Tylophora's therapeutic uses
Tylophora indica is a perennial climbing plant native to India, traditionally recognized for its potential therapeutic uses, particularly in treating respiratory issues such as asthma, bronchitis, and colds. The plant’s leaves and roots have been included in pharmacopoeias since the late 19th century, valued for their purported laxative, expectorant, and diaphoretic properties. While some studies from the 1970s suggested benefits of tylophora for asthma, these studies were often criticized for their poor design, and subsequent well-designed trials reported mixed results, indicating a need for further research to substantiate its efficacy.
Despite its long-standing use in traditional medicine, modern scientific evidence remains inconclusive regarding its anti-inflammatory and antiallergic effects. Additionally, tylophora can cause side effects such as nausea and mouth soreness, particularly when consumed in certain forms. It is advised that children, pregnant or nursing women, and individuals with severe liver or kidney conditions avoid using this herb, as comprehensive safety data is lacking. Overall, while tylophora has a rich history in herbal medicine, more rigorous studies are necessary to validate its therapeutic claims and ensure safe usage.
Tylophora's therapeutic uses
Definition: Natural plant product used to treat specific health conditions.
Principal proposed use: Asthma
Other proposed uses: Allergies (hay fever), bronchitis, colds
Overview
Tylophora indica is a climbing perennial plant indigenous to India, where it grows wild in the southern and eastern regions and has a long-standing reputation as a remedy for asthma (hence the name T. asthmatica). The leaves and roots of tylophora have been included in the Bengal Pharmacopoeia since 1884. It is said to have laxative, expectorant, diaphoretic (sweating), and purgative (vomiting) properties. Tylophora has been used for the treatment of various respiratory problems like asthma, including allergies, bronchitis, and colds, as well as dysentery and osteoarthritis pain.
Therapeutic Dosages
The typical dosage of tylophora leaf in dried or capsule form is 200 mg twice daily or 400 mg total in two doses.
Therapeutic Uses
Tylophora has become an increasingly popular treatment for asthma based on its traditional use for this purpose and several studies performed in the 1970s. However, the studies that found it effective were poorly designed, and a better-designed study found no benefits. Tylophora is also still recommended for some of its other traditional uses, including hay fever, bronchitis, and the common cold.
Scientific Evidence
Weak preliminary evidence hints that tylophora might have anti-inflammatory, antiallergic, and antispasmodic actions. All these effects could make it useful for the treatment of asthma. However, only double-blind, placebo-controlled studies can actually show a treatment effective. For tylophora and asthma, the evidence from this type of study is mixed at best.
In 1972, researchers reported the results of a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial of 195 individuals with asthma who were given either placebo or 40 milligrams (mg) of a tylophora alcohol extract daily for six days. The results showed that people taking tylophora had fewer asthma symptoms, and the benefits endured for months after use of the herb was stopped. Similarly long-lasting results were seen in two double-blind, placebo-controlled studies involving more than two hundred individuals with asthma.
Even the researchers involved in these trials expressed surprise that short-term use of tylophora could produce long-lasting benefits; to outside observers, such findings make the results difficult to believe at all. Furthermore, most of these studies suffered from poor design and reporting. In 1979, researchers published the results of a double-blind study designed to remedy these problems. A total of 135 people with asthma were given either tylophora or placebo. No benefits were seen, and tylophora has not undergone much study since then. Better studies that show benefit will be necessary before tylophora can be considered a promising herb for asthma.
Other studies investigated tylophora's anti-neuroinflammatory properties and its potential applications in the management of neurodegenerative diseases. Further research is required to fully understand these potential benefits.
Safety Issues
Tylophora has caused nausea, vomiting, mouth soreness, and alterations in taste sensation in a significant number of participants in several studies. Across studies, it appears these symptoms are more common among participants who chew whole leaves rather than dried leaves or powdered extract in capsule form. However, the benefits of the herb are also reduced as the side effects decrease.
Preliminary studies on animals have found tylophora extracts to be toxic only in extremely high doses; these extracts were apparently safe in the far smaller doses needed to produce a therapeutic effect. Due to the lack of comprehensive safety studies on tylophora, the herb should not be used by children, pregnant or nursing women, or individuals with severe kidney or liver disease. Whether tylophora interacts with any drugs is unknown.
Bibliography
Gupta, Vasudha, et al. “Anti-Neuroinflammatory Potential of Tylophora Indica (Burm. f) Merrill and Development of an Efficient in Vitro Propagation System for its Clinical Use.” PloS One, vol. 15, no. 3, 2020, p. e0230142. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0230142.
"Tylophora." Peace Health, www.peacehealth.org/medical-topics/id/hn-2176006. Accessed 15 Aug. 2023.