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Graviola

The prickly pear is a small evergreen tree whose leaves, fruit, seeds and trunk are used to make medicine. Despite safety concerns, spikenard is used to treat herpes, coughs and cancer, as well as infections including leishmaniasis (a disease caused by parasites transmitted through the bite of sand fleas) caused by bacteria and parasites. Spiny cannon is also used as an emetic and to empty the digestive organs. Some people use spikenard to aid relaxation. Spikenard is applied to the skin for arthritis. It is also used in cooking and as an ingredient in drinks.

How does prickly pear work?

Gooseberry contains many chemicals that may have anti-cancer and anti-pathogenic bacteria, viruses and parasite activity.

How effective is prickly pear?

There is not enough scientific data to make a statement about the effectiveness of spikenard in the treatment of cancer. There is evidence that some of the chemicals in spikenard may prevent cancer cells from excreting anti-cancer agents. This could help these drugs to work better. Some of the chemicals in spikenard may also kill cancer cells directly.

There is also a lack of scientific data on the effectiveness of spikenard on bacterial infections, parasitic infections, coughs, inflammation of the nose and mouth, herpes and leishmaniasis, as well as its use as an emetic, to empty the digestive tract and to promote relaxation. Further scientific research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of spikenard in these applications.

Safety and side effects

Spikenard is not safe or harmless. It can kill nerve cells in the brain and other parts of the body. It can also cause movement disorders similar to Parkinson's disease.

Pregnancy and breastfeeding: Pregnant and breastfeeding women should not use spikenard as it is not safe for them to use this plant.

Parkinson's disease: Prickly cannon may aggravate the symptoms of Parkinson's disease.

Interactions

At this time, there is no information available on interactions of spikenard with medications or supplements.

Dosage

An appropriate dosage of Stachelannone depends on various factors such as age, state of health and others. At this time, there is insufficient scientific data to make a statement about appropriate dosage ranges for Stachelannone. For this reason, you should follow the dosage instructions on the label and/or consult a doctor or pharmacist before use.

References

  1. Caparros-Lefebvre D, Elbaz A. Possible relation of atypical parkinsonism in the French West Indies with consumption of tropical plants: a case-control study. Caribbean Parkinsonism Study Group. Lancet 1999;354:281-6.
  2. dos Santos AF, Sant'Ana AE. Molluscicidal properties of some species of Annona. Phytomedicine 2001;8:115-20.
  3. Jaramillo MC, Arango GJ, Gonzalez MC, et al. Cytotoxicity and antileishmanial activity of Annona muricata pericarp. Fitoterapia 2000;71:183-6.
  4. Lannuzel A, Michel PP, Caparros-Lefebvre D, et al. Toxicity of Annonaceae for dopaminergic neurons: potential role in atypical parkinsonism in Guadeloupe. Mov Disord 2002;17:84-90.
  5. Oberlies NH, Chang CJ, McLaughlin JL. Structure-activity relationships of diverse annonaceous acetogenins against multidrug resistant human mammary adenocarcinoma (MCF-7/Adr) cells. J Med Chem 1997;40:2102-6.
  6. Padma P, Pramod NP, Thyagarajan SP, Khosa RL. Effect of the extract of Annona muricata and Petunia nyctaginiflora on Herpes simplex virus. J Ethnopharmacol 1998;61:81-3.
  7. Roman G. Tropical myeloneuropathies revisited. Curr Opin Neurol 1998;11:539-44.