Chapter 3: Achieving Symptom Relief
DISCLAIMER: THIS PAGE IS FOR EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR MEDICAL ADVICE, DIAGNOSIS, OR TREATMENT. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF YOUR PHYSICIAN OR QUALIFIED HEALTHCARE PROVIDER FOR ANY MEDICAL CONDITION. IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING SEVERE SYMPTOMS, SUCH AS DIFFICULTY BREATHING, PERSISTENT PAIN OR PRESSURE IN THE CHEST, SLURRED SPEECH, SEVERE CONFUSION, OR BLUISH LIPS OR FACE, SEEK IMMEDIATE EMERGENCY CARE.
Additional Note: Individual Chinese herbs should be used with caution. The information below is only provided to describe each herb's unique properties. Traditional Chinese herbs are carefully processed and combined in customized herbal formulas to maximize the health benefits of each herb. Consult your healthcare practitioner for optimal results. Women who are trying to conceive, are pregnant, and/or are breastfeeding should inform their healthcare provider of those facts.
Several herbs and supplements can separately provide symptom relief for viral and fungal infections, but there is a risk of contraindications and counter-productivity with untested combinations of herbs. Below are a few of the herbs in our proprietary formulas that complement each other to treat the symptoms of both viral and fungal infections.
Stemona Root (Stemona sessilifolia, pl. Stemonae)
百部 (bai bu)
Stemona root is one of the most versatile herbs in traditional Chinese medicine. Stemona is used to moisten the lungs and stop different types of coughing, such as the common cold, whooping cough, and tuberculosis (Chinese Natural Herbs, n.d.). Research shows that Stemona has significant effects on lung inflammation for cigarette smoke-induced mice (Lee et al., 2014). Extrapolating the results to human lungs is intuitive, and the correlation is likely to be explored in future research. In addition to the respiratory benefits, Stemona is also an effective anti-parasitic (Zhao et al., 2020).
Peppermint (Mentha haplocalyx, pl. Menthae)
薄荷 (bo he)
Peppermint is a common herb with compounds such as camphene, pinene, limonene, menthone, and rosmarinic acid (Herbpathy, n.d.-c). When ingested, these compounds help with fever, headache, cough, sore throat, and red eyes associated with the common cold and other upper respiratory tract infections. Peppermint can be used to treat ulcers and other open sores. In traditional Chinese medicine terms, peppermint dispels wind-heat and disperses liver qi. Peppermint can also be topically applied to the skin to provide a cooling sensation (Epilepsy Naturapedia, n.d.-b).
Dried Orange Peel (Citrus reticulata, pl. Citri)
陈皮 (chen pi)
The anti-asthmatic properties of orange peel was documented thousands of years ago in "Huangdi Nei Jing". The many documented properties include reducing fevers, soothing asthma, stimulating the appetite, improving digestion, and enhancing immune system function (Shi et al., 2009). In traditional Chinese terms, orange peel moves the qi, soothes the liver, and resolves stagnation. Orange peel also has antifungal properties, and is a good source of calcium, carbohydrates, and carotene (Epilepsy Naturapedia, n.d.-a; Herbpathy, n.d.-a).
Air Potato/Air Yam (Dioscorea bulbifera, pl. Dioscoreae)
黃藥子 (huang yao zi)
Chemical tests show that air potatoes contain many antioxidants such as flavonoids and phenolic compounds. and terpenoids. Other functional properties of air potatoes include being anti-microbial (saponins), analgesic (aqueous and methanol extracts), anti-inflammatory (aqueous and methanol extracts), a cardiac stimulant (diosgenin), and anti-diabetic (flavonoids and phenolic compounds). The medicinal uses of air potato cover all ranges of treatments for a whole range of diseases, from cancer to diabetes mellitus to respiratory disease to cardiovascular disease to inflammatory disease to gastrointestinal disease (Herbpathy, n.d.-b; Niyas, 2015).
Notoginseng (Panax notoginseng)
田七 (tian qi)
Notoginseng has been used to control bleeding and treat vascular problems in China for thousands of years. Healthcare practitioners now additionally prescribe notoginseng for asthma, high cholesterol, swelling, dizziness, prostate cancer, and pain (Yang, Xiong, Wang, & Wang, 2014). Research indicates that notoginseng may be an adjuvant, which helps stimulate the body's immune response to foreign bodies. Adjuvants are used in some vaccines to help improve the body's response by producing more antibodies and longer-lasting immunity (Herbpathy, n.d.-d; Sun, Ye, Pan, & Pan, 2004).
Lactobacillus Bacteria
As discussed in Chapter 1, Candida infections are often a result of an opportunistic overgrowth. In the average person, the theory is that Candida infections stay confined to an area because the person’s immune system can contain the overgrowth. In an immunocompromised person, however, a Candida infection can become systemic because the immune system is no longer equipped to contain the overgrowth. Research shows that Lactobacillus bacteria, already present in human flora, are natural Candida suppressants and essential to keeping and restoring a body's normal balance (Zangl, Pap, Aspock, & Schuller, 2019). Consumption of Lactobacillus bacteria in the form of probiotics provides fungal infection relief without adverse effects. And research indicates that Lactobacillus has a mild protective effect if taken before an infection occurs. The bacteria and the fungus appear to fight for the same food source, glucose. The bacteria also serves to block the receptors that the fungus would use to intake the glucose. Thus, if there is enough bacteria present in the system, the fungus effectively starves (Mailander-Sanchez et al., 2017).
The Mabra Clinic has developed a treatment protocol that effectively provides symptom relief for virus- and fungus-related infections using different blends of many of the herbs described above. Patients suffering from an infection can contact the clinic for available appointments by phone at (214) 691-3210 or by filling out the online form. Healthcare practitioners are also invited to learn more about the treatment protocol by contacting the clinic.
Chinese Natural Herbs. (n.d.). Stemona root. Retrieved from https://www.chinesenaturalherbs.com/index.php/bulk-herbs/stemona-root-baibu/
Epilepsy Naturapedia. (n.d.-a). Citrus reticulata. Retrieved from http://www.epilepsynaturapedia.com/index.php?title=Citrus_reticulata
Epilepsy Naturapedia. (n.d.-b). Mentha haplocalyx. Retrieved from http://www.epilepsynaturapedia.com/index.php?title=Mentha_haplocalyx
Herbpathy. (n.d.-a). Citrus reticulata herb uses, benefits, cures, side effects, nutrients. Retrieved from https://herbpathy.com/Uses-and-Benefits-of-Citrus-Reticulata-Cid299
Herbpathy. (n.d.-b). Dioscorea bulbifera herb uses, benefits, cures, side effects, nutrients. Retrieved from https://herbpathy.com/Uses-and-Benefits-of-Dioscorea-Bulbifera-Cid575
Herbpathy. (n.d.-c). Mentha haplocalyx herb uses, benefits, cures, side effects, nutrients. Retrieved from https://herbpathy.com/Uses-and-Benefits-of-Mentha-Haplocalyx-Cid5149
Herbpathy. (n.d.-d). Panax notoginseng herb uses, benefits, cures, side effects, nutrients. Retrieved from https://herbpathy.com/Uses-and-Benefits-of-Panax-Notoginseng-Cid1403
Lee, H., Jung, K. H., Park, S., Kil, Y. S., Chung, E. Y., Jang, Y. P., . . . Bae, H. (2014, December 20). Inhibitory effects of Stemona tuberosa on lung inflammation in a subacute cigarette smoke-induced mouse model. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6882-14-513
Mailander-Sanchez, D., Braunsdorf, C., Grumaz, C., Muller, C., Lorenz, S., Stevens, P., . . . Schaller, M. (2017). Antifungal defense of probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG is mediated by blocking adhesion and nutrient depletion. PLoS One, 12(10). Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0184438
Niyas, F. M. (2015, August). Medicinal uses of Dioscorea bulbifera-A review. Research Journal of Pharmacy and Technology, 8(8), 1059. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.5958/0974-360X.2015.00182.1
Shi, Q., Liu, Z., Yang, Y., Geng, P., Zhu, Y. Y., Zhang, Q., . . . Bai, G. (2009, April 13). Identification of anti-asthmatic compounds in pericarpium Citri reticulatae and evaluation of their synergistic effects. Acta Pharmacologica Sinica, 30, 567–575. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1038/aps.2009.36
Sun, H. X., Ye, Y. P., Pan, H. J., & Pan, Y. J. (2004, September 28). Adjuvant effect of Panax notoginseng saponins on the immune responses to ovalbumin in mice. Vaccine, 22(29-30), 3882-3889. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2004.04.012
Yang, X., Xiong, X., Wang, H., & Wang, J. (2014, July 24). Protective effects of Panax notoginseng saponins on cardiovascular diseases: A comprehensive overview of experimental studies. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/204840
Zangl, I., Pap, I. J., Aspock, C., & Schuller, C. (2019, November 25). The role of Lactobacillus species in the control of Candida via biotrophic interactions. Microbial Cell, 7(1), 1-14. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.15698/mic2020.01.702
Zhao, H., Yang, A., Zhang, N., Li, S., Yuan, T., Ding, N., . . . Hu, L. (2020, January 29). Insecticidal endostemonines A-J produced by endophytic streptomyces from Stemona sessilifolia. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 68(6), 1588-1595. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.9b06755