Bitters: Time for a New Paradigm.

In plant-based medical systems, bitter tasting plants play a key role in managing dyspepsia. Yet when it comes to defining their mechanism of activity, herbalists and pharmacologists are split between two theories: one involves cephalic elicited vagal responses while the other comprises purely local responses. Recent studies indicate that bitters elicit a range of cephalic responses which alter postprandial gastric phase haemodynamics.

Bitter tastants alter gastric-phase postprandial haemodynamics.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Since Greco-Roman times bitter tastants have been used in Europe to treat digestive disorders, yet no pharmacological mechanism has been identified which can account for this practice. This study investigates whether the bitter tastants, gentian root (Gentian lutea L.) and wormwood herb (Artemisia absinthium L.

American Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora): a randomised, double-blind placebo-controlled crossover study of its effects on mood in healthy volunteers.

Scutellaria lateriflora, a traditional herbal remedy for stress and anxiety, was tested on human volunteers for its effects on mood. In a placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover study, 43 healthy participants were randomised to a sequence of three times daily S. lateriflora (350 mg) or placebo, each over two weeks.

Western herbal medicine, epigenetics, and endometriosis.

Endometriosis is an enigmatic disease characterized by the presence and growth of endometrial-like tissue outside the uterine cavity. The etiology of endometriosis is poorly understood, yet recent evidence suggests that epigenetic aberrations and heritable changes in the genome may be the key to understanding how to approach this disease. Difficulty in long-term management of endometriosis symptoms and unpredictability of treatment outcome necessitate research into other treatment modalities, such as Western herbal medicine.

Caffeine in hot drinks elicits cephalic phase responses involving cardiac activity.

Caffeine stimulates both oropharyngeal and gut bitter taste receptors (hTAS2Rs) and so has the potential to elicit reflex autonomic responses. Coffee containing 130 mg caffeine has been reported to increase heart rate for 30 min post-ingestion. Whereas added-caffeine, in doses of 25 to 200 mg, ingested with decaffeinated coffee/tea decreases heart rate 10 to 30 min post-ingestion.

Respiratory and non-respiratory sinus arrhythmia: implications for heart rate variability.

The quantity of blood arriving at the left side of the heart oscillates throughout the breathing cycle due to the mechanics of breathing. Neurally regulated fluctuations in the length of the heart period act to dampen oscillations of the left ventricular stroke volume entering the aorta. We have reported that stroke volume oscillations but not spectral frequency variability stroke volume measures can be used to estimate the breathing frequency.

The immediate and short-term chemosensory impacts of coffee and caffeine on cardiovascular activity.

Unlabelled: The immediate and short-term chemosensory impacts of coffee and caffeine on cardiovascular activity.

Introduction: Caffeine is detected by 5 of the 25 gustatory bitter taste receptors (hTAS2Rs) as well as by intestinal STC-1 cell lines. Thus there is a possibility that caffeine may elicit reflex autonomic responses via chemosensory stimulation.

Habitual coffee and tea drinkers experienced increases in blood pressure after consuming low to moderate doses of caffeine; these increases were larger upright than in the supine posture.

Caffeine users have been encouraged to consume caffeine regularly to maintain their caffeine tolerance and so avoid caffeine's acute pressor effects. In controlled conditions complete caffeine tolerance to intervention doses of 250 mg develops rapidly following several days of caffeine ingestion, nevertheless, complete tolerance is not evident for lower intervention doses. Similarly complete caffeine tolerance to 250 mg intervention doses has been demonstrated in habitual coffee and tea drinkers' but for lower intervention doses complete tolerance is not evident.

The Finometer can function as a standalone instrument in blood pressure variability studies and does not require support equipment to determine breathing frequency.

Objective: The Finometer records the beat-to-beat finger pulse contour and has been recommended for research studies assessing short-term changes of blood pressure and its variability. Variability measured in the frequency domain using spectral analysis requires the impact of breathing be restricted to high frequency spectra (>0.15 Hz) so that the data from participants need to be excluded when the breathing impact occurs in the low frequency spectra (0.

Kava lactones and the kava-kava controversy.

Kava-kava is a traditional beverage of the South Pacific islanders and has had centuries of use without major side effects. Standardised extracts of kava-kava produced in Europe have led to many serious health problems and even to death. The extraction process (aqueous vs.

Kava--the unfolding story: report on a work-in-progress.

This paper, originated as a submission (now updated) to the U.K. Medicines Control Agency and Committee of Safety of Medicines (CSM) on January 11, 2002, in response to a report circulated by the German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Products (German initials are BfArM), a compilation of which is summarized in Appendix 2.