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Eastern Remedy Clears Jaundice |
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FRIDAY, Jan. 2 (HealthDayNews) -- An Eastern herbal cure for jaundice has been proven effective by researchers from the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas.
The main ingredient in a Chinese herbal tea called Yin Zhi Huang activates a liver receptor that enhances the clearance of the bile pigment bilirubin, the researchers say. Jaundice is caused by the accumulation of bilirubin in the body.
In Western nations, jaundice is most commonly treated with exposure to light. This finding could provide an additional drug therapy for the condition.
The findings are published in the Jan. 2 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
"This is a wonderful example of knowledge gained by applying the Western scientific method to an Eastern herbal remedy," Mitchell Lazar, of the University of Pennsylvania, says in a prepared statement. "It will be very exciting if a pure compound emerges from the tea leaves as a pharmacological therapy for neonatal jaundice that is complementary to the current Western practice of phototherapy."
More information
Here's where you can learn more about jaundice.
(SOURCES: Journal of Clinical Investigation, news release, Jan. 2, 2004)
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