GYNOSTEMMA PENTAPHYLLUM
five-leaf ginseng, poor man\'s ginseng, miracle grass, fairy herb, sweet tea vine, gospel herb, southern ginseng,
(kanji: 甘茶蔓; hiragana: あまちゃずる; literally 甘いamai=sweet, tasty 茶 cha=tea, 蔓 zuru=vine, creeping plant)Native to China, northern Vietnam, southern Korea, and Japan. Known as Jiaogulan (Chinese: 绞股蓝 \"twisting crotched indigo plant\") in China.
The first known description is in 1406 CE by Zhu Xiao, who presented a description and sketch in the book Materia Medica for a survival food..
Later the book; Compendium of Materia Medica (published in 1578, written by Li Shizhen) presented more of the herbs medicinal properties.
Research in sugar substitutes In the 1970s led to identifying 82 saponins (gypenosides) compared to the 28 (ginsenosides) of Panax ginseng.
Known as longevity herb within Guizhou Province, where the tea is consumed regularly, people are known to have unusually long life-spans.
Antioxidant; Jiaogulan has been found to increase superoxide dismutase (SOD), a powerful endogenous cellular antioxidant enzyme.
Studies found it increases the activities of macrophages, T lymphocytes, and natural killer cells and that it acts as a tumor inhibitor.
Adaptogen; Jiaogulan is known as an adaptogen, which is an herb reputed to help the body to maintain optimal homeostasis.
Its chemical constituents include the triterpenoid saponins gypenosides which are closely structurally related to the ginsenosides which are present in ginseng. Most research has been done since the 1960s when the Chinese realized that it might be an inexpensive source of adaptogenic compounds, removing pressure from the ginseng stock. Purported adaptogenic effects include regulating blood pressure and the immune system, improving stamina and endurance. Jiaogulan is also believed to be useful in combination with codonopsis for jet lag and altitude sickness.
Blood pressure; The adaptogenic nature of gypenosides have been found to keep blood pressure in a normal range. In vitro studies indicate that jiaogulan stimulates the release of nitric oxide in isolated heart cells; this is one proposed mechanism by which jiaogulan reduces high blood pressure. In a double-blind study, gypenosides administered to those with Grade II hypertension showed 82% effectiveness in reducing hypertension, compared to 46% for ginseng and 93% for indapamide (a hypertension medication).
Cardiovascular functions; has beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system, increasing heart stroke volume, coronary flow, and cardiac output while reducing the heart rate, without affecting arterial pressure.
Cholesterol reduction; Numerous clinical studies in Chinese medical literature have shown that jiagolan lowers serum cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL (the \"bad\" cholesterol) while raising HDL (\"good\" cholesterol) levels, with reported effectiveness rates ranging from 67% to 93% on over 980 patients with hyperlipemia.
Diabetes; Gynostemma pentaphyllum tea has been studied in a randomized controlled trial in type 2 diabetic patients. It may have potential as a hypoglycemic treatment to reduce blood glucose.
