Pharmacist-Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Tram has studied Crinum latifolium L. since 1990 and produced Crila® for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and uterine fibroids. Since its birth in 2005, Crila® has received patients’ trust due to its high treatment efficacy, safety for patients and reasonable price for low-income people. Recently, in order to contribute to the modernization of traditional medicine and creating new medicinal products from Vietnamese herbs, this renowned female scientist along with her colleagues in and outside the country has studied to produce THIEN HOANG SA® supplement which supports the treatment of hemorrhoids from bioactive substances extracted from Amaranthus spinosus L. and Portulaca oleracea L. She has also registered copyright for the scientific research project “Medicinal herbal product for the treatment of hemorrhoids formulated from bioactive flavonoids which are extracted from Amaranthus spinosus L. and Portulaca oleracea L.”
Portulaca oleracea L.: lots of precious bioactive substances
According to the work “Vietnamese medicinal plants and drugs” of Prof. Dr. Do Tat Loi, domestic and foreign studies have shown “the chemical composition of Portulaca oleracea L. has glucoside, saponin, resin, carbohydrate, fat, protein, and pharmacological effects on shrinking blood vessels, against bacteria, treatment of acute rectal dysentery, pimples, swelling and pain, hemorrhoids”.
Amaranthus spinosus L.
According to the work “Vietnamese medicinal plants and animals” volume 1 of the National Institute of Medicinal Materials and the work “Vietnamese medicinal plants and drugs” of Prof. Dr. Do Tat Loi as well as of other national and international authors, there have been no studies which can produce a result of the possibility of hemorrhoid treatment of Amaranthus spinosus L., but only folk remedies to cool off the body and treat constipation whose formula has the composition of Portulaca oleracea L. Particularly, the research work of Dr. Tram has discovered a new effect of Amaranthus spinosus L. on hemorrhoid treatment. According to the work “Vietnamese medicinal plants and animals” volume 1 of the National Institute of Medicinal Materials, Amaranthus spinosus L. belongs to Amaranthaceae family containing spinasterol in the root; sterol, n-alkane and fatty acids in the whole plant; rutin, hydrocyanic acid and potassium in the leaves. Moreover, the plant also contains 3-methyl-1-butanol, 3-hexen-1-ol, 3-methylbutannol and 2-heptanon. The pharmacological effects of bioactive substances in Amaranthus spinosus L. have the ability to stimulate phagocytes and the aqueous extract of the plant has fungicidal effects against pathogenic fungus Cercospora cruenta. The whole plant has a diuretic effect and the leaves cure fever, dysentery and pneumonia.
Long time of perseverance and patience…
Since 2000, after nearly 15 years of “patience and perseverance”, Dr. Tram and her colleagues have conducted screening and research on the pharmacological effects of 13 extract samples of flavonoid fractions from Amaranthus spinosus L., Portulaca oleracea L. and Houttuynia Cordata Thunb with the participation of Hanoi Medical University. The research results of 13 samples screened for effects on vascular smooth muscle, intestinal smooth muscle, bleeding time, clotting time, platelet counts, Prothrombin concentration and blood pressure showed that Amaranthus spinosus L. got 16 points, Portulaca Oleracea L. got 13 points and 11 points for Houttuynia Cordata Thunb. So, herbal materials for producing Thien Hoang Sa® supplement to support the treatment of hemorrhoids were chosen from the samples with the highest score which are Amaranthus spinosus L. and Portulaca Oleracea L. This is a scientific basis to demonstrate the difference between Thien Hoang Sa® supplement and other products which support the treatment of hemorrhoids available on the market. There is no composition of Houttuynia Cordata Thunb. in Thien Hoang Sa® supplement while other products only produced from Houttuynia Cordata Thunb. have lower evaluation points of pharmacological effects than Portulaca oleracea L. and Amaranthus spinosus L.
Materials play an important role in deciding the quality of the product. So, herbal materials for the production of Thien Hoang Sa® supplement are from Amaranthus spinosus L. and Portulaca oleracea L. which are cultivated and selected under GACP-WHO (Good Agriculture and Collection Practice – World Health Organization) criterion.
Thien Hoang Sa® supplement is the result of the ministry-level scientific research work: “Pre-clinical studies on Thien Hoang Sa capsule extracted from Vietnamese medicinal herbs for the treatment of hemorrhoids” accepted and evaluated at fair level. Thien Hoang Sa® supplement is safe for patients because it has been studied on acute and subacute toxicity at the Department of Pharmacology – Hanoi Medical University by Assoc.Prof.Dr. Vu Thi Ngoc Thanh and under the consultancy of Prof.Dr. Dao Van Phan. The result showed that Thien Hoang Sa® capsule has no toxicity and does not affect the general condition of the body such as weight, hematopoiesis, liver function, kidney function and other organs of the patient’s body. The pharmacological studies showed that Thien Hoang Sa® has effects on reducing irritation, shrinking hemorrhoids, promoting blood coagulation and hemostasis, supporting treatment and prevention of hemorrhoid relapse, supporting treatment and prevention of constipation. It also meets the criteria of a hemorrhoid treatment medicine: having the effects on vasoconstriction, promoting blood coagulation and hemostasis, increasing intestinal muscle tone, decreasing bowel movement, shrinking hemorrhoids, not affecting blood pressure and not prolonging the blood clotting time.
Proven high safety
Test results of acute toxicity in white mice and subacute toxicity in rabbits through oral administration demonstrated Thien Hoang Sa® capsule has no adverse impacts on the general condition; good growth rate of rabbits; not altering the results of tests in evaluating hematopoietic function (erythrocyte count, hemoglobin concentration, hematocrit, mean erythrocyte volume, leukocyte count, leukocyte formula, platelet count); not altering the results of tests in evaluating liver function (ALT, AST, total bilirubin, protein, cholesterol) and renal function (creatinine); not causing significant damage in morphology when organs of rabbits were observed macroscopically. Microscopic structure of rabbit’s liver and kidney in two groups taking the test samples were in normal and undamaged condition.
After 2 weeks of withdrawal: general condition, the degree of weight gain of rabbits, evaluation tests of hematopoietic function, liver function, kidney function as well as the macroscopic observations of rabbit’s organs and microscopic structure of rabbit’s kidney showed no difference compared to the control groups.
Although Thien Hoang Sa® capsules which have been studied on acute and subacute toxicity are proved free of toxicity and side effects, patients should read carefully the instructions of use available in the box.
Thien Hoang Sa® - a golden sand of heaven has been “washed” from the rich source of Vietnamese herbs. This is the result of a hard sacrifice and great contribution to scientific research of Dr. Tram and her colleagues at home and abroad, helping Vietnamese consumers to have a new medicinal herbal product supporting the treatment of hemorrhoids with high safety, treatment efficacy and reasonable price.
DONG HUONG
