Chinese Herbs In Western View - Ma Jing Zi (Fructus Viticis) Health Benefits And Side Effects

Home of Kyle J. Norton for The Better of Living & Living Health Ma Jing Zi is also known as vitex fruit. The bitter, acrid and slightly cold herb has been used in TCM as  sedative,  inhibit pain, antipyretic agent and to treat cold from exterior, wind-heat dizziness, headache migraine headache swollen and painful gum, etc. as it drains and disperses Wind-Heat, eliminates and clears Heat from the head and eyes, etc., by enhancing liver, stomach and bladder channels.

Ingredients
1, Camphene
2. Flavone
3. Pigments
4. Vitexicarpin
5. Rotundifuran
6. Agnuside
7. Artemetin
8. vitamin A
9. Casticin
10. α-Pinene
11. β-sitosterol
12. Vitamin A
13. Etc.

Health Benefits
1. Cervical cancer
Casticin, a polymethoxyflavone from Fructus viticis used as an anti-inflammatory agent in Chinese traditional medicine, has been reported to have anti-cancer activity. Dr. Zeng F, and the research team at the First Affiliated Hospital of University of South China suggested that ROS generation and sustained JNK activation by casticin play a role in casticin-induced apoptosis and raise the possibility that treatment with casticin might be promising as a new therapy against human cervical cancer(1).

2. Anti acute inflammation
In the study to investigate the anti-inflammatory effect of casticin of Fructus Viticis, scientists at the Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, showed that Casticin has significant anti-inflammatory effect on acute inflammation, which is probably related to the inhibition of the inflammation factors. Casticin is the effective constituent contributing to the anti-inflammatory effect of Fructus Viticis(2).

3. Anti-nociceptive and anti-hyperprolactinemia activities
Other study to investigate the anti-nociceptive and anti-hyperprolactinemia activities of substances isolated from Fructus Viticis (the fruit of Vitex rotundifolia), which may be effective in the treatment of pre-menstrual symptoms, using acetic-acid-induced writhing and metoclopramide-dihydrochloride-induced hyperprolactinemia in mice, indicated that the presence of flavonoids such as Casticin in this plant may be responsible for the activity effects. Casticin has potent analgesic and anti-hyperprolactinaemia properties, is likely to be one of the active components of Fructus Viticis, and may have a role in treating PMS (premenstrual syndrom)(3).

4. Analgesic effects
 Compounds 1A and 2-4 of new compounds, vitexfolin A (1A), B and C, 10-O-vanilloylaucubin (3), dihydrodehydrodiconiferylalcohol-beta-D- (2′-O-p-hydroxybenzoyl)glucoside (4), and vanilloyl-beta-D-(2′O-p-hydroxybenzoyl)glucoside, together with agnuside (2) and erythro- and threoguaiacylglycerols, showed significant writhing inhibition following oral administration at doses of 15, 50, 25, and 50 mg/kg, respectively. The effect on pressure pain threshold was tested using compounds 1A and 2 at a dose of 50 mg/kg, and only the former produced the analgesia(4).

5. Etc.

Side Effects
1. Use in care in case of headache, blurry vision with blood deficient
2. and heat or in cases of spleen deficiency
3. Do not use the herb in newborn, children, or if you are pregnant or breast feeding without first consulting with related field specialist
4. Etc.

 Sources 
(1) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22427461 
(2) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17854563
(3) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17350238
(4) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9579042

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