Dichroa febrifuga is also called Blue Evergreen Hydrangea or Chinese quinine. The traditional Chinese remedy name is Chang Shan (also changsang or chang-sang). The herb is known for its ability to combat even the toughest cases of malaria throughout Asia.
Hydrangea combats malaria
This comes as no surprise as nearly two decades of research has established that Dichroa febrifuga provides both anti-malaria and anti-tumor effects. In fact, German and Chinese research established that Dichroa febrifuga extract has the ability to treat forms of malaria that are not cured by quinine – or chloroquin – and other antimalarials, due to adaptive malaria parasites such as P. falciparum.
These effects are derived from the roots of the Blue Evergreen Hydrangea, Latin name Dichroa febrifuga. The Hydrangea plant medicine has been in use for more than 2,000 years in Traditional Chinese Medicine as Chang Shan.
Inflammatory conditions
Over the last few decades, doctors in China and Korea have employed extracts of Dichroa febrifuga root for not only malaria but also for lung conditions and conditions of high fever. It has shown anti-inflammatory effects in these treatments.
Confirming these effects, research from Korea’s Pusan National University found that a water extract of the Dichroa febrifuga herb inhibits a variety of other pro-inflammatory components, including IL-6, IL-1beta, NF-kappaB and others, which are known to be involved in cancer and other inflammatory conditions.
Multiple sclerosis
Harvard researchers tested a compound from the Dichroa febrifuga plant called halofuginone. They found that halofuginone effectively inhibits the process of Th17 autoimmunity related to multiple sclerosis. This pathway is also the primary mechanism for a number of other so-called autoimmune disorders.
Parasites
New research has just found that Dichroa febrifuga extract successfully treats a lethal parasite that affects chickens called Eimeria tenella. Eimeria causes bloody diarrhea and lesions in the birds, but 20 grams of Dichroa febrifuga per day was effective in reversing a majority of the infections.
Cancer
Israeli researchers also found that halofuginone inhibited fibrosis when injected into the skin. Shortly thereafter, halofuginone was found to halt tumor growth in bladder cancer. Its anti-tumor effects appear to result from halofuginone’s ability to inhibit the expression of the genetic factors collagen alpha1 and matrix metalloproteinase 2.
Side effects buffered in whole Dichroa febrifuga
One of the most interesting issues is that when the plant’s constituent febrifugine is extracted from the plant it produces some intense side effects, characterized by the researchers as “toxic.” Yet the Chinese Medicine whole plant remedy from Dichroa febrifuga, Chang Shan has been prescribed safely by traditional herbalists for over two thousand years. What gives?
Once again, we find that like many other natural medicinal herbs, Dichroa febrifuga contains a whole array of constituents that serve to balance and buffer each other in the body. When a particular constituent is isolated from those other constituents, the constituent can produce side effects, including toxicity.
We’ve seen this effect with so many other plant isolates. A majority of today’s drugs are based upon an isolated plant constituent, and about a third of the twenty top-selling drugs are derived from isolated plant constituents. So there is no question that plants render many medicinal effects. But their safety, however, lies in using whole plants or whole plant extracts as nature intended.
In other research, two African trees fight malaria. And Artemisia herb also treats malaria.
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