Christmas bark as good as its bite Surajit Dasgupta in New Delhi / The Statesman Dec. 24, 2004 � A fake Christmas tree may be more popular, but here's a new reason to appreciate the real thing: researchers have identified a group of anti-inflammatory compounds in the bark of the Scotch Pine � widely used as Christmas trees - that they say could be developed into food supplements or drugs for treating arthritis and pain. The compounds, which show promise in preliminary cell studies, are likely to be found in other pine species as well, the scientists say. This is believed to be the first time that 28 compounds have been identified in Pinus Sylvestris (Scotch pine), used commonly to make Christmas trees, the researchers say. The compounds identified were phenolics, a class of highly-active plant chemicals that have been increasingly tied to beneficial health effects. The study is scheduled to appear in the 29 December print-issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. "The preliminary study showed that highly purified preparations of pine bark extract have potent anti-inflammatory effects. In future, this may mean that people with arthritis may ease their pain by eating food supplements made from Christmas trees," says study leader Kalevi Pihlaja, Ph.D., a chemistry professor at the University of Turku in Finland. Pine bark extract also has the potential to relieve high blood pressure, asthma, heart disease and skin cancer. The study may help provide an explanation for some of its supposed health benefits, Prof. Pihlaja says. The researchers have tested the various extracts against mouse inflammatory cells (macrophages) for their ability to produce nitric oxide and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), chemicals which are known to help trigger inflammation when they are produced in excess amounts, as during disease or injury. The results were compared to the chemical responses of inflammatory cells that were not exposed to pine bark extracts. The researchers found that the highly-purified extract tested had the most potent anti-inflammatory activity. The extract (at 50 �g/mL concentration level) inhibited nitric oxide production, an excess of which has been linked to arthritis and circulatory problems, by up to 63 per cent, they say. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> $4.98 domain names from Yahoo!. Register anything. http://us.click.yahoo.com/Q7_YsB/neXJAA/yQLSAA/0FHolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> http://www.goa-world.com http://www.live365.com/stations/61664 Live Konkani Music http://www.mahableshwar.com/ Addresses: Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] List owner: [EMAIL PROTECTED] URL to this page: http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/gulf-goans Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gulf-goans/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
