Essential Oil from Piper leaves can cure gastritis

Gastritis is a disease that quite disturbing. The disease is often treated with drugs containing antacids. In severe conditions, the Proton-pump inhibitor drugs used to treat these disorders. Gastritis is a disease caused by an inflammation of the stomach. Inflammation is often caused by Helicobacter pylori infection. Several psychological factors can also increase the excretion of gastric acid so that aggravate symptoms of gastritis. In South America, piper leaves is used as natural remedy to cure gastritis. Whether the essential oil from piper leaves can cure gastritis?

Some researchers from Spain, Italy and Brazil do research to prove the benefits of essential oil from piper leaves. They extract the leaves of piper to know how piper can treat gastric ulcers. Apparently, essential oil of piper leaves extract does have some activity that can inhibit gastric ulcer. Piper leaves extract may inhibit inflammation through inhibition of myeloperoxidase activity. Piper leaves extract can also inhibit gastric acid excretion through a proton-pump inhibition. Inhibitory activity of gastric acid excretion was similar to the workings of a proton-pump inhibitor drugs. In addition, the piper leaves extract was also able to overcome the main problems in gastritis, that is Helicobacter pilory infection. Piper leaves extract has the antibiotic effects that can kill Helicobacter pilory.

Piper leaf extract contains flavanoid, nervogenic acid, geranylbenzoat, phytosterols and phytol. Phyotosterols have a strong effect in inhibiting myeloperoxidase. The substance inhibits the release of myeloperoxidase from leukocytes. Flavanoid can also have inhibitory activity of myeloperoxidase but not as strong as phytosterols. Flavanoid in piper leaves extract is very helpful in treating gastritis because it can function as proton-pump inhibitor. Some substances contained in extracts of leaves of piper can also kill Helicobacter pilory through several mechanisms. This is very useful for overcome cases of antibiotic resistance.

Birthday Reminder Feature on Plurk

Plurk now has a new feature that is a birthday reminder. We can find out who our friends who were celebrating birthdays. This birthday reminder is a cake that we can see under the plurker username who was celebrating a birthday. This feature is very useful to remind birthdays of our friends so we do not forget to give a birthday greeting.

During this time, plurker more often say birthday via facebook since facebook has a birthday reminder feature. Given this new feature, we can now give a birthday greeting to our friends through plurk. Birthday greeting via plurk is more expressive than facebook because this microblogging service is providing a lot of funny emoticons which are not available on facebook.

Thanks for Plurk. Birthday reminder feature is a very special gift on second plurk anniversary. In addition to this feature, now plurker can also share stories through plurk labs' blog.

Cake on plurk's 2nd birthday

June 1st, 2010, plurk celebrate the second birthday. This microblogging service is officially launched two years ago, on June 1st, 2008. Previously, plurk is still in beta. I joined Plurk was also nearly two years, since October 29th, 2008, but only last month I reached karma 100 (doh). On his birthday, plurk gave a special surprise to plurkers. Do you know what the contents of these gifts?

Gift on the 2nd plurk anniversary is not new emoticons. This gift can only be enjoyed by plurker who still using the original layout of plurk. Try changing your plurk theme into original layout. You will see a birthday cake with two candles on your timeline.

Happy birthday, plurk! Hopefully plurk also give new funny plurk emoticons. Let's celebrate plurk anniversary with fireworks. Oya, plurk apparently also had a hidden emoticon in the form of fireworks.

Try typing (fireworks). So, fireworks emoticon will be displayed on your plurk.

High Dose Vitamin C 1000 mg Prevent and Treat Common Cold?

Season's erratic lately made a lot of people affected by common cold. My friends are also many who suffer from the flu. The disease which often caused by rhinovirus is indeed very disturbing activities. A lot of friends put up a facebook status associated with the disease symptoms such as fever, runny nose, etc. Some health products also take advantage of this opportunity. These products offer health supplements that contain vitamin C 1000 mg. No half-hearted, they dare to say that consumption of high doses of vitamin C can prevent and treat colds. In fact, some drinks containing 1000 mg of ascorbic acid suggesting that we take vitamin supplements three times daily. Do we really need vitamin C 1000 mg daily? Does high-dose vitamin C good for our health?

Treatment for common cold mainly to relieve symptoms. Nasal decongestan and paracetamol is very useful in relieving nasal congestion and fever. Sometimes, anti-flu drugs also contains anti histamine for allergic reactions which are also frequently accompanies with the common cold. Antibiotics should be avoided in the treatment of cold. Some studies mention that the use of antibiotics are not useful in handling the cold. Irrational use of antibiotics in the treatment of flu in fact increase bacterial resistance to antibiotics. Vitamin C is believed to be useful in the treatment of common cold. Vitamin C had been shown to boost immunity. The U.S. Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine recommends that we consume the vitamin C of about 75-90 mg / day. Smokers need additional vitamin C 35 mg / day higher. However, some commercial products so excited in the community suggest that taking vitamin C with doses much higher than recommended doses. In fact, they suggested that we should increase the intake of vitamin C to 3 x 1000 mg/day when we get the flu. Whether the increased intake of vitamin C at the time we feel flu-like symptoms would be useful?

Some researchers from the University of Wyoming interested in study this phenomenon. They were to study literature from several studies on vitamin C to determine the role of vitamin C in treating the common cold. Consumption of vitamin C 200 mg / day on a regular basis can reduce the duration of cold symptoms. However, regular consumption of vitamin C supplements did not prevent a cold. Regular consumption of vitamin C also does not reduce severity. What about the increased consumption of vitamin C at the time we get the cold? Apparently, this is also not useful. Increased intake of vitamin C at the time we begin to feel flu-like symptoms did not reduce the duration and severity of disease. Vitamin C is water-soluble vitamins. Thus, vitamin C with very high doses will not be absorbed because it will happen saturation levels of vitamin C in blood. Excessive vitamin C will only be removed through the urine and are thought to cause kidney stones. Some studies also mention that consumption of vitamin C more than 2000 mg/day can cause adverse effects on the gastrointestinal system and tooth erosion because this vitamin is a acid substance.

Then, how many doses of vitamin C, which should we eat regularly? Some studies mention that we should consume approximately vitamin C 200 mg/day. Consumption of vitamin C more than 500 mg / day is not recommended. To understand why we need vitamin C with this dose, we need to know the pharmacokinetics of vitamin C. Check out this blog continues ..

References:

Giunta, J. L., 1993. Dental erosion resulting from chewable vitamin C tablets. Journal of the American Dental Association, 107, 253–256.

Goldenring, J., 2007. Vitamin C and colds. VeriMed Healthcare Network. Retrieved September 7, 2007, from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/
002145.htm

Heimer, K.A., Hart, A.M., Martin, L.G., 2009. Examining the evidence for the use of vitamin C in the prophylaxis and treatment of the common cold. Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners 21, 295-300