STUDIES ON PADMA PRODUCTS / STUDIES WITH MEN-TSEE-KHANG INSTITUTE OF TRADITIONAL TIBETAN MEDICINE / CONSERVATION OF TIBETAN MEDICINAL PLANTS

Traditional Tibetan medicine (TTM) is an ancient tradition extending back to the teachings of Buddha, over 2600 years ago.  Absorbing elements of the pre-Buddhist Bon religion, and influences from India, China and Persia, Tibetan medicine emerged as a unique healing tradition, that has over millennium sought to preserve both its religious and spiritual roots, as well as its rich and complex pharmacopeia.

With the invasion of Tibet by China and the subsequent exile of the Dalai Lama to India in 1959, the focus of Tibetan medicine moved to Dharamsala in Himachel Pradesh, seat of the Tibetan-government-in-exile. 

In 1961 in an attempt to preserve the medical teachings of Tibetan medicine, and to train a new generation of doctors, the Men-Tsee-Khang Institute of Traditional Tibetan medicine and Astrological Science (MTKI) was founded in Dharamsala.

In recent years Tibetan medicine has also become a source of growing interest in the West, with Tibetan doctors treating an increasing number of patients, particularly in Europe and North America, and providing on-site consultations to the many foreigners visiting MTKI.

While this exposure has considerably increased the demand for Tibetan Medicines, relatively little high quality research has been undertaken to evaluate the efficacy or safety of TTM, questions of great importance to both Tibetans and Westerners.

In addition, the increasing popularity of Tibetan medicine has resulted in a scarcity of many species traditionally used in complex formulas, a problem compounded by widespread unsustainable harvesting practices, environmental degradation and the ongoing serious destruction of plant habitat in Tibet and India.

Since its establishment NMRU has focused particularly on research into Tibetan medicine, with our studies contributing to one of the largest research programs in the world on this ancient tradition.

Stressing the importance of modern research into Tibetan Medicine, The Natural Medicine Research Unit was honored by visits of H.H. the Dalai Lama in 1995 and 1999, in which he strongly supported studies into TTM and encouraging NMRU to further expand its activities in this area.

STUDIES ON TIBETAN MEDICINE INCLUDE;

STUDIES ON PADMA PRODUCTS 

STUDIES WITH MEN-TSEE-KHANG INSTITUTE OF TRADITIONAL TIBETAN MEDICINE (INDIA)

CONSERVATION OF TIBETAN MEDICINAL PLANTS
 

Research into Traditional Tibetan medicine (TTM) was supported from 1994 to 2001 by the Swiss commercial company Padma AG, and has included clinical and in-vitro research on the multi-constituent formulas, Padma 28 and Padmalax.

Studies have included;

Padma 28 in peripheral vascular disease

Padma 28 mechanism of action

Padma 28 and infertility

Padma 28 and claudication, (UK based, in cooperation with NMRU)

Padmalax for Irritable Bowel Syndrome
 

Padma 28 in peripheral vascular disease

Used historically in Tibet to counteract the effects of an over consumption of meat, fat and alcohol, Padma 28, a complex formula containing 22 individual plants and minerals. It has been used for over 20 years in Switzerland as an anti-atherosclerotic agent to treat peripheral vascular disease, a condition causing blocked arteries in the leg, and associated with claudication or pain and cramps in the extremities, particularly on walking.

Investigated in conjunction with Prof. Yakov Berlatzky and the Department of Vascular Surgery at Hadassah Hospital, NMRU’s 6 month clinical trial (1994-1997), demonstrated significant improvement in walking ability, and blood pressure measurements in patients taking Padma 28 compared to a placebo. (see;Sallon et al The Journal of Vascular Investigation 1998; 4:129-136).

Padma 28 - mechanism of action

In-vitro studies carried out by Prof. Isaac Ginsburg (Department of Oral Pathology, HHUMS), together with scientists at the Universities of Michigan and Christ Church, U.S, demonstrated that Padma 28 is a powerful anti-oxidant, able to block a complex series of pathological reactions leading to the formation of plaque, the damaging fatty substance, responsible for blocked arteries, (see Ginsberg, Sallon, et al.,  Inflammopharmacology 1999; 7: 47-62).

In addition joint studies by NMRU with the Department of Chemistry at Liverpool University (UK) in conjunction with Prof. Stanley Roberts have  isolated and identified a number of complex molecules present in Padma 28, an important stage in defining the active constituents responsible for Padma 28’s anti-atherosclerotic effect. (see Ginsberg, Sallon, et al.,  Inflammopharmacology 1999; 7: 47-62).

Combined research by NMRU, Prof Israel Vlodovsky director of Tumor Biology (HMO) and Prof Penina Brodt of The Dept of Experimental Surgery (Mcgill) Montreal, have demonstrated that Padma 28 affects several other mechanisms responsible for arterial blockage, including its ability to inhibit smooth muscle proliferation in arterial walls and block the cell receptor Insulin Growth Factor One (IGF1), both of which play a major role in the generation of arteriosclerosis.
 

Padma 28 and Infertility, a pilot study

In 1999 NMRU initiated a clinical study in the Department of Obstetrics, IVF Unit, designed to access whether Padma 28’s anti-atherosclerotic activity could also improve blood flow to the uterus and ovaries in older women undergoing fertility treatment. At the present date, however, results were inconclusive for this activity.

Padma 28 and claudication;clinical trial in conjunction with University College  –Middlesex Hospitals, London UK

In 1997 NMRU in conjunction with the UCH – Middlesex Hospitals, initiated, planned and advised on the analysis of a clinical trial on the effectiveness of Padma 28 in patients with peripheral arterial disease.

Results of this research completed in 2000 demonstrated, as in earlier studies, that Padma 28 was associated with a significant improvement in walking ability in patients compared to a placebo group. (unpublished)

Studies on Padmalax for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

Padmalax is a Tibetan formula containing 15 herbs and minerals, used traditionally as a bowel tonic and regulator, and used as a treatment for constipation in Switzerland for over 20 years.

From 1996-2000 Padma Lax was the subject of a clinical trial designed and carried out by NMRU, for the treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), a functional bowel disorder, associated with a variety of symptoms, including  abdominal pain, diarrhea and/or constipation, and responsible for more than 80% of visits to gastroenterologists in Western countries.

In NMRU’s double-blind randomized controlled trial, 83 patients were recruited from the Gastroenterology OPD at HMO with Constipation- Predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome (CP-IBS). Padma Lax was shown to be significantly more effective than a placebo in the treatment of CP-IBS, and was associated with relatively few mild side effects.

Results of this study (see Sallon et al Digestion 2002, 65;3: 169-171) are of particular importance since no truly effective treatment is currently available for CP-IBS.

STUDIES WITH MEN-TSEE-KHANG INSTITUTE OF TRADITIONAL TIBETAN MEDICINE  (MTKI), DHARAMSALA, INDIA

NMRU has established on going research studies with The Men-Tsee-Khang Institute of Traditional Tibetan Medicine and Astological Science, in Dharamsala, Northern India, the major center in the world for the preservation of Traditional Tibetan Medicine.

Studies on detoxified Mercury (Tsothel) in Tibetan medicine (TTM)

In conjunction with MTKI staff, NMRU undertook in 2002 a collaborative pilot study in Dharamsala evaluating the role of detoxified mercury (Tsothel) in Tibetan “Precious Pills”, complex formulas forming an integral part of traditional medical practice, and containing mercuric compounds.

Initial results demonstrated for the first time that Tibetan patients with a long history of taking Precious Pills had no symptoms of mercury toxicity and undetectable serum mercury levels (evaluated in the Dept. of Toxicology, Tel-Hashomer Hospital, Israel). These findings, which were presented at the 2nd International Conference on Traditional Tibetan Medicine in Washington (Nov 2003), have laid the foundation for a larger clinical trial on the safety and efficacy of detoxified Mercury in Tibetan medicine.

Research and training at MTKI

In 2003 at the invitation of MTKI, NMRU provided workshops on clinical research methodologies for staff at MTKI. It is hoped that these workshops will be the basis of further joint collaboration, in which innovative strategies will be formulated to scientifically evaluate the unique holistic healing tradition of TTM.

Fellowship in International Public Health for a Tibetan doctor

In 2003 as part of a joint initiative with the Hadassah Women’s Zionist Organization of America, NMRU supported a Traditional Tibetan doctor, as a Masters candidate for the international program on Public Health at The School of Public Health, HMO, creating a unique opportunity to bring together traditional practice and modern medicine at Hadassah Hospital.

CONSERVATION OF TIBETAN MEDICINAL PLANTS

The Tibetan Medicine Cultivation project, is the first time that commercial quantities of plants used in Tibetan medicines and teas have been cultivated in Israel.

The climatic and geographical conditions in the Arava region of Israel, are in many ways similar to the desert regions of Tibet, and as a result many species of plants used in Tibetan medicine, particularly those considered rare and endangered, have been successfully cultivated by Dr. Solowey at Kibbutz Ketura in conjunction with NMRU.

The plantation site, which was initiated in 1997 by NMRU together with Padma A.G. in Switzerland, cultivates all plants organically, and produces significant quantities of  several species used in Padma formulas, including more than 300 Neem trees, Lowquat and a number of rare Bael (Aegyle marmelos) trees.

It is hoped that this very successful program will provide an important commercial revenue for Kibbutz Ketura in the future, as well as raw material for scientific evaluation in NMRU’s screening programs.