Quan Xie is also known as scorpion. The neutral, acrid, sweet and toxic herb has been used in TCM to treat epilepsy, stroke, paralysis, migraine, pain in arthritis, tetanus, tuberculosis in lymph nodes, urticaria, , etc., as it calms Wind, convulsions, relieve pain, expels toxins, disperses nodules, promotes circulation in the collaterals, etc., by enhancing the liver channels.
Ingredients
1. Katsutoxin
2. Polypeptides
3. Tityustoxin
4. Hyaluronidase
5. Lecithin
6. Katsu acid
7. Trimethylamin
8. Betaine
9. Etc.
Health Benefits
1. Cardiovascular effectsÂ
Buthus martensii (Karsch) (BMK) scorpion envenomation is a common medical problem in China and BMK scorpion has been widely used in traditional Chinese medicine. In the study to investigate i.v. BMK venom injection significantly increased the blood pressure in conscious rats in a concentration-dependent manner (ED50 = 59 +/- 12 micrograms/kg), showed that BMK venom significantly increased the metabolism of InsP3 in dispersed cardiac myocytes, indicating a direct effect on cardiac myocytes. These results demonstrate the significant cardiovascular effects of BMK venom, which may be mediated by an alteration in InsP3 in cardiac myocytes but not by [Ca2+]i in vascular smooth muscle cells(1).
2. Antinociceptive activity
In the site-directed mutagenesis and mouse acetic acid writhing test used to investigate the role of Ser54 in the antinociceptive activity of BmK9 neurotoxin from the Buthus martensii Karsch scorpion, detailed mutagenesis analysis revealed that substitution of Ser54 by various polar amino acids produced no significant change in the antinociceptive activity, while all substitutions of nonpolar amino acid for Ser54 led to a significant loss of antinociceptive activity. Following the conformational analysis, it was suggested that Ser54 in BmK9 plays a functional role in the antinociceptive activity, the residue exerts its effect by means of a side-chain hydrogen bond(2).
3. Analgesic activity
In the study of an effective Escherichia coli expression system used to study the role of residues in the antitumor-analgesic peptide from Chinese scorpion Buthus martensii Karsch (BmKAGAP) and to evaluate the extent to which residues of the toxin core contribute to its analgesic activity, nine mutants of BmKAGAP obtained by PCR, showed that withthe ongoing efforts for establishing the structure and analgesic activity relationship of BmKAGAP, we have succeeded in pinpointing which residues are important for the analgesic activity(3).
4. Etc.
Side Effects
1. The herb can cause Allergic effects, including rash, urticaria with fever
2. Overdose can be toxic
3. Do not use the herb in newborn, children or if you are pregnant or breast feeding without first consulting with the related field specialist.
4. Etc.
For other Chinese herbs in western view, visit http://chineseherbsinnutrientsperspective.blogspot.com/2011/10/chinese-herbs-in-western-view-health.html
Or my home page at http://medicaladvisorjournals.blogspot.ca Sources
(1) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8153958
(2) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21906612
(3) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20307602
