This week the theme is Angelica sinensis. This is particularly apt coming the week we celebrated international womens day as the dried root is also called female ginseng and one of its best-known uses is to treat menstrual disorders.
Angelica is a genus belonging to the #apiaceaebotanical family that also includes carrots and parsley. One of the distinguishingphytochemicals in this family is called Angelic acid, a non-phenolic organic acid with a sharp taste and sour, pungent odour. Though of some medicalinterest as a sedative and tonic, it is volatile, so easily lost from dried roots and extracts of angelica.
But angelica root also contains significant amount of Ferulic acid, a phenolic acid that exists in almost all plants as an important intermediate in synthesis lignin synthesis which is where most of it ends up. For some reason, Angelica retains a substantial pool of free ferulic acid in its roots. Ferulic acid is a powerful antioxidant. In humans it inhibits the expression of cytotoxic enzymes and has thus been proposed as potentialtreatment for disorders that include Alzheimer’s, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and skin disease.
Angelica sinensis root extract is one of our Green Mountain Biotech products, produced as a skincare ingredient. In this role, the extract may be useful for treating atopic dermatitis. And finally, here is something that may be more of interestto men than women: Angelica sinensis appears to restore hair growth, good news for the follicly challenged.
Reading list
· Wikipedia, Angelic acid https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Angelic_acid&oldid=1051069863
· Wikipedia, Ferulic acid https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ferulic_acid&oldid=1064223901
· Wikipedia Angelica sinensis, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Angelica_sinensis&oldid=1075112976
· Mancuso, C. and Santangelo, R. 2014. Ferulic acid: Pharmacological and toxicological aspects. Food and Chemical Toxicology. 65, (Mar. 2014), 185–195. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.FCT.2013.12.024
· Lee, J. et al. 2016. Topical Application of Angelica sinensis Improves Pruritus and Skin Inflammation in Mice with Atopic Dermatitis-Like Symptoms. Journal of medicinal food. 19, 1 (Jan. 2016),98–105. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1089/JMF.2015.3489DOI:https://doi.org/10.1089/JMF.2015.3489.
· Kim, M.H. et al. 2014. Angelica sinensis Induces Hair Regrowth via the Inhibition of Apoptosis Signaling. 42, 4 (Jul.2014), 1021–1034. https://doi.org/10.1142/S0192415X14500645.
