An unhealthy history of panacea in the past has often acquired medicinal plants with the ability to mitigate pain. Inflammation and pain are the accompanying phenomenon of most diseases. Probably the most well-known opium was an addictive but very potent analgesic that is still used in the case of fatally ill. Opium was a part of the renowned Venetian scout, as well as the all-around laudanum he wore in his hilt of Paracelsus. I am mainly interested in natural analgesics, which are generally beneficial to health - analgesic adapogens.
Very simply, there are two types of pain: acute and chronic. Acute pain occurs immediately after the injury. Chronic pain is long-lasting and mostly associated with inflammation of the affected part of the body. Pain is one of the four attributes of inflammation . In addition, there is a pain from inflammation independent, but these cases are rather rare. Thus, chronic pain can be cushioned at two levels:
- By suppressing inflammation
- By suppressing the perception of pain in the brain
Most common analgesics, including adaptogens, relieve pain by suppressing inflammation. The perception of pain in the brain, on the other hand, dampens opioid and cannabinoid analgesics ( Walker2002can ).
Specific pains:
Effect of adaptogens against chronic pain (analgesic)
This category mainly includes anti-inflammatory adaptogens , which are large amounts. Practically all classical adaptogens have greater or lesser anti-inflammatory effects. Opioids and cannabinoids that cushion CNS pain are also of natural origin, but are not among adaptogens.
Ginseng mainly cushions chronic pain due to inflammation (see also anti-inflammatory effects ). Of 180 ginseng saponins, at least 10 inhibits NF-κB transcription factor and reduces the expression of cycloxygenase (COX2 gene) and inflammatory NO synthase 2 (NOS2 gene). This effect has ginsenosides Rh 1 , Rh 2 , Rb 2 , Rd , Rg 1 , Re , Rg 3 , and their metabolites 20 (S) -PPT and compound K ( christensen2009gcb , Park1996gri , Park2003aag, Oh2004sog , Park2005ieg, etc.) It can be speculated that the inhibitory effect at the level of gene expression is physiologically less confusing than the allosteric elimination of the cyclooxygenase of aspirin- like analgesics . Vascular NO synthase 3 does not inhibit ginseng ( Ma2006pae ).
The direct effect against the perception of pain in the brain has a minor ginsenoside Rf ( Mogil 19988gt ) that blocks calcium channels in nociceptic neurons as strongly as opioids ( Nah1995tcg ). The analgesic effect of the extract of ginseng saponins (the pain caused by capsaicin in the mouse) had an ED 50 49 mg / kg vnitrobřišní application, when applied to extract the brain ventricles ED 50 of about 1.5 mg / kg ( Nah2000ega ). Accordingly, the Yoon1998gid study of a panaxoside mixture administered directly into the brain blocks substance P-induced pain in mice with ED50 of 30 μg / animal, i.e. about 2 mg / kg.
- Ginger is an adaptogen with a wide range of positive effects ( Bode2011amg ) including pain relief ( Lakhan2015zep , Hoseinzadeh2015aeg ).
- The long-eared turtle is traditional against chronic pain ( Lakhan2015zep ).
- Vitania snodárna acts against chronic inflammation ( Rasool2006irw ).
- Volatiles Wild Angelica Chinese have activity against chronic inflammation ( Li2016evo ).
- Cannabinoids from cannabis have an analgesic effect ( Elikkottil2009apc , Walker2002can ). They are a potential alternative to opioids, although hemp probably does not meet the definition of adaptogen. (For details on cannabis, see the analgesic page .)