Arjuna

Terminata a.


Arjuna is a tree native to India with yellow flowers and conical leaves. The bark of the tree is used medicinally and is found in capsule form. Used in Indian medicine, this herb stretches back for thousands of years. Research today has found that arjuna functions as an anti-oxidant.

On of the most frequently prescribed herbs in ayurvedic medicine, this supplement has cardiovascular benefits. It is a stimulant and may also treat edema and skin problems.

This herb contains derivative substances of arjunetoside, glycosides, arjunaphthanoloside, oleanolic acid, terminic acid, and a cardenolide. The anti-oxidants include tannins, flovones and oligomeric proanthocyanidins.

There have been several research protocols performed on this herb as it has been shown to have cardiovascular benefits, particularly in angina as it functions as a vasodilator. Below are reviews of a few of these research studies.

Benefits of Arjuna

Arjuna can be used in the following health conditions:

• Angina, congestive heart failure. Improves cardiac muscle and pumping action, thereby relieving peripheral edema. Helpful in stable angina. Not as useful in unstable angina, but one study showed benefits after 23 months of use.

Note: This herb should be used ONLY under the guidance of a physician if you have cardiovascular disease. This includes hypertension, coronary artery disease and hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol). There have been questions as to whether or not this is one of the high blood pressure herbs. At this point, there really have not been any studies showing benefit in relation to hypertension.

Research Studies

1.Antioxidant and hypocholesterolaemic effects of Terminalia a. tree-bark powder: a randomised placebo-controlled trial. J Assoc Physicians India. 2001.

The purpose of this study from India was to evaluate the powdered herb's effectiveness as an anti-oxidant and effects on cholesterol. It was then compared to Vitamin E which has well published results demonstrating anti-oxidant effectiveness. The tree bark powder was found to have significant antioxidant power comparable to Vitamin E. The cholesterol lowering effects were also quite good in this randomized controlled study.

2. Inhibitory effects of Terminalia a. on platelet activation in vitro in healthy subjects and patients with coronary artery disease. Platelets. 2009; Malik N, Dhawan V, Bahl A, Kaul D. Department of Experimental Medicine & Biotechnology, Chandigarh, India.

This particular study looked at platelet function. Substances that inhibit platelet function result in thinning of the blood. Aspirin is a good example. In this study 20 patients with proven coronary artery disease were compared against 20 patients in the control group. Extract of the tree bark was given to each group and demonstrated the ability to inhibit platelet function in both groups. The results mean the risk of blood clots (thrombus) may be reduced. What this study does not show is a comparason to known blood thinners such as aspirin or Plavix.

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