Herbal teas activity

German chamomile is listed by the Council of Europe as a natural source of food flavoring (category N2). This category indicates that chamomile can be added to foodstuffs in small quantities, with the possible limitation of an active principle (as yet unspecified) in the final product. German chamomile is commonly used in herbal teas. 

Cucurbitacin is a bitter-tasting principle that can be isolated from members of the family Cucurbitaceae, such as cucumber Cucumis sativus) and melon (Cucumis melo L.). In particular, cucurbitacin149 and momordicine,150 which have an intensely bitter taste, are contained abundantly in Momordica charantia (bitter melon in English, go-yaa in Okinawa, Japan), which people enjoy due to its bitterness. There are more than 18 kinds of cucurbitacin, and among them cucurbitacin B is a typical component. It has been reported that cucurbitacin exhibits anticancer activity.1 1 In addition, it is used for the treatment of hepatic disease in traditional Chinese medicine. It is also found in some herbal teas. 

Even with this redncing character, sucrose and invert sugar are not very reactive in the tea making process. Herbal teas contain numerous chemical compounds, none of which react with sucrose, glucose or fmctose. In addition to invert sugar and about 20% water, honey also contains a complex mixture of compounds (minerals, pollen, substances produced in the bodies of bees). The possible reaction of these active ingredients with herbal tea has not been studied in detail yet. However, experience shows that honey does not interfere with the efficacy of herbal teas. 

Most industrially manufactured herbal medicinal products are oral dosage forms. Liquid preparations (fluid extracts, tinctures) have advantages as to dose flexibility but an unacceptable taste can be a problem in clinical practice. The latter can be circumvented by using solid oral dosage forms containing a dry extract of the herbal medicine. Tablets and capsules with pulverized herbal active substances are also available commercially. Some herbal medicines have to be taken as loose powders. A tea can be prepared from pulverized herbal medicines, either l(X)se or in teabags, or from an instant herbal tea [4, 5]. 

Houel E, Bertani S, Bourdy G, Deharo E, Jullian V, Valentin A, Chevalley S, Stien D (2009) Quassinoid constituents of Quassia amara L. leaf herbal tea. Impact on its antimalarial activity and cytotoxicity. J Ethnopharmacol 126 114... 

Tsai, P.J., Tsai, T.H., Yu, C.H., and Ho, S.C. 2007. Comparison of NO-scavenging and NO-suppressing activities of different herbal teas with those of green tea. Food Chemistry, 103, 181-187. 

The single dose of a drug is mo.stly derived from experience it is only possible in a very few cases to calculate it from the activity of the constituents. However, as many herbal drugs arc only weakly active and contain non-toxic substances, i.e, the therapeutic index is large, exceeding the dose is usually only of minor significance nevertheless, the pharmacist must know what the exceptions are in this book, the sections on Side effects and Making the tea draw particular attention to such cases, c.g. arnica flowers, liquorice root, etc. 

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