Cascara Sagrada
| Cascara Sagrada | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Formula | C15H10O5 (emodin, the main active anthraquinone) |
| Class | |
| Administration | Oral (bark extract, tincture, capsule) |
| Solubility | |
| Legal status | Removed from the US OTC laxative monograph by the FDA in 2002 (not banned, but no longer "generally recognized as safe and effective" for that use) |
| Brand names | |
| Bioavailability | |
| Recommended dose | |
| Upper limit | |
| LD50 | |
| Ray's verdict | Generally helps "Milk of magnesia is very safe, but cascara has many protective biological effects." |
Cascara sagrada ("sacred bark") is the dried bark of the buckthorn tree (Frangula purshiana), used traditionally as a laxative. Its main active component is emodin, an anthraquinone compound also found in rhubarb and aloe. Ray Peat wrote about cascara and emodin at length in "Cascara, Energy, Cancer and the FDA's Laxative Abuse," arguing its effects go well beyond a simple laxative action.[1]
Mechanism
[edit]Peat's central claim is that emodin's laxative effect is a side effect of a broader antiinflammatory action, not a separate "stimulant" mechanism. Since bacterial endotoxin drives nitric oxide production in the cells lining the gut, which impairs their respiration and the smooth muscle's ability to contract, an agent that inhibits that nitric oxide can restore normal peristalsis directly.[1]
Emodin inhibits the formation of nitric oxide, increases mitochondrial respiration, inhibits angiogenesis and invasiveness, inhibits fatty acid synthase, inhibits HER-2 neu and tyrosine phosphorylases, and promotes cellular differentiation in cancer cells.
— Ray Peat
In an animal inflammation model, emodin dose-dependently suppressed nitric oxide production by inhibiting iNOS, and produced a 65-68% reduction in carrageenan-induced paw oedema at 40 mg/kg.[2]
Peat contrasts emodin with tegaserod (Zelnorm), a since-withdrawn prescription drug that worked by increasing the bowel's sensitivity to serotonin. Since serotonin slows metabolism and increases free radical production, a serotonin-mimicking laxative works in the opposite direction from emodin, which raises mitochondrial oxygen consumption and ATP synthesis while lowering oxidative damage.[1]
Regulatory history
[edit]The FDA's 2002 "Final rule" on OTC laxative ingredients found cascara sagrada (along with aloe) "not generally recognized as safe and effective," removing it from the approved OTC monograph effective November 2002, less than three months before the FDA approved Zelnorm.[1] Zelnorm was later withdrawn from the market in 2007 after being linked to heart attacks and intestinal ischemia.[1]
Sourcing and use
[edit]Peat mentioned bulk cascara powder from an Italian supplier (Farmalabor) as his preferred source, noting that US customs can complicate importing it, and a US co-op selling it premixed with glycerine as an acceptable alternative.[3] He considered its most important effect to be lowering nitric oxide, and noted that raw carrot (see Roadmap: Gut health) or bamboo shoots can have a similar, milder effect through the same mechanism.[3] Comparing it to a gentler alternative, he said: "Milk of magnesia is very safe, but cascara has many protective biological effects."[4]
A separate compiled bioenergetic guide describes taking it at night to produce a bowel movement the following morning, following whatever dose is listed on the product.[5]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Ray Peat, "Cascara, Energy, Cancer and the FDA's Laxative Abuse," raypeat.com.
- ↑ Ghosh S, Das Sarma M, Patra A, Hazra B. "Anti-inflammatory and anticancer compounds isolated from Ventilago madraspatana Gaertn., Rubia cordifolia Linn. and Lantana camara Linn.," J Pharm Pharmacol. 2010;62(9):1158-1166.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Ray Peat, "Cascara," raypeatemails.com.
- ↑ Ray Peat, Ray Peat Forum Q&A, "Milk Of Magnesia vs Cascara."
- ↑ The Sweetest Tonic, bioenergetic introduction guide, "Digestion."