Yerba Santa

Yerba santa (Eriodictyon, bear weed, mountain balm) is one of the ingredients of Dr. Grossman's Advanced Vision Support Formula.

Yerba santa, native to the dry lands of Oregon and California, is a moderately sized wild shrub whose tissue contains flavonoids and which is used in traditional medicine in treating respiratory conditions such as asthma, infections and allergies. It was also used by some tribes as a poultice for injuries ranging from insect bites to broken bones. It grows from rhizomes and does well in locales where fire is prevalent.

Modern science is identifying a number of promising uses for eriodictyol, the flavonoid extracted from yerba-santa, including its antioxidant and anti-cancer effects.

  • Eriodictyol has exhibited both antioxidant and anti-melanogenesis activity in lab animals.1
  • Other researchers have identified eriodictyol (from citrus) as having anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, neurotropic and antioxidant effects - specifically with respect to its antioxidant support for cardiovascular disease.2
  • Scientists have also identified eriodictyol (from a Chinese herb) as having an important neuroprotective role, again, with respect to its antioxidant capacity. In this instance researchers were investigating its role in fighting the negative effects of beta-amyloid which leads to Alzheimer's disease.3
  • The leaves of this plant have to hide bitter flavors of various drugs and herbal concoctions due to their flavonoid content.
  • Researchers have found that eriodictyol from yerba santa was useful in suppressing allergic responses in animal testing.4
  • In other lab animal studies, 12 different flavonoids that are derived from yerba santa were found to inhibit action of a carcinogen in tissue culture.5
  • One old study associated anti-bacterial properties with yerba santa. This study associated such effects primarily on gram-positive and acid-fast bioorganisms.6 This capacity is the subject of several later studies which, however, are not available online.

Footnotes

1. M.B. Imen, et al, Anti-melanogenesis and antigenotoxic activities of eriodictyol in murine melanoma (B16-F10) and primary human keratinocyte cells, Life Sciences, August 2015.
2. S.E. Lee, et al, Eriodictyol Protects Endothelial Cells against Oxidative Stress-Induced Cell Death through Modulating ERK/Nrf2/ARE-Dependent Heme Oxygenase-1 Expression, International Journal of Molecular Science, June, 2015.
3. X. Jing, et al, Eriodictyol Attenuates Beta-Amyloid 25-35 Peptide-Induced Oxidative Cell Death in Primary Cultured Neurons by Activation of Nrf2, Neurochemical Research, July, 2015.
4. J.M. Yoo, et al, Inhibitory effect of eriodictyol on IgE/Ag-induced type I hypersensitivity, Bioscience, Biotechnology & Biochemistry, July 2012.
5. Y.L. Liu, et al, Isolation of potential cancer chemopreventive agents from Eriodictyon californicum, Journal of Natural Products, March, 1992
6. A. J. Salle, et al, Studies on the antibacterial properties of Eriodictyon californicum, Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, June, 1951.