Nowadays, there is an increasing tendency to trust and develop natural medicines due to their low price, low treatment cost, and especially their remarkable treatment efficacy. One of the successful research work in Vietnamese medicine is Crila capsule formulated from Crinum latifolium L.

Treatment effect on uterine fibroids and benign prostatic hyperplasia:

For a long time, Crinum latifolium L. has been used in folklore for benign and malignant tumors. From 2009 till now, Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Tram and her colleagues in Vietnam and foreign countries have studied Crinum latifolium L. plant in terms of botany, chemical composition, extraction, formulation, as well as evaluated Crila’s safety and treatment efficacy on uterine fibroids and BPH. Besides, they have conducted further research, development, and search for bioactive substances which are capable of supporting cancer treatment in Vietnamese Crinum latifolium L. used as raw materials for medicine production supporting cancer treatment. Crila is considered an effective medicine for the treatment of uterine fibroids and BPH. The Ministry of Health has allowed Crila for nationwide circulation since 2005 with indications for uterine fibroids and BPH treatment based on the evaluation of the Council of Science and Technology - the Ministry of Health through clinical study results at major hospitals including VN National Institute of Gerontology, National Hospital of Traditional Medicine, HCM Hospital of Traditional Medicine, National Maternity Hospital, and Tu Du Maternity Hospital with two ministry-level scientific research projects, ‘Evaluation of treatment effect of Crila medicine from Crinum latifolium L. on BPH’ mastered by Prof. Dr. Tran Duc Tho of VN National Institute of Gerontology. The research results showed that after 2 months of Crila therapy, 89.18% of studied patients achieved good treatment efficacy and slightly undesirable effects such as indigestion were recorded in 24 of 157 cases. The other scientific research topic was ‘Evaluation of Crila’s efficacy and acceptability in treatment of uterine fibroids’ mastered by Dr. Vuong Tien Hoa of National Maternity Hospital. Clinical studies indicated Crila has high treatment efficacy for uterine fibroids at 79.5%. The medicine has high safety without side effects and adverse effects on body’s functions.

Support for cancer treatment

Especially, Crila extracted from Crinum latifolium L. can also support cancer treatment. There have been many scientific research projects on this valuable medicinal plant in the last few years. Yui and her co-workers demonstrated lycorine alkaloid - the main active substance from Crinum latifolium L. can stimulate T-lymphocytes’ activity and development in vitro and in vivo. Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Tram,  E.Zvetkova and their colleagues have demonstrated that hot aqueous extracts from Crinum latifolium L. can effectively stimulate T-lymphocytes’ proliferation and directly stimulate TCD3 and TCD4 in vitro. Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Tram, I.Yanchev and their colleagues performed experimental carcinogenesis of 50-55-day-old Wistar rats chemically induced with 20-methylcholanthrene, then administered them with aqueous extracts from Crinum latifolium L. The results showed that the extract slowed down the growth of experimental tumors. To prove Crila’s effect on supporting cancer treatment in vitro, its ability to treat bone marrow failure diseases of  acute and subacute radioaction diseases and to eliminate the severe side effects of chemotherapy, the scientists declined T-lymphocytes and myeloid cell lines in mouse, using acute and subacute radiation model, treated them with Crila capsule, then evaluated the restoration of T-lymphocytes and myeloid cell line of mice exposed to this gamma rays. In this study, they used Crila 250mg formulated from bioactive alkaloids.

Many patients suffering from serious diseases have used Crilin and Crinum latifolium L. tea - products formulated from alkaloids and flavonoids extracted from Crinum latifolium L. leaves to support cancer treatment. Among them, Mr. Do The Bac - 67 years old, in Lieu Trung Village - Lieu Xa Commune - Yen My District - Hung Yen Province told us his story in joy, ‘I am a member of veteran group and vice-chairman of Lieu Xa Commune’s veterans. In November on lunar calendar, after going to Pho Noi General Hospital for checking and having an X-ray of skull and brain, I was verified to have brain tumor. The hospital recommended me to go to Bach Mai hospital for checking and treating. After nearly a week of identification and pathological examination, Bach Mai hospital consulted and assigned me to have surgery. My doctor told me that this tumor developed too fast, quite big, if not taking surgery it would cause me hemiplegia and many other annoyances. At that time, I can’t see anything clearly and my eyes were blurring because the tumor presses on optic nerve causing hemiplegia. I understood that suffering this disease was like carrying a death sentence. My health declined unbelievably, I felt so fragile that I could not get over despite of having surgery. I thought I would die anyway so I did not care about how many days I could live anymore. I did not take surgery and took my medical record back. When I gave up and just waited for a death, my son was shared the address and phone number of Pharmacist - Dr. Tram to buy Crilin. On December 5, 2009 of lunar month, my child went to Branch of Thien Duoc Company in Phuong Mai Street, Hoang Mai District, Hanoi City to buy that medicine. At that time, I was too weak to eat and sleep. My children and I thought, “There is the will, there is a way” though my children were not sure whether I would be cured. After taking medicine as indication for two weeks, I felt I could eat well and gain weight; my paling skin was becoming better. Moreover, I could sleep well, feel hungry, and eat well. After one month, I knew I was saved. It is really a magic medicine. So far, I have taken the drug continuously for over 5 months. Now, my health recovers back as normal as I was before. I have not had a chance to recheck because magnetic resonance imaging film formerly showed my tumor has 5-cm-diameter. At present, all phenomena mentioned above have gradually disappeared.”

With the happiness of escaping a serious disease, Mrs. Luu Thi Binh, 55, at 29 Pho Noi, Ban town, Yen Nhan, My Hao, Hung Yen shared, ‘In July 2008, K hospital, Bach Mai Hospital and 108 Hospital concluded that I had bone cancer and was suspected to have Kale. They sent me home and gave me analgesics and tonics. My family and I myself were very depressed and hopeless. Last year, I watched the show “Health is gold” introducing Crilin and Crila extracted from Crinum latifolium L. plant, I decided to use Crilin. At present, I find myself remarkably healthy, my hands and knees stop aching so I can walk easily. My family is very happy and motivated.’

Crila is the research result of four ministry-level scientific projects, 2 ministry and national level pilot production projects and many years of study abroad of Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Tram and her colleagues. Thanks to her research works contributing to Vietnamese medicine in particular and the world’s in general, in December 2007, Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Tram was honored Kovalevskaya prize, an annual award dedicated to honor outstanding female scientist groups and individuals who have made excellent achievements in researching and applying science in real life, bringing many benefits in fields - economy, society and culture.