Good ol' cerasse ( Asorosi) tea has anti-HIV activity
Marle...@aol.com
Good ol' cerasse tea has anti-HIV activity
By Eulalee Thompson
Scientists have identified several active proteins in the good ol' cerasse
bush which are potentially cheaper alternative treatments for HIV/AIDS.
ALL OVER this beautiful country, the cerasse bush (Momordica charantia) grows
wild, unaided by human device. Though it produces bright, yellow flowers and an
orange-coloured fruit, it is often viewed as no more than a nuisance, creeping
through the garden. Tea brewed from the leaves is popular among rural folk but
considered too bitter by most Jamaicans.
Traditional Indian, Chinese and African pharmacopeia, however, for centuries
have appreciated the value of this vine-type plant cerasse (also called
Bitter melon, Karela, Balsam pear) has pride of place as a laxative,
anthelminthic and an abortifacient. Reports are that even in some of the most
modern hospitals in India, cerasse is dispensed so confident are their
doctors about the herb's positive effects on diabetics.
In more recent times, scientists have identified and extracted several active
proteins from cerasse including MAP-30, alpha-momorcharin and beta-momorcharin
which have indicated putative value as anti-HIV agents.
The series of proteins alpha and beta momorcharins were isolated
by the researcher T. B. Ng at the Chinese Medicinal Material Research Centre of
the Chinese University of Hong Kong and he found that these proteins have
anti-HIV activity. Alpha momorcharin was also found to be an abortifacient and
tumuor suppressive.
More recently Sylvia Lee-Huang, a biochemist at the New York University (NYU)
School of Medicine, extracted another protein MAP-30 (momordica anti-viral
protein of 30 kDaltons) which also has anti-HIV activity. It appears, according
to Lee-Huang's work, that MAP-30 can block the infection of T-lymphocytes and
monocytes by HIV and can also inhibit the replication of HIV in already infected
cells in vitro. The research also indicates that MAP-30 appears to have
limited toxic effect on the uninfected (healthy) cells.
For anti-HIV 'treatment', the cerasse is liquefied and consumed either as a
juice or as a retained enema. Unripe fruits, seeds, leaves and stems of the
plant are used interchangeably to obtain the juice. No carefully-monitored
clinical trials using the herb as treatment for HIV/AIDS could be found but the
literature documents research (Zhang, 1992) of individual cases where cerasse is
reported to have improved CD4 count (in blood) of patients with HIV. (The HIV
infects CD4 cells, preventing them from functioning normally that is,
helping the body's immune system to fight infection. As HIV/AIDS progresses, the
number of CD4 cells decreases; normally there are about 800 to 1,200 CD4 cells
per cubic millimeter of blood.)
In one case, there was an HIV-positive male with a CD4 count of 658, % CD4 of
35 and a CD4/CD8 ratio of 1.21. His condition worsened to a CD4 count of 480, %
CD4 of 32, and CD4/CD8 ratio of 0.91. He went on cerasse after hearing from a
family friend that it was used to treat leukaemia. Three years later his
condition improved considerably CD4 count was 1,120, % CD4 was 41 and his
CD4/CD8 ratio was 1.27. It is reported that the patient experienced no side
effects from the use of cerasse.
This patient, who lived in Los Angeles at the time, shared his experience
with cerasse, and about 100 other persons living with HIV/AIDS in that city went
on the herb.
If cerasse passes the test under well-structured clinical trials, this could
have wide implications for HIV treatment especially in developing countries
where the prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS is dramatically increasing, cerasse is
ubiquitous and scarce funds cannot be allocated to purchase the expensive
anti-retroviral drugs now on the market. Who will take up the challenge of
further research?
