Texas scientists have said they discovered the secrets of ancient Chinese herbal formulas beneficial impact on cardiovascular health.
The study conducted at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston suggests the formulas may help fight heart disease by producing large amounts of artery-widening nitric oxide, which facilitates blood flow through the circulatory system.
In addition, the compound eliminates blood clots, lowers pressure and reduces the formation of artery-clogging plaque.
Chinese herbal formulas “have profound nitric oxide bioactivity primarily through the enhancement of nitric oxide in the inner walls of blood vessels, but also through their ability to convert nitrite and nitrate into nitric oxide,” explains Dr. Nathan S. Bryan, the studys senior author and assistant professor in the universitys Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases.
Next to acupuncture and massage, herbal formulas have been a major component and health resource of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) for thousands of years.
“TCMs have provided leads to safe medications in cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes,” says Dr. C. Thomas Caskey, IMM director and CEO. 