Cissus + Arachidonic Acid: Synergism or Contradiction?
| Analgesic, anti-inflammatory and venotonic effects of Cissus quadrangularis Linn.
Panthong A, Supraditaporn W, Kanjanapothi D, Taesotikul T, Reutrakul V. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 2007 Mar 21;110(2):264-70. Epub 2006 Sep 26. Links Cissus quadrangularis, a medicinal plant indigenous to Asia and Africa, is used for many ailments, especially for the treatment of hemorrhoid. The effects associated with hemorrhoid, i.e. analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities as well as the venotonic effect of the methanol extract of C. quadrangularis (CQ) were assessed in comparison with reference drugs. In the analgesic test, CQ provoked a significant reduction of the number of writhes in acetic acid-induced writhing response in mice. CQ also significantly reduced the licking time in both phases of the formalin test. The results suggest peripheral and central analgesic activity of CQ. In acute phase of inflammation CQ elicited the inhibitory effect on the edema formation of the rats’ ear induced by ethyl phenylpropiolate as well as on the formation of the paw edema in rats induced by both carrageenin and arachidonic acid. It is likely that CQ is a dual inhibitor of arachidonic acid metabolism. In addition, CQ exerted venotonic effect on isolated human umbilical vein similarly to the mixture of bioflavonoids, i.e. 90% diosmin and 10% hesperidin. The results obtained confirmed the traditional use of C. quadrangularis for the treatment of pain and inflammation associated with hemorrhoid as well as reducing the size of hemorrhoids. |
My simple question is this, what is the point of stacking arachidonic acid with cissus if cissus indeed inhibits arachidonic acid metabolism? It’s always been my understanding that cissus inhibits the conversion of arachidonic acid into prostaglandins.
Essentially, the hypertrophy inducing effect of arachidonic acid is by sustaining elevated PGF2alpha levels. Cissus has also been shown to stimulate type II collagen and PGE2 has been shown to inhibit this which alludes to the fact that cissus indeed can interfere with prostaglandins. Is there any research to the contrary?
It has also been shown that PGE2 can control collagen cleavage by attenuating collagenase activity known for chondrocyte hypertrophy. Since chondrocytes are differentiated from mesenchymal stem cells this also shows a relation to osteoblasts as MSCs become one or the other. Indeed, cissus has been shown to increase osteoblasts and human mesenchymal stem cells constitutively expressed COX-2 which also lends credence to the notion cissus interferes with PGE2 activity. Does it not?
Watch the debate unfold here:
http://www.forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=4907943
-D
