Agarwood - Eaglewood - Aloewood - Eaglewood - 沈香: a valuable TCM remedy! Up to CHF/Euro/US$ 50,000 per kilo is paid for aquilaria wood at auctions. The tree is protected, but you can imagine that it has a hard time in Southeast Asia and that the trade in it is organised in mafia-like structures and it falls victim to overexploitation. In certain countries, the tree is practically extinct in its natural habitat.
Der Autor im Agarwood-Wald in Vietnam
That's what my head physician taught me back then when, shortly after finishing my studies my first assistant position at a high-altitude clinic for lung lung patients.
Well, not every cough is asthma, we all know that, because there are there are also banal colds with a cough but without asthma. And a few a few other conditions with a cough but without asthma. Reflux, for example for example, which is often forgotten. But for us at the lung clinic 'Cough is asthma' meant that a chronic cough, coughing without signs of wheezing and wheezing could be asthma. In such a case, coughing is the equivalent of asthma. This could also be proven by apparatus. And then treated accordingly.
Mahuang (Ephedra)
That's what you hear from TCM lecturers. That's a good thing! Because coughs often have asthmatic component, even with banal colds. Infectious allergic asthma is a conventional medical term for this. COPD too, because the O means obstructive, another word for asthmatic. And Ephedra (Ma Huang) is a good remedy and can also be added to added to formulas that are effective against coughs but do not contain it. contain it.
My university textbook at the time from 1974 states:
"The oldest substance in the group of vasoconstrictor sympathomimetics is ephedrine. sympathomimetics is ephedrine, which is obtained from Ephedra vulgaris, a plant used in China a plant that has been used in China for thousands of years. After repeated injection of larger doses, the effect decreases each time each time and eventually disappears completely. This phenomenon called 'tachyphylaxis' can also be observed after other adrenaline-related drugs. The broncholytic, the local vasoconstrictor effect to decongest the nasal mucosa and the weak central and the weak central stimulant effect for the treatment of narcolepsy are hardly used any more, as better drugs are available."
– Kuschinsky, Pharmacology
A pharmacological explanation for this mechanism follows. This I have not been able to observe it myself in TCM. Could it be that combination of herbs, as is usual in TCM, counteracts this phenomenon counteracts this phenomenon or have I not been treating for long enough or not looked closely enough?
Ma Huang (Ephedra) is a miracle herb and an indispensable part of TCM asthma therapy. It is warm, pungent, slightly bitter, sedative and has an effect on the functional circuit of the lungs.
All that Ma Huang is, is Chen Xiang (Aquilariae lignum) also: warm, pungent, bitter, descending. It also acts on the functional circuit of the lung, but not only. It also acts on the functional circuit of the spleen and stomach, but it also acts on the functional circuit of the kidney functional circuit! If kidney yang is weak with insufficient lowering of lung qi. Ma Huang cannot do this. Chen Xiang can, as we shall see, much more. Firstly, the subject of asthma:
Chen Xiang helps with certain forms of asthma when all other remedies are useless!
Cheng Xiang is sometimes necessary, but it is an expensive remedy, a very expensive one! At auctions in Asia, a kilo is said to cost up to CHF 50,000! cost!
Illegal logging teams are currently hunting down the last remaining the last stands of aquilaria trees in South-East Asia. The tree is protected by CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species). The wood may only be traded with a corresponding certificate be traded.
It is not the wood of the aquilaria tree that is needed, but the resin that the tree begins to develop at a certain age when it starts to rot internally. begins to rot internally and a mixture of fungi and microorganisms microorganisms produce the valuable substances. Most of the eaglewood goes into the perfume industry and the production of incense sticks. incense sticks.
If you have ever been to an incense shop and looked for incense sticks, you will notice that you will notice that certain products are always roughly similar in price price, but that a few are much more expensive. Then take a look at the ingredients and you will be able to read that the expensive ones regularly contain Aquilaria. Eaglewood, Eaglewood, Agarwood, Aloewood are other names for it.
European scientists who are committed to the conservation of rainforests rainforests, have initiated projects in South-East Asia to prevent the to counteract the extinction of Aquilaria. The researchers encouraged local local farmers to establish plantations of this tree.
So in November 2019, I travelled to the rainforest of Vietnam to visit one such plantation:
Agarwoodwäldchen
The researchers had previously developed methods for getting young trees to young trees to produce the coveted resin inside them.
In principle, this involves drilling into the tree so that this injury the resin formation process is set in motion. This often involves chemical stimulants are often used to speed up the process, but environmentally environmentally conscious farmers prefer to leave this to nature by ensuring that ants and insects ants and insects carry the germs into the holes, which irritate the tree.
After felling, the tree is cut into logs.
Now the search for the resinous areas begins.
The healthy, light-coloured wood is removed by hand with a chisel hours, days and weeks of manual labour, as it contains no resin. contains no resin.
And now the chips are sent to Complemedis for quality control. Is the resin content correct? Does the product meet the requirements of the pharmacopoeia? The specifications are only defined in a few points. But that is not enough for Complemedis, because theoretically it would be possible, that clever people have already distilled substances of interest to the perfume distilled from the wood and only contain the officially required the officially required lead substance.
Chen Xiang translates as "sinking wood", because due to its high resin content resin content, it sinks in water. If it does not, it can be assumed that the that the valuable components have been removed from the wood, it has been then dried and traded as a fake product.
After being taught by European researchers who have dedicated half their their lives exclusively to this tree and have isolated hundreds of substances from agarwood, we are doing a broader test to be on the safe side. broader test.
The next hurdle to be overcome concerns compliance with microbiological microbiological limits. Since the induction of resin formation various microorganisms and microorganisms are required to induce resin that these can still be found in the chips. The task now is germ reduction without losing valuable volatile and labile ingredients volatile and labile ingredients are lost or destroyed.
Each time the product crosses the border from one country to the next for a a CITES protocol is required each time the product crosses the border.
At last, ground eaglewood is now available as a powder in a ready-to-use form for medical applications!
It took two full years to procure the first batch of this valuable product!
Now, if there is a clear indication for its use, the expected clinical success can be expected.
Before we set about finding a product that matched our ideas, we carried out a we carried out a survey with the aim of clarifying whether there was whether there is a need for it at all, i.e. whether there are situations in which in which Chen Xiang is indispensable and cannot be replaced by any other product. be replaced by any other product. Whether it would be appreciated if we had it on offer.
And these were the opinions of you experts:
Experiences with Chen Xiang (Aquilariae lignum) and what else it is useful for:
"Well, I only prescribed Chen Xiang once. It was for a woman in her fifties. She had suffered severe qi stagnation due to a a strong Qi stagnation. Pain/tightness in the chest chest area, cold extremities, wheezing breathing (asthma-like). During Exercise, e.g. hiking, head bright red. I then made a recipe with various Qi-moving herbs, including Chen Xiang. Chen Xiang. Together with acupuncture, the stagnation quickly changed quickly changed and I then adapted the treatment. I was then I also attended further training at the HPS, where I put together an further prescription with the teacher. The patient is doing well again today, she now comes to the practice for menopausal symptoms, and we are keeping an eye on the qi stagnation ...". keep an eye on the qi stagnation ..."
"Basically, Chen Xiang can be used for pain caused by internal, blocked cold and Qi stagnation in the thorax, abdomen and loins. It can also be used for cold in the vascular pattern with dampness and wind involved. it can be used for joint pain (bi-syndrome) or even itching in the skin. itching in the skin. The outstanding effect of Chen Xiang is the very strong Qi lowering or Qi anchoring effect. I use this above all especially for very stubborn indications: 1. to relieve belching or vomiting caused by vomiting due to cold stomach 2. to bring the Qi down in asthma with kidney emptiness to bring the Qi down 3. in the case of mental disorders due to not grounded Qi with Kidney Emptiness (fears, panic, etc.) or rebellious Qi rising upwards (restlessness, nervousness, absent-mindedness, etc.). The surcharge is usually limited because Chen Xiang has a very effective effect even in small doses even in small doses due to the high content of essential oils."
"I need Chen Xiang for: Very severe human pain and for chronic empty asthma. I definitely don't want to do without it do without it - but I don't want to do that with TCM remedies either."
"It's true that Chen Xiang is very expensive and that I often hesitate hesitant before I use it, but when the asthma remedies are not enough I use Chen Xiang and with good results. But it time for it to work and the dosage should not be too low. should not be too low."
We are now keen to hear about your experiences with our premium agarwood.
We wish you many satisfied patients
Severin Bühlmann
November 2021
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