Anti-hypertension protocol using shark cartilage and Cordyceps sinesis - herb in Chinese medicine

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, Feb-March, 2002 by Nelson Kraucak

Dr. Pang soon discovered that Cordyceps sinensis could also improve blood pressure in animals. Like shark cartilage, Cordyceps sinensis is best known for its anti-arrhythmia abilities. Cordyceps sinensis is derived from the mycelium of a fungus. As in other fungi, the active component is found in the glucan moiety of the polysaccharide.

Based on reports that Cordyceps sinensis could lower blood pressure in anesthetized dogs, that it possessed calcium antagonist activity in vitro, and that it could benefit PHF-related diseases, Dr. Pang began to explore the hypotensive effects of Cordyceps. He found that in rats, preparations of Cordyceps resulted in a dose-dependent reduction in blood pressure. All three Cordyceps preparations used also triggered a dose-dependent relaxation of extracellular calcium dependent contractions. The results confirmed that Cordyceps is hypotensive, that this plant- derived substance is positively inotropic and that it is vasorelaxant in rats. Furthermore, an extract of Cordyceps increased the contractile force of the heart without slowing the rate.

A group of Brazilian physicians, Oslim Malina, MD, Marcia Malina, MD and colleagues, read Dr. Pang's research on the anti-hypertensive effect of Cordyceps and shark cartilage. They used his research to build a clinical study of 102 hypertensive patients treated with Pressure-FX, a proprietary formula of shark cartilage and Cordyceps. Seventy-four of the patients studied had mild hypertension and 28 patients suffered from moderate hypertension. The researchers studied the patients for 3 to 12 months.

In addition to treatment with one to three capsules of Pressure-FX daily, all the subjects also underwent lifestyle modifications, increased consumption of vegetables, legumes and fruits, avoided foods linked to lipid peroxidation and supplemented with calcium, magnesium, potassium and Vitamin C. Eighty-seven of the patients also received 10 to 20 intravenous treatments with EDTA, a chelator of lead and cadmium, two toxic metals linked to arterial hypertension.

The study results revealed a dramatic drop in blood pressure in patients treated with Pressure-FX. Before treatment, mean blood pressure was 171.42[ or -] 18.08 mm Hg (systolic) and 107.95[ or -] 6.75 mm Hg (diastolic). After treatment, blood pressure dropped to 126.13 [ or -] 13.48 (systolic) and 83.36 [ or -] 10.23 mm Hg (diastolic).

The Brazilian researchers determined that in the absence of the shark cartilage/Cordyceps combination, 50 to 60% of the subjects responded to the mineral supplementation and lifestyle modification. Once Pressure-FX was added to the treatment regimen, 88% of the subjects responded with significantly reduced blood pressure.

Prior to treatment with Pressure-FX, 84 of the subjects had been using anti-hypertensive drugs. Once the shark cartilage/ Cordyceps combination was added, 63 of those 84 patients were able to stop their blood pressure medication and maintain normal blood pressure with only Pressure-FX. Twenty-one patients needed to use both an anti-hypertensive drug and Pressure-FX in order to maintain normal blood pressure.