What Does It Do?
Jaundiclear was originally invented about 2000 years ago under the name of
Yin Chen Hao Tang
with a composition of 3 herbs: Artemisia capillaris Thunb, Gardenia jasminoides Ellis,
Rheum officinale Baill. Artemisiae is the major herb in the formula
that helps clear the jaundice. It also clears heat and dampness. Gardeniae and Rheum act to enhance
the function of Artemisiae.
In the past 40 years, there have been some modifications of the original Jaundiclear recipe.
Often times more herbs are added to the formula to reflect our current understanding on herbology
and to enhance the action. One commonly used modification of Yin Chen Hao Tang contains one extra
herb, Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, and is named as Yin Zhi Huang. This recipe is
what the researchers used in the breakthrough study.1
What does the study find?
Jaundice is the yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes resulted from the accumulation of
bile pigment bilirubin. In the new study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation in 20041,
the scientists led by Dr. David Moore were first able to confirm what scientists in China have long
reported, that is, Yin Zhi Huang can significantly enhance the clearance of bilirubin from the serum and
the liver in the animal model. Then, they were able to track down the protein in the
body that mediates this effect of Yin Zhi Huang. The protein is a liver receptor called CAR
(Constitutive androstane receptor), which is a key regulator of the bilirubin clearance pathway.
When CAR is missing in the body, then Yin Zhi Huang can no longer clear bilirubin.
Interestingly, Artemisiae by itself can increase the bilirubin clearance but at lower
efficacy.
More surprisingly, the scientists were able to further narrow down a single molecule in Artemisiae
that activates CAR which causes subsequent activation of proteins in the bilirubin clearance pathway.
The study on Yin Zhi Huang is wonderful. It is nicely illustrated
both the wisdom a Traditional Chinese Medicine could be and how powerful the modern biomedical
research can be in uncovering the mystery surrounding traditional Chinese medicines.
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