Sunday
Pain-relieving properties of Brazilian mint
An herb called Brazilian mint treats pain as effectively as some synthetic drugs, English researchers report.
Traditional healers in Brazil have long used the herb Hyptis crenata to treat a range of health problems, including headaches, stomach pain, fever and flu. This study is the first to scientifically prove the pain-relieving properties of Brazilian mint.
In experiments with mice, the Newcastle University researchers found that Brazilian mint tea (the traditional way of administering the medicine) was as effective at relieving pain as a synthetic aspirin-style drug called Indomethacin.
The study was presented Nov. 24 at a conference in India in advance of publication in an upcoming issue of the journal Acta Horticulturae.
"What we have done is to take a plant that is widely used to safely treat pain and scientifically proven that it works as well as some synthetic drugs. Now the next step is to find out how and why the plant works," study leader Graciela Rocha said in a university news release.
She and her colleagues plan to launch clinical trials to assess Brazilian mint's pain relief qualities in people.
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I just added another item to my donation "wish list": granola bars! Giving this fellow something to munch on while I'm doing his wound care is the only thing that seems to keep him from screaming/swearing at me non-stop...and while protein drinks lessen the outbursts, granola bars keep him completely content! Enough to debride down to the tendon today...ok, probably too much information for most of you... But the point is that it works SO much better than the lidocaine spray!
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