O

O




OATS














Botanical Name: Avena sativa
Family: Gramineae
Plant Parts Used: Oats seed:mature seed Green oats:aerial parts, including seed at the immature, milky stage


PRESCRIBING INFORMATION






















































Actions Oats seed:nervine tonic, tonic, thymoleptic
  Green oats:nervine tonic, anxiolytic
Potential Indications
Based on appropriate evaluation of the patient, practitioners should consider prescribing oats seed in formulations in the context of:

• Nervous system support during nicotine withdrawal (results are conflicting) (3)

• Nervous exhaustion and conditions resulting from nervous exhaustion, such as insomnia, feverish conditions; general debility, convalescence; depression, menopausal neurasthenia (5)
 
Based on appropriate evaluation of the patient, practitioners should consider prescribing green oats in formulations in the context of:

• Nervous system support during nicotine withdrawal (results are conflicting) (2)

• Nervous system support during drug use withdrawal (4)

• Nervous exhaustion (5)
Contraindications None known.
Warnings and Precautions None required.
Interactions None known.
Use in Pregnancy and Lactation No adverse effects expected.
Side Effects None expected if taken within the recommended dose range.
Dosage Oats seed:
  Dose per day* Dose per week*
  3-6 ml of 1:1 liquid extract 20-40 ml of 1:1 liquid extract
  Green oats:
  Dose per day** Dose per week**
  3-6 ml of 1:2 liquid extract 20-40 ml of 1:2 liquid extract

* This dose range is extrapolated from the British Herbal Pharmacopoeia 1983 and the author’s education and experience.


** This dose range is extrapolated from King’s American Dispensatory 1983 and the author’s education and experience.



SUPPORTING INFORMATION




















Traditional Prescribing
Traditional Western herbal medicine uses of oats seed include:

• Depression, menopausal neurasthenia, general debility1

• Spermatorrhea2

• Nervous prostration, nervous exhaustion resulting from typhoid and other fevers, insomnia resulting from nervous exhaustion2

• Enfeebled states of the heart muscle, acting as a tonic and improving the energy of the heart2
  Traditional Western herbal medicine uses of green oats include calming and regenerating the nervous system.3
  Green oats extract is recorded in as having little effect in assisting with opium withdrawal.2
Pharmacologic Research
• Fresh green plant tincture administered by stomach tube or intraperitoneal injection antagonized the analgesic effect of morphine in two separate tests. Extracts diluted with water, exposed to light, and allowed to stand for 2 weeks resulted in reduced activity. Extracts of fresh green plant were superior to the seed. Dried brown leaves showed little activity. When morphine and fresh plant tincture were chronically administered together, physical dependence on morphine was reduced. (The green oats tincture was administered by stomach tube.) The pressor response to intravenously administered nicotine in anesthetized rats was antagonized by prior injection of fresh green plant tincture.4

• Results from a controlled experimental study suggest that oats extract (chaff) prevented atherosclerosis. Oat chaff extract produced a more favorable blood lipid profile compared with control animals and a reduction in the formation of atherosclerotic plaques.5
Clinical Studies
• Treating opium addiction by green oats may have originated from homeopathy.6

• In a randomized, placebo-controlled, clinical study involving healthy volunteers and bronchial patients who were habitual smokers, those given green oats extract achieved a significant reduction in tobacco use compared with controls. The reduction was still observed 2 months later. A tincture made from fresh whole oats plant (1:5,90% ethanol) was prescribed at a dosage of 1 ml four times per day for a period of 28 days.7 These results were not replicated in a later controlled trial.8

• Green oats plant juice in alcohol was ineffective for reducing cigarette cravings in an uncontrolled trial involving 76 patients. The oats extract and dosage were the same as those in the previously noted trial for the first 2 months but were then altered. For the following 2 months,1 L of plant juice was added to 500 ml of 90% ethanol and was not diluted with water until just before administration to the patient. The author noted that oats had been effective in general practice (by minimizing cigarette cravings) on several occasions when patients really wanted to give up smoking, but it was only one feature of the total therapeutic approach used.9

• Oats seed extract (15 ml/day of 1:2 extract) containing malic acid (for flavoring) prescribed in apple juice produced a reduction of 66% in daily cigarette consumption compared with no change for those receiving placebo (apple juice alone).10

• In a double-blind study involving participants wanting to stop smoking, no significant difference was observed between those treated with green oats extract (equivalent to 1.2 g/day fresh oat plant) compared with a placebo group (approximately 35% stopped smoking in both groups). In both the placebo and oats groups, the light smokers stopped smoking at a higher rate than those with a high consumption of cigarettes.11 In a single-blind, placebo-controlled study, oats extract did not produce a reduction in tobacco use by smokers who were not attempting to quit. The oats extract (1:5,90% ethanol) was made from a green plant with full-sized ears and a ripe plant dug up 1 week before harvest (roots included). The dose was 1 ml four times per day.12

• In a clinical study conducted in 1968 to 1969,6 out of 10 chronic opium addicts gave up the drug after treatment with green oats (27 to 45 days). Two addicts reduced their intake. The status was maintained on follow-ups (3 to 19 months later). No serious withdrawal symptoms or side effects were noted.13 The administered dose was 2 ml three times per day of tincture made from fresh whole plant excluding root (1.5:5,90% ethanol).


REFERENCES



1 British Herbal Medicine Association’s Scientific Committee. British herbal pharmacopoeia. Bournemouth: BHMA, 1983.


2 Felter HW, Lloyd JU. King’s American dispensatory, ed 18. Portland: Eclectic Medical Publications, 1905. rev 3, reprinted 1983


3 Vogel A. The nature doctor. Teufen, Switzerland: Verlag A. Vogel, 1977.


4 Connor J, et al. J Pharm Pharmac. 1975;27(2):92-98.


5 Juzwiak S, et al. Herba Polonica. 1994;40(1-2):50-58.


6 Jack RA. Br Med J. 1971;4(778):48.


7 Anand CL. Nature. 1971;233(5320):496.


8 Geckeler K, Schmidt K, Schmidt F. Munch Med Wochenschr. 1974;116(11):581-582.


9 Gabrynowicz JW. Med J Aust. 1974;2(8):306-307.


10 Netherlands Patent 7412625, 1976.


11 Schmidt K, Geckeler K. Int J Clin Pharmacol. 1976;14(3):214-216.


12 Bye C, et al. Nature. 1974;252(5484):580-581.


13 Anand CL. Br Med J. 1971;3(775):640.





OLIVE LEAF














Botanical Name: Olea europaea
Family: Oleaceae
Plant Part Used: Leaf


PRESCRIBING INFORMATION





































Actions Hypotensive, antioxidant, bitter tonic
Potential Indications
Based on appropriate evaluation of the patient, practitioners should consider prescribing olive leaf in formulations in the context of:

• Hypertension (4,6)

• Angina pectoris (6)

• Possible uses for gout and fluid retention (4)
  The much-publicized clinical antibacterial and antiviral activities of olive leaf are not supported by a rational analysis of the pharmacologic data. Even if any clinical improvement in infected patients after using olive leaf was definitely established by controlled clinical trials, this would not be proof of antimicrobial activity because other mechanisms of action (such as immune-enhancing activity) might apply.
Contraindications None known.
Warnings and Precautions None required.
Interactions None known.
Use in Pregnancy and Lactation No adverse effects expected.
Side Effects Traditional sources indicate that olive leaf may cause gastric upset, thus it should be taken before meals.1
Dosage Dose per day* Dose per week*
  3.5-7.0 ml of 1:2 liquid extract 25-50 ml of 1:2 liquid extract

* This dose range is extrapolated from traditional use.

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Dec 4, 2016 | Posted by in GENERAL & FAMILY MEDICINE | Comments Off on O

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