Benefits
Minor Pain Relief*
Animal and in vitro experiments suggest the ability of Decursinol-50™ extract, and the major components decursinol and decursin, to alleviate minor pain. Decursinol, one of the compounds purified from the dried roots of Angelica gigas Nakai, has been studied in animals for its pain relieving effects. It appears to possess analgesic effects in animal studies by impacting opioid receptors in the central nervous system, but may also affect adrenergic and serotonergic receptors. The central nervous system effect seems to be the major mechanism of action of the product. Decursin, a related but distinct compound from Angelica gigas Nakai, has shown modulatory activities on a number of degradation enzymes and cytokines of the immune system in vitro.
Scientific Data
Animal Data
In a series of animal experiments, mice were subjected to testing on various models of pain to determine the effects of decursinol at alleviating the pain response. The methanolic extract from dried roots of Angelica gigas Nakai was shown to significantly enhance the latency of the pain response to both the tail-flick and hot-plate experiments in these animals, indicating higher tolerance to pain in these animals. Researchers suggest that the tail-flick response pain model may be a good indicator of response to pain in humans. As is often the case with animal research, the doses used were quite large. The results showed that the pain relief effect was dose-dependent and started at an oral dose of 100 mg/kg of body weight. A significant sedative relaxing effect was shown at an oral dose of 200 mg/kg of body weight.1
In a separate animal pain model (also a part of the same set of experiments described above), decursinol was found to attenuate the number of writhings induced by intraperitoneal injections of acetic acid. Injection of acetic acid causes inflammation and the writhing response is considered an inflammatory pain model. A decrease in the number of writhings is another crude indicator of higher levels of pain tolerance in mice.
Studies using further pain models were also performed. In one such study, formalin was injected into the hindpaw of several mice. Two distinct periods of licking/flinching and biting the paw are observed in the formalin test. The decursinol-treated mice exhibited diminished pain sensations in both phases, especially in the second phase. In addition, production of the inflammatory cytokines TNF-alpha, IL-1beta and IFN-gamma was shown to be inhibited by decursinol. These series of animal experiments highlight a number of potentially distinct mechanisms whereby decursinol may decrease the normal response to pain.2
In vitro Studies
Decursin, a separate compound from the roots of Angelica gigas Nakai, has been shown to have anti-inflammatory effects in vitro. A trial was performed in which both mouse and human macrophages were activated with LPS (a bacterial lipopolysaccharide that is a known inducer of inflammation) in the absense and presence of decursin. Macrophages play important roles in the regulation of inflammation in the body. These cells, when activated, stimulate the activity of other immune system molecules such as degradation enzymes (i.e. MMPs, or matrix metalloproteinase s, enzymes that degrade extracellular matrix proteins) and cytokines. Decursin was found to suppress the induction of MMP-9 by macrophages in vitro in a dose-dependent manner. It was also able to inhibit LPS-induced nitric oxide production, another response associated with inflammation, in vitro. In further investigations, decursin was also found to suppress the production of a number of different inflammatory markers, such as MCP-1 (which plays a role in the recruitment of immune cells to the inflammatory site), IL-8, TNF-alpha, and IL-1 beta. Decursin was found to suppress all of these markers at the transcriptional level in vitro by blocking the genes involved in the associated immune responses. 3
Clinical Trial Data
A recent clinical trial was conducted at the Mapo Pain Clinic in South Korea to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of GWB78 extract, also known as Decursinol-50™, in a group of individuals with chronic pain not responsive to other treatments. Each participant (40 participants total) was administered 500 milligrams of GWB78 powder daily for two weeks in conjunction with a physical therapy regimen. The control group consisting of 40 additional participants was treated only with physical therapy for the same time period.
Blood samples were taken and the degree of pain was measured using a visual analog scale (VAS). VAS pain scores were significantly reduced by an average of 68% in the participants treated with Decursinol-50™ whereas pain scores in the control group (physical therapy alone) only improved by an average of 15%. The treatment was well tolerated with no adverse effects noted, indicating the safety of the extract, and no significant changes in blood measures were seen.4 Further clinical trials with larger numbers of participants are currently underway.
Safety
Suggested Adult Use: Take two capsules twice daily, with or without food
*This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Scientific References
1) Choi S.S., Han K.J., Lee H.K., Han E.J., Suh H.W. Antinociceptive profiles of crude extract from roots of Angelica gigas NAKAI in various pain models. Biol Pharm Bull. 2003 Sep;26(9):1283-8.
2) Choi S.S., Han K.J., Lee J.K., Lee H.K., Han E.J., Kim D.H., Suh H.W. Antinociceptive mechanisms of orally administered decursinol in the mouse. Life Sci. 2003 Jun 13;73(4):471-85.
3) Kim J.H., Jeong J.H., Jeon S.T., Kim H., Ock J., Suk K., Kim S.I., Song K.S., Lee W.H. Decursin inhibits induction of inflammatory mediators by blocking nuclear factor-kappaB activation in macrophages. Mol Pharmacol. 2006 Jun;69(6):1783-90.
4) Chun Y.S. Clinical study of GWB78 as a pain-killer with chronic degenerative joint arthritis and cervicoomobrachial syndrome patients. Mapo Pain Clinic, Seoul. November 2001. Scigenic Co., Ltd. Unpublished study report obtained from manufacturer.
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