Chinese herb as effective as painkilling drugs

A Traditional Chinese herb could be as effective a pain-killer, especially for nerve pain, as any drug, a new research study has discovered.

The herb, Corydalis yanhusuo, reduces inflammatory pain and neuropathic pain, which is caused by nerve damage.

Researchers from the University of California, Irvine say the herb is as effective as a drug, and could be a genuine alternative at a time when the pharmaceutical industry is struggling to come up with new painkillers.

Corydalis has been used for centuries to help alleviate menstrual cramps, chest and abdominal pains.

Its active ingredient, say researchers, is a compound known as dehydrocorybulbine (DHCB).

(Source: Current Biology, 2014; doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2013.11.039)

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