Lloyd Wright {dot} org

• http://alternativemedicinesolution.com/Oxymatrine-Studies

Among the earliest publications about clinical application of oxymatrine for viral hepatitis was a preliminary study by Li Jiqiang and colleagues, with patients having hepatitis C. Their report, in which positive results were claimed, appeared in Chinese in 1998 (1) and again in English in 1999 (2). They gave oxymatrine injection (600 mg once per day) to patients with hepatitis B, and observed that the viral load declined, indicating that oxymatrine served to inhibit viral replication; in addition it appeared to reduce liver fibrosis. The inhibitory effect of oxymatrine on hepatitis C virus was confirmed by Chen Yanxi and his colleagues at the Shanghai Second Medical University in cell culture tests (3) and a protective effect of oxymatrine against liver cell death was indicated in a pharmacology study with non-viral (immune-based) liver damage (4).

The crude herb and crude hot-water extracts of sophora have been available in the West for more than 25 years. An alkaloid fraction of sophora roots containing a standardized level of oxymatrine and matrine (20%) was first introduced by the Institute for Traditional Medicine, and made available to practitioners in tablet form under the name Oxymatrine (White Tiger) in 1998. It has been used without reported side effects. In China, the alkaloids are often given by injection, but this method of administration is not acceptable in the West, so oral dosing is used here instead. When taken orally, much of the oxymatrine is converted to matrine; to get high blood levels of oxymatrine, it must be given by injection. However, it is unclear whether oxymatrine is clinically more effective than matrine. Chinese researchers have also used the alkaloids in capsule form, with results that appear similar to the injection. Sophora is also administered in complex formulas made as decoctions and taken orally.

http://www.itmonline.org/arts/oxymatrine.htm

http://www.itmonline.org/arts/oxyupdate.htm