Sophora flavescens

Sophora flavescens

Other names : Ku Shen Gen, Ku Shen, Bitter root, Yellow sophora root, 苦参, Radix Sophorae Flavescentis, Sophora Root, Flavescent Sophora Root, Yellow Pagoda Tree Root

Special Precautions of Sophora flavescens

• Patients with hormone-sensitive cancers should avoid taking S. flavescens as it demonstrated estrogenic effects in vitro, and can stimulate the proliferation of hormone-sensitive cancer cells.
• Toxic effects from use of the root may include nausea, dizziness, vomiting, constipation, spasms, disturbance of speech, irregular breathing, respiratory failure and death.
• Sophora can act on cytochorome P450 (CYP450) enzymes and increase CYP2a, Cyp2b, and CYP3a. This effect on liver enzymes may be gender specific, for example, male rodents taking sophora have an increased 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylation (EROD), 7-pentoxyresorufin O-dealkylation (PROD), coumarin hydroxylation, and nifedipine oxidation (NFO) activities, while females do not have any changes in coumarin hydroxylation and NFO activities.
• Ku shen contains kurarinone which can be toxic to the liver (reduces l-carnintine and PPAR-α pathway, ultimately leading to lipid accumulation and liver injury).
• Oxymatrine (in ku shen) at high doses (320mg/kg) may also be toxic to the liver by causing endoplasmic reticulum stress.
• Contraindicated for those with Spleen and Stomach Deficiency Cold.
• Contraindicated for those with Kidney Deficiency without fever.
• Do not inject.

Health Benefits and Uses of Sophora flavescens

Sophora flavescens is a Chinese medicinal herb used for the treatment of gastrointestinal hemorrhage, skin diseases, Cancer, pyretic stranguria and viral hepatitis.

• Combats Cancer : Ku shen is a powerful multipurpose anti-cancer therapeutic agent that is strong alone at fighting cancer and can synergize with other chemo-therapies. For example, the main chemical from Kushen have been approved by Chinese FDA (CFDA) in 1995 as an anticancer drug to treat non-small cell lung cancer and liver cancer in combination with other anticancer drugs. Kushen has been used for:
  • Bile Duct Cancer
  • Bone Cancer
  • Brain Cancer (neuroblastomas and glioblastomas)
  • Breast Cancer (incl ER neg)
  • Cervical Cancer
  • Colon Cancer
  • Gallbladder Carcinoma
  • Leukemia
  • Liver Cancer
  • Lung Cancer
  • Medulloblastoma
  • Myeloid Leukemia
  • Prostate Cancer (incl castration-resistant)
  • Synovial Sarcoma
  • Ku shen can also help with cisplatin resistant cancers.
• Reduces Pain : Ku shen can reduce pain symptoms associated with cancer, such as leukopenia and nausea. Ku shen can help reduce neuropathic pain (via NMDA).
• Improves Skin And Wound Healing :
  • Ku shen can help with wound healing by increasing mRNA levels of growth factors such as IGF-1 and KGF in skin.
  • Ku shen also helps with wound healing by pro-inflammatory cytokines such as PGE2 and IL-8.
  • Ku shen may also help with dermatitis.
  • Ku shen is commonly blended Scutellaria baicalensis, Rheum tanguticum, Dictamnus dasycarpus, Phellodendron chinense, and Kochia scoparia and used to treat skin inflammation.
  • Ku shen can reduce melanin synthesis and may help improve skin whitening (via reduction of tyrosinase).
• Protects The Vascular System  : Ku shen is a potent and selective inhibitor of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP)-specific phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) , PDE4, and PDE3, thus making it useful for erectile dysfunction and overall vascular inflammation. For example, ku shen can combat atherosclerosis, a disease characterized by chronic vascular inflammation. Ku shen helps with blood flow and blood pressure by relaxing vascular smooth muscle (via NO-sGC-cGMP signaling).By regulating abnormal calcium-induced rhythms in the heart, ku shen can improve heart failure. Ku shen can also be therapeutic for septic shock‑induced heart injury.
• Combats Diabetes : Ku shen may be beneficial for metabolic diseases as it can activate peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors gamma and alpha (PPAR-gamma and PPAR alpha, respectively). For example, it can help with diabetes by reducing sodium-glucose linked transporter (SGLT) activity, thus helping remove excess glucose (hyperglycemia) through the kidneys. Ku shen can also act as inhibitors of a-glucosidase and b amylase, thus helping with glucose levels after eating starchy foods. Ku shen can also help with diabetes as it improves oral glucose tolerance, increases serum high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and reduces body weight, blood glucose levels and other related blood-lipid indexes (via increasing AMPK and GLUT4).
• Has Antimicrobial Properties against : Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Escherichia coli, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Mycobacterium aurum, Prevotella intermedia, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus anginosus, Streptococcus criceti, Streptococcus gordonii, Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus ratti, Streptococcus sanguinis, Streptococcus sobrinus R
• Ku shen has antiviral against : Cervical HPV, Coxsackievirus B3, HBV, Human type 1-3 reoviruses (HRV1-3), Influenza A Virus (H1N1), Korean porcine reovirus (PRV), Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2). Porcine reproductive respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV). Ku shen also has properties to combat Flavi viruses (including Zika, Dengue and Hepatitis C virus).
• Enhances Liver Function : Polysaccharides in Ku shen can protect the liver from HBV and liver cancer. Ku shen helps with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) by acting on ubiquinol-cytochrome c reductase binding protein (UQCRB). Ku shen can also prevent liver failure (via TLR4/PI3K/Akt/GSK-3β suppression). By inhibitiing epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and Y‑box binding protein 1 (YB‑1) in the liver, ku shen can prevent fibrosis of the liver.
• Potentiates GABA : Ku shen acts on gamma -aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors and may be a therapeutic alternative to benzodiazepines.
• Improves Spinal Cord Injury : Ku shen may help with motor function and axon repair after spinal cord injuries (SCI). For example in animals, consecutive oral administrations of ku shen extract to SCI mice for 31 days increased the density of 5-HT-positive axons at the lesion site and improved the motor function.
• Reduces Allergies And Histamine : Maackiain in kushen has antiallergic compounds that inhibit upregulation of histamine H1 receptor (H1R) and interleukin (IL)-4 gene expression (inhibits inhibition of PKCδ activation). Maackiain can also suppress H1R by heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90).Ku shen is also able to inhibit histamine release (via FAT10-NF-κB signaling) from mast cells.
• May Help An Overactive Bladder : Ku shen can help with an overactive bladder (relaxes acetylcholine-induced contraction and decreases the micturition frequency by potentiating BKCa channels).
• Ameliorates Neuroinflammaiton : Ku shen can combat neuroinflammation from lipopolysaccharides (LPS) by inhibiting microglial activation (via HSP60-TLR4 signaling). Ku shen can also fight neuroinflammation by inhibiting inducible NO synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) signaling.
• May Help Bone Disease : Ku shen can be benefical for certain bone diseases. For example, ku shen can prevent post-menopause osteoporosis (PMOP) after an ovariectomy by acting on ribosomal protein S5 (RPS5). Also, ku shen can prevent implant loosening through inhibiting osteoclast formation and bone resorption.
• Combats Arthritis : Ku shen can combat collagen induced-arthritis (CIA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). One ways it does this is by inhibiting of inflammation and regulating of Treg/Th17. Another way is by reducing the levels of Th1 cytokines (IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-1β), but increasing Th2 cytokine (IL-4 and IL-10) through attenuating the NF-κB signaling in T cells.
• Improves Sleep : Ku shen is able to promote sleep by increasing serotonin (5-HT) levels in the ventrolateral preoptic nucleus (VLPO), a sleep promoting region. Ku shen is also able to normalize caffeine-induced hyperactivity and promoting a shift toward non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep.
• Protects Against Hippocampal Hypoxia : Ku shen can protect the hippocampus from hypoxia (loss of oxygen and glucose) via downregulation of MAPK and regulating lactate (LDH) levels.
• Reduces Oxidative Stress : By activating the transcription factor nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) and other downstream targets (such as NQO1 and HO-1), ku shen can protect the body against advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and reactive oxygen species (ROS).
• Buffers Arsenic Poisoning : Ku shen may help with arsenic poisoning. For example, ku shen is able to reduce the retention of arsenic in the liver by improving the expression of Nrf2 and HO-1.
• Protects Against Endotoxemia : Ku shen can suppress endotoxemia-induced inflammation. For example, Ku shen has shown to prevent endotoxemia (sepsis) in the heart and lungs.
• Improves Psoriasis : Ku shen may be beneifical for psoriasis as it can suppress the expression of Pan-Cytokeratin, p63 and keratin 10, thus having having anti-proliferation effect skin cells.
• Ameliorates Ulcerative Colitis : In the gut, ku shen is able to ameliorate Ulcerative Colitis (UC) by preventing inflammation in the gut.
• Fights Asthma : Ku shen is powerful at suppressing lung inflammation.For example, Ku shen can suppress asthmatic reactions (Tnf-a driven). Ku shen can also protect against mycobacterial-induced lung growths and inflammation. By regulating fibroblast proliferation and collagen production, ku shen has shown to reduce antibiotic-induced scarring in the lungs.
• Combats Alopecia : Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is a hair loss disorder that commonly affects middle-aged men. Ku shen (L-maackiain and medicarpin specifically) can promote the growth of human hair cells and may be effective for treating AGA.
• May Protect Against EMFs : Ku shen may be able to offer radioprotection from Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs) by modulating mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways.
• May Improve Depression : Ku shen (maackiain) can Monoamine oxidase (MAO)-A and MAO-B, making ku shen a possible candidate for depression.
• Reduces Excitotoxicity : Ku shen is neuroprotective and can protect neurons against NMDA-induced neurotoxicity. For example, by inhibiting PDE10A, ku shen can protect against the central nervous system from glutamate‑induced oxidative stress.
• Improves Kidney Function : Ku shen can protect the kidneys during chemotherapy by enhancing kidney function and modulating TH17/Treg levels. Ku shen can also protect the kidneys from oxidative stress by hyperglycemia making it beneficial for diabetic nephropathy (DN).
• May Help Treat Alzheimer's Disease : Ku shen may help treat Alzheimer's Disease (AD) as it can improve cognitive deficits in mice by inhibiting Amyloid-Beta (AB) plaque aggregation (suppresses the Aβ/RAGE signaling pathway).
• May Help Treat Parkinson's Disease : Ku shen may be useful for treating Parkinson's Disease (PD) as it can improve mitochondrial function (by Parkin, PINK1 and DJ-1 expression levels).

TCM Actions

• Clears Heat and dries Dampness : Damp-Heat in the Lower Jiao with jaundice, diarrhea, dysenteric disorders, vaginal discharge and sores, viral hepatitis
• Disperses Wind, kills parasites and stops itching
  • Damp-toxin skin lesions or infestations with chronic itching, scabies, seepage and bleeding (internal and topical)
  • Genital itching and vaginal discharge (internal and topical)
  • Bronchial asthma
• Clears Heat and promotes urination
  • Damp-Heat in the Small Intestine
  • Painful urinary dysfunction
  • Hot edema

References

• Kang SC, Lee CM, Choi H, et al. Evaluation of oriental medicinal herbs for estrogenic and antiproliferative activities. Phytother Res. 2006 Nov;20(11):1017-9.
• De Naeyer A, Vanden Berghe W, Pocock V, et al. Estrogenic and anticarcinogenic properties of kurarinone, a lavandulyl flavanone from the roots of Sophora flavescens. J Nat Prod. 2004 Nov;67(11):1829-32.
• Yoo HH, Kim T, Ahn S, et al. Evaluation of the estrogenic activity of Leguminosae plants. Biol Pharm Bull. 2005 Mar;28(3):538-40.
• Bensky, Dan; Clavey, Steven; Stöger, Erich; Lai Bensky, Lilian (2015). Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica (Portable 3rd ed.). Seattle, USA: Eastland Press. pp. 575–578. ISBN 978-0-939616-82-4.