantoin and allantoic acid. Allantoic Acid is reported to help reduce body fat in people who are overweight and in combination with allantoic acid may explain it’s impact on cellulite. The berries of Cha de Bugre contain caffeine.

8. Selected herbals and human exercise performance.
Bucci LR.
Weider Nutrition International, Salt Lake City, UT 84104-4726, USA. lukeb@weider.com
Am J Clin Nutr. 2000 Aug;72(2 Suppl):624S-36S.
Publication Types: Review, Review, Tutorial
PMID: 10919969 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

9. Clinical toxicology study of an herbal medicinal extract of Paullinia cupana, Trichilia catigua, Ptychopetalum olacoides and Zingiber officinale (Catuama) in healthy volunteers.
Oliveira CH, Moraes ME, Moraes MO, Bezerra FA, Abib E, De Nucci G.
Miguel Servet Clinical Pharmacology Unit, 415 Jesuíno Marcondes Machado Avenue, Campinas, SP 13092-320, Brazil. oliveira_ch@terra.com.br Phytother Res. 2005 Jan;19(1):54-7.
PMID: 15798997 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

10. Oat beta-glucan reduces blood cholesterol concentration in hypercholesterolemic subjects.
Braaten JT, Wood PJ, Scott FW, Wolynetz MS, Lowe MK, Bradley-White P, Collins MW.
Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Ottawa Civic Hospital, University of Ottawa, Canada.
Eur J Clin Nutr. 1994 Jul;48(7):465-74.
Publication Types: Clinical Trial, Randomized Controlled Trial
PMID: 7956987 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

11. “The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley”
by Chevallier. A.
London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.
Also see reference number eight, under Muira Puama, for more information

12. Hypocholesterolemic effect of hot-water extract from mycelia of Cordyceps sinensis.
Koh JH, Kim JM, Chang UJ, Suh HJ.
NEL Biotech Research Institute, NEL Biotech. Co. Ltd., Kyonggido 456-880, Korea.
Biol Pharm Bull. 2003 Jan;26(1):84-7.
PMID: 12520179 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Also see reference number eight, under Muira Puama, for more information

13. Weight loss and delayed gastric emptying following a South American herbal preparation in overweight patients.
Andersen, T., et al.
J. Hum. Nutr. Diet. 2001; 14(3): 243–50

14. Clinical toxicology study of an herbal medicinal extract of Paullinia cupana, Trichilia catigua, Ptychopetalum olacoides and Zingiber officinale (Catuama) in healthy volunteers.
Oliveira CH, Moraes ME, Moraes MO, Bezerra FA, Abib E, De Nucci G.
Miguel Servet Clinical Pharmacology Unit, 415 Jesuíno Marcondes Machado Avenue, Campinas, SP 13092-320, Brazil. oliveira_ch@terra.com.br Phytother Res. 2005 Jan;19(1):54-7.
PMID: 15798997 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

1. Screening Brazilian plant species for in vitro inhibition of 5-lipoxygenase.
Braga FC, Wagner H, Lombardi JA, de Oliveira AB.
Faculdade de Farmacia, UFMG, Belo Horizonte, Brazil. fernao@dedalus.lcc.ufmg.br
Phytomedicine. 2000 Jan;6(6):447-52.
Plants from the Brazilian flora were evaluated for the inhibition of 5-lipoxygenase. The species were selected based on their traditional use and on a chemosystematic approach. In total, 19 species belonging to 13 families have been investigated. Hedychium coronarium J. Koenig (Zingiberaceae), Xylopia frutescens Aubl. (Annonaceae) and Hymenaea courbaril L. (Leguminosae) presented a high 5-lipoxygenase inhibitory activity. Some hypothesis about the nature of the active compounds are discussed, based on reports of the chemical constitution of these species or other species from the same botanical family.
PMID: 10715848 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLIN

2. Amazonian ethnobotany and the search for new drugs.
Schultes RE.
Botanical Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138.
Ciba Found Symp. 1994;185:106-12; discussion 112-5.
Tropical rain forests offer enormous prospects for the discovery of new drugs for use in Western medicine. The Amazon supports 80,000 species of higher plants and a diverse Indian population. Focusing attention on those plants used as medicines by indigenous peoples is the most efficient way of identifying the plants that contain bioactive compounds. There is an urgent need for more ethnobotanists and ethnopharmacologists to be trained to document as much information as possible before it and the plants are lost through destruction of the rain forest and acculturation of the indigenous peoples. Ethnobotanical studies have identified plants documented by early travellers; these include Paullinia yoco and Ilex guayusa which are used as stimulants and have been shown to be rich in caffeine. Studies of the hallucinogen prepared from Banisterioposis caapi have shown that the native people know which plants to add to the mixture to lengthen and intensify the intoxication produced by the beta-carboline alkaloids in the plant. Three major snuffs are used in the Amazonia; the plants from which they are derived have been identified. One of the snuffs also has antifungal and curare-like activities; chemical analysis on the active principles has not been done. Several plants are considered as prime candidates for scientific study as sources of useful chemicals for medicine or industry. These include some used to prepare teas or other infusions for treatment of various symptoms of senile dementia.
Publication Types: Review
PMID: 7736849 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

3. Studies on the constituents of Cyclanthera pedata fruits: isolation and structure elucidation of new triterpenoid saponins.
De Tommasi N, De Simone F, Speranza G, Pizza C.
Dipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche, Facolta di Farmacia, Universita di Salerno, Ponte Don Melillo Invariante 11C, 84084 Fisciano (SA), Italy.
J Agric Food Chem. 1999 Nov;47(11):4512-9.
The isolation of nine triterpenoid saponins (1-9), among them six new natural compounds (1-6), from the MeOH extract of the fruits of Cyclanthera pedata is reported. All of the structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods, including the concerted application of one-dimensional (1)H-(1)H total correlation spectroscopy, (1)H-(1)H nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy), and (13)C-(13)C DEPT-NMR and two-dimensional NMR techniques (double-quantum filtered correlated spectroscopy, rotating-frame Overhauser enhancement spectroscopy, heteronuclear single quantum coherence, and heteronuclear multiple bond correlation). A comparative study of seeds and fruits has been also carried out.
PMID: 10552843 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

4. Flavonoids from the leaves of Cyclanthera pedata: two new malonyl derivatives.
Montoro P, Carbone V, Pizza C.
Dipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche, Universita di Salerno, Via Ponte don Melillo, 84084 Fisciano (SA), Italy.
Reversed-phase HPLC coupled with electrospray MS has been used for the simultaneous separation and determination of flavonoid metabolites in leaves of Cyclanthera pedata, an edible Peruvian plant mainly used in South America for its anti-inflammatory, hypoglycaemic and hypocholesterolaemic properties. The flavonoid content of the leaves of C. pedata was compared qualitatively and quantitatively with that of the fruits. The isolation and structural characterisation by MS and NMR of two new minor components of the fruits, namely, 6-C-fucopyranosyl-(3-malonyl)-chrysin and 6-C-fucopyranosyl-(4-malonyl)-chrysin, are described.
PMID: 15997855 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

5. Amazon Medicines of Brazil, Columbia, Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador
by J. River Jones, Amazon Therapeutic Laboratories, unpublished field journals 1994-2005.

6. Medical Anthropology field notes and databases.
Amazon Therapeutic Laboratories, unpublished 2003-2004.

7. “Excitatory and inhibitory effects of paraguayan medicinal plants Equisetum giganteum, Acanthpspermum australe, Allophlus edlis, and Cordia salicifolia on contraction of rabbit aorta and giunea-ig left atrium.”
Matsunaga, K., et al. Natural Medicines 1997; 51: 478-481.
Laboratory analysis found Cha de Bugre to contain caffeine, potassium, allantoin and allantoic acid. Allantoic Acid is reported to help reduce body fat in people who are overweight and in combination with allantoic acid may explain it’s impact on cellulite. The berries of Cha de Bugre contain caffeine.

8. Clinical toxicology study of an herbal medicinal extract of Paullinia cupana, Trichilia catigua, Ptychopetalum olacoides and Zingiber officinale (Catuama) in healthy volunteers.
Oliveira CH, Moraes ME, Moraes MO, Bezerra FA, Abib E, De Nucci G.
Miguel Servet Clinical Pharmacology Unit, 415 Jesuíno Marcondes Machado Avenue, Campinas, SP 13092-320, Brazil. oliveira_ch@terra.com.br Phytother Res. 2005 Jan;19(1):54-7.
In Brazil, a herbal medicinal extract named Catuama containing a mixture of Paullinia cupana (guarana; Sapindaceae), Trichilia catigua (catuaba; Meliaceae), Ptychopetalum olacoides (muirapuama; Olacaceae) and Zingiber officinale (ginger; Zingiberaceae) is used as a body stimulant, energetic, tonic and aphrodisiac. The present study investigated the chronic administration of 25 mL Catuama twice a day during 28 days for any toxic effect on healthy human volunteers of both sexes. No severe adverse reactions or haematological and biochemical changes were reported. Copyright (c) 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
PMID: 15798997 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

9. Anxiogenic properties of Ptychopetalum olacoides Benth. (Marapuama).
da Silva AL, Bardini S, Nunes DS, Elisabetsky E.
Curso de Pós Graduação em Ciências Biológicas-Bioquímica, Universidade Federaldo Rio Grande do Sul, Porto
Alegre, RS, Brazil. Phytother Res. 2002 May;16(3):223-6.
Alcohol infusions of roots of Ptychopetalum olacoides Benth. (PO), known as Marapuama or Muirapuama, are used in the Brazilian Amazon as a ‘nerve tonic’. Over the years PO has been found increasingly in phytoformulations and regarded as a stimulant, claimed to enhance physical and mental performances. This study determined that a P. olacoides ethanol extract (30, 100 and 300 mg/kg) decreased exploratory behaviour in the hole-board test, without interfering with locomotion or motor coordination (rota-rod test). The data are comparable to that obtained with pentylenetetrazol (40 mg/kg), suggesting an anxiogenic effect of P. olacoides.
PMID: 12164265 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

10.Selected herbals and human exercise performance.
Bucci LR.
Weider Nutrition International, Salt Lake City, UT 84104-4726, USA. lukeb@weider.com
Am J Clin Nutr. 2000 Aug;72(2 Suppl):624S-36S.
Herbs have been used throughout history to enhance physical performance, but scientific scrutiny with controlled clinical trials has only recently been used to study such effects. The following herbs are currently used to enhance physical performance regardless of scientific evidence of effect: Chinese, Korean, and American ginsengs; Siberian ginseng, mahuang or Chinese ephedra; ashwagandha; rhodiola; yohimbe; CORDYCEPS: fungus, shilajit or mummio; smilax; wild oats; Muira puama; suma (ecdysterone); Tribulus terrestris; saw palmetto berries; beta-sitosterol and other related sterols; and wild yams (diosgenin). Controlled studies of Asian ginsengs found improvements in exercise performance when most of the following conditions were true: use of standardized root extracts, study duration (>8 wk, daily dose >1 g dried root or equivalent, large number of subjects, and older subjects. Improvements in muscular strength, maximal oxygen uptake, work capacity, fuel homeostasis, serum lactate, heart rate, visual and auditory reaction times, alertness, and psychomotor skills have also been repeatedly documented. Siberian ginseng has shown mixed results. Mahuang, ephedrine, and related alkaloids have not benefited physical performance except when combined with caffeine. Other herbs remain virtually untested. Future research on ergogenic effects of herbs should consider identity and amount of substance or presumed active ingredients administered, dose response, duration of test period, proper experimental controls, measurement of psychological and physiologic parameters (including antioxidant actions), and measurements of performance pertinent to intended uses.
PMID: 10919969 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Oat Seed ‘Avena sativa’

11. Oat beta-glucan reduces blood cholesterol concentration in hypercholesterolemic subjects.
Braaten JT, Wood PJ, Scott FW, Wolynetz MS, Lowe MK, Bradley-White P, Collins MW.
Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Ottawa Civic Hospital, University of Ottawa, Canada.
Eur J Clin Nutr. 1994 Jul;48(7):465-74.
OBJECTIVE: Several studies have indicated that consumption of oat bran lowers blood cholesterol and this effect has been attributed specifically to oat bran’s soluble fiber (beta-glucan). This study was designed to test this hypothesis. DESIGN: The purified fibre (oat gum, 80% beta-glucan) was isolated, and agglomerated in the presence of maltodextrin to facilitate dispersion in a drink. Subjects consumed the oat gum (2.9 g beta-glucan), or maltodextrin placebo, twice daily for 4 weeks, in a randomized, cross-over design with a 3 week wash-out between phases. Consumption was equivalent to a daily dose of about 70 g of oat bran. SETTING: The study was with free-living individuals. SUBJECTS: Twenty hypercholesterolemic male and female adults entered, and 19 completed, the study. INTERVENTIONS: Blood lipids from fasting individuals were measured weekly throughout the study. Diet was monitored using 3 day food diaries. RESULTS: There were no significant changes (P > 0.05) in blood lipids during the placebo phase. Mean initial total cholesterol (6.76 +/- 0.13 mmol/l) and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (4.59 +/- 0.14 mmol/l) levels fell throughout the oat gum phase, and at week 4 each was reduced 9% relative to initial values (P = 0.0004 and 0.005 respectively). When oat gum was discontinued, total and LDL cholesterol returned to initial levels. There were no significant changes in high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. Triglyceride levels also remained unchanged except for a singular decrease at week 4 of the oat gum phase relative to the initial value, but not compared to the placebo value. The lowered mean total and LDL cholesterol levels occurred in the absence of any dietary changes. CONCLUSIONS: The main component of the soluble fibre of oats, beta-glucan, significantly reduced the total and LDL cholesterol levels of hypercholesterolemic adults without changing HDL cholesterol.
Publication Types: Clinical Trial, Randomized Controlled Trial
PMID: 7956987 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

12. “The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley”
by Chevallier. A.
London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148

Also see reference number eight, under Muira Puama, for more information

13. Hypocholesterolemic effect of hot-water extract from mycelia of Cordyceps sinensis.
Koh JH, Kim JM, Chang UJ, Suh HJ.
NEL Biotech Research Institute, NEL Biotech. Co. Ltd., Kyonggido 456-880, Korea.
Biol Pharm Bull. 2003 Jan;26(1):84-7.
This study was conducted to investigate the hypocholesterolemic effect of the hot-water fraction (HW) from cultured mycelia of Cordyceps sinensis in a 5 l fermenter. The composition of HW was mainly carbohydrate (83.9%) and protein (11.8%) on a dry basis, and the carbohydrate of HW consisted of glucose, mannose, galactose, and arabinose in the molecular ratio of 1.0 : 0.8 : 0.5 : 0.1, respectively. In mice fed a cholesterol-free diet and those fed a cholesterol-enriched diet, body and liver weights were not significantly different from those of the controls. The serum total cholesterol (TC) of all mice groups administered HW (150 and 300 mg/kg/d, respectively) with the cholesterol-enriched diet decreased more than in the control group. Among the mice fed the cholesterol-enriched diet, HW also increased the high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol level, but decreased the very low-density lipoprotein plus low-density lipoprotein (VLDL+LDL) cholesterol level. The changes in HDL- and VLDL+LDL-cholesterol levels consequently decreased the atherogenic value. The results indicate that HW in rats administered a cholesterol-enriched diet decreased the plasma cholesterol level. The 300 mg/kg dose had a significant effect on the serum TC level.

Also see reference number eight, under Muira Puama, for more information

14. Weight loss and delayed gastric emptying following a South American herbal preparation in overweight patients.
Andersen, T., J. Fogh†
J. Hum. Nutr. Diet. 2001; 14(3): 243–50
Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics
Volume 14 Issue 3 Page 243-250, June 2001
Obesity and overweight may soon affect more than half of the population in some regions of the world and are associated with diabetes, hypertension and other diseases that cause morbidity, mortality and high health-care expenditure. No one approach, whether dietetic management, medication, or commercial weight loss programme, can alone solve the problem – all potential treatments need to be investigated and exploited. Among the herbal preparations known to non-western cultures are materials which may have applications in modulating physiological processes which influence gut motility, food intake and energy balance. One such mixed herbal preparation is ‘YGD’ containing Yerbe Maté (leaves of Ilex paraguayensis), Guarana (seeds of Paullinia cupana) and Damiana (leaves of Turnera diffusa var. aphrodisiaca).
Aims
This study had two distinct aims: to determine the effect of a herbal preparation ‘YGD’ containing Yerbe Maté, Guarana and Damiana on gastric emptying; to determine the effect of the same preparation on weight loss over 10 days and 45 days and weight maintenance over 12 months.
Methods
Gastric emptying was observed using ultrasound scanning in seven healthy volunteers following YGD and placebo capsules taken with 420 mL apple juice. Body weight was observed before and after 10 days of treatment with three YGD capsules or three placebo capsules before each meal for 10 days in 44 healthy overweight patients attending a primary health care centre. Forty-seven healthy overweight patients entered a double-blind placebo-controlled parallel trial of three capsules of YGD capsules before each main meal for 45 days compared with three placebo capsules on body weight. Body weight was monitored in 22 patients who continued active (YGD capsules) treatment for 12 months.
Results
The herb preparation YGD was followed by a prolonged gastric emptying time of 58 ± 15 min compared to 38 ± 7.6 min after placebo (P=0.025). Body weight reductions were 0.8 ± 0.05 kg after YGD capsules compared to 0.3 ± 0.03 kg after placebo capsules over 10 days, and 5.1 ± 0.5 kg after PGD capsules compared to 0.3 ± 0.08 kg after placebo over 45 days. Active treatment with YGD capsules resulted in weight maintenance of the group (73 kg at the beginning and 72.5 kg at the end of 12 months).
Conclusions
The herbal preparation, YGD capsules, significantly delayed gastric emptying, reduced the time to perceived gastric fullness and induced significant weight loss over 45 days in overweight patients treated in a primary health care context. Maintenance treatment given in an uncontrolled context resulted in no further weight loss, nor weight regain in the group as a whole. The herbal preparation is thus shown to be one that significantly modulates gastric emptying. Further clinical studies with dietetic monitoring of energy intake, dietary quality, satiety ratings, body weight and body composition are now indicated, and examination of the active principles contained in the three herbal components may prove rewarding.

15. Clinical toxicology study of an herbal medicinal extract of Paullinia cupana, Trichilia catigua, Ptychopetalum olacoides and Zingiber officinale (Catuama) in healthy volunteers.
Oliveira CH, Moraes ME, Moraes MO, Bezerra FA, Abib E, De Nucci G.
Miguel Servet Clinical Pharmacology Unit, 415 Jesuíno Marcondes Machado Avenue, Campinas, SP 13092-320, Brazil. oliveira_ch@terra.com.br Phytother Res. 2005 Jan;19(1):54-7.
In Brazil, a herbal medicinal extract named Catuama containing a mixture of Paullinia cupana (guarana; Sapindaceae), Trichilia catigua (catuaba; Meliaceae), Ptychopetalum olacoides (muirapuama; Olacaceae) and Zingiber officinale (ginger; Zingiberaceae) is used as a body stimulant, energetic, tonic and aphrodisiac. The present study investigated the chronic administration of 25 mL Catuama twice a day during 28 days for any toxic effect on healthy human volunteers of both sexes. No severe adverse reactions or haematological and biochemical changes were reported. Copyright (c) 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
PMID: 15798997 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]