
AsianScientist (Oct. 29, 2012) – Researchers at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in Manhasset, New York have discovered that a bean commonly used in Chinese cuisine may protect against sepsis, a life-threatening complication of an infection or injury.
In a paper published in the current issue of the journal Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine (eCAM), Dr. Haichao Wang and his colleagues found that extract from mung bean (Vigna radiata), a bean native to India and commonly used in Chinese food and traditional medicine, reduced the release of HMGB1, a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) protein which is a mediator of inflammation.
While inflammation is a process that is necessary for maintaining good health – without inflammation, wounds and infections would never heal, persistent and constant inflammation can damage tissue and organs, and lead to diseases such as sepsis.
Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening complication of an infection or injury, and occurs when chemicals released into the bloodstream to fight the infection trigger inflammation throughout the body. It affects approximately 750,000 Americans each year, 28 to 50 percent of whom die from the condition.
The result of sepsis is that organs become damaged, including liver, heart, lungs, kidney, and brain. If excessive damage occurs, it may be irreversible. Neutralizing the protein HMGB1 protects against persistent and constant inflammation that results in damage to tissue and organs.
Wang and colleagues showed that mice with experimentally-induced sepsis that were fed with a mung bean coat (MBC) extract had higher survival rates (70 percent survival) than those fed a saline solution (29.4 percent survival).
“Many traditional medicinal herbs have been successfully developed into effective therapies for various inflammatory ailments, and now we have validated the therapeutic potential of another medicinal product, mung bean extract,” said Wang.
“Demonstrating that mung bean extract has a positive effect on septic mice shows promise that this bean can also have a positive effect on septic humans – of course, additional studies are required to prove the safe and effective use in humans.”
The article can be found at: Zhu S et al. (2012) It Is Not Just Folklore: The Aqueous Extract of Mung Bean Coat Is Protective against Sepsis.
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Source: The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research.
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