Cell reprogramming breakthrough could mend broken hearts

Heart disease remains one the biggest killers in the Western world. When a heart attack or heart failure occurs, permanent damage often results, destroying live cells and leaving the patient with irreversible scarring. Now scientists at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease (GICD) have discovered a new technique to create healthy beating heart cells from structural cells, opening up the possibility of regenerating damaged hearts. Read More

Received & published by Henry Sapiecha

Migraine headaches may do much more damage than cause a throbbing pain. A new study confirms that individuals who suffer from migraines are about twice as likely to have a stroke caused by a blood clot, compared to those who don’t get the painful headaches. According to Reuters, researchers analyzed the results of 21 previous studies conducted between 1975 and 2007, and involving more than 622,000 adults with and without migraines. More »

Sourced & published by Henry Sapiecha

for Development of Therapies

for Heart Disease and Cancer

Science(July 30, 2010) — Researchers seeking to learn more about stroke by studying how the body responds to toxins in snake venom are releasing new findings that they hope will aid in the development of therapies for heart disease and, surprisingly, cancer.

The Japanese team is reporting in a Journal of Biological Chemistry “Paper of the Week” that they are optimistic that inhibiting a protein found on the surface of blood cells known as platelets may combat both irregular blood clotting and the spread of certain cancers throughout the body.

“The finding that platelets not only play a role in blood clotting but also in the development of vessels that allow tumors to flourish was quite unexpected and paves the way for new research on the role or roles of platelets,” says Katsue Suzuki-Inoue, the associate professor at the University of Yamanashi who oversaw the 13-person team’s work in professor Yukio Ozaki’s laboratory.

About platelets, blood clots and stroke

Under normal conditions, platelets are activated to become sticky when blood vessels are injured, and their clumping together (aggregation or clotting) naturally stops bleeding. But, irregular platelet aggregation caused by disease can lead to dangerous clots or even stroke if a clot clogs or bursts in a vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain.

“When a blood clot, or thrombus, forms during the body’s normal repair process, it’s doing its job,” says Suzuki-Inoue. “But, thrombotic diseases, such as heart attack and stroke, are leading causes of death in developed countries. Understanding and manipulating the underlying chemical reactions could help us save many lives.”

But what does this have to do with snake venom? It’s sort of a long story.

How venom can prevent or cause clotting

“Snake venom contains a vast number of toxins that target proteins in platelets,” says Yonchol Shin, an associate professor at Kogakuin University who specializes in snake toxins. “Some of those toxins prevent platelets from clotting, which can lead to profuse bleeding in snake bite victims. Others, like the one we’ve focused this research on, potently activate platelets, which results in blood clots. Identification of the molecular targets of many of these toxins has made an enormous contribution to our understanding of platelet activation and related diseases.”

Intrigued by the then-recent discovery that elements in snake venom can promote irregular aggregation of platelets — the kind that leads to clots and stroke — Inoue’s and Ozaki’s team set out in 1997 to understand better the molecular underpinnings of those chemical reactions. They hoped that whatever they learned could be applied to the search for new therapies for irregular blood clotting caused by disease.

In 2000, another set of investigators came across a protein on the surface of platelets and dubbed it C-type lectin-like receptor 2, or CLEC-2. At the time, it remained unclear how CLEC-2 was produced or what its job was, but the team suspected it was worth further study.

After six years of research and collaborations with British investigators, the team in 2006 discovered how rhodocytin — a molecule purified from the venom of the Southeast Asia pit viper Calloselasma rhodastoma — binds to the CLEC-2 receptor protein on the platelet surface, spurring the platelet to clot with others like it.

Then, in another JBC “Paper of the Week” in 2007, Suzuki-Inoue and her colleagues reported how a separate molecule, called podoplanin, binds to the CLEC-2 platelet receptor protein very much like the venom molecule does. Discovered in 1990, podoplanin is a protein expressed on the surface of cancer cells, and, when bound to the CLEC-2 receptor on platelets, it spurs blood clotting, too.

“To shield themselves from the immune system, cancer cells send out a chemical, podoplanin, which binds to the CLEC-2 receptor protein on platelets, telling the platelets to get together and form a protective barrier around the cancer cells. Once enveloped, the cancer cells are not detected by the immune system and are able to bind to blood vessels’ inner linings and spread, or metastasize, throughout the body,” she explained.

Using a mouse model, the team in 2008 showed that blocking the tumor protein podoplanin from binding with the platelet receptor protein CLEC-2 could prevent tumors from metastasizing to the lung.

From snake venom to platelets to tumors

The recent investigations by the team, published in the JBC online July 4, hinged on the generation and study of genetically engineered mouse embryos that lacked the platelet receptor protein CLEC-2. In the end, the experiments showed that CLEC-2 is not only necessary for blood clotting but also necessary for the development of a different type of vessel, specifically lymphatic vessels that carry fluid away from tissues and prevent swelling, or edema.

“During fetal development, the CLEC-2 deficiency disturbed the normal process of blood clotting and, in fact, the normal development and differentiation of blood and lymphatic vessels,” says Masanori Hirashima, an associate professor at Kobe University. “They had disorganized and blood-filled lymphatic vessels and severe swelling.”

Podoplanin, Hirashima explains, is also expressed on the surface of certain types of lymphatic cells and is known to play a role in the development of lymphatic vessels: “These findings suggest that the interaction between CLEC-2 and podoplanin in lymphatic vessels is necessary for the separation between blood vessels and lymphatic vessels.”

It has been known that tumors generate blood vessels to promote their growth, and it’s possible that the formation of lymphatic vessels also may contribute to the spread of cancer throughout the body, says Osamu Inoue, an assistant professor at the University of Yamanashi.

“We speculate that the interaction between the platelet’s CLEC-2 protein and the podoplanin molecule in lymphatic cells plays an essential role in the creation of lymphatic vessels, thereby facilitating tumor growth. If this is the case, a drug that blocks that interaction would prevent the spread of tumors through lymphatic vessels,” Inoue said.

By being deemed a “Paper of the Week,” the team’s work is categorized in the top 1 percent of papers reviewed by the JBC editorial board in terms of significance and overall importance. Other contributors included Guo Ding, Satoshi Nishimura, Kazuya Hokamura, Koji Eto, Hirokazu Kashiwagi, Yoshiaki Tomiyama, Yutaka Yatomi and Kazuo Umemura.

Sourced & published by Henry Sapiecha

Regenerative body parts in the works

A Canadian researcher is hoping that within ten years, people will be able to regrow tendons, spinal cords or heart valves lost to injury or disease. Dr. Brian Amsden, a chemical engineering professor from Queen’s University, is developing a technique wherein cells from a patient’s body would be placed on a polymer prosthetic that stimulates cell growth. After the cells had established themselves sufficiently, the prosthetic would be implanted in the patient’s body. The polymer would then biodegrade, leaving behind nothing but the patient’s own tissue. Read More

Sourced and published by henry Sapiecha

Short People Are More Likely

to Develop Heart Disease

Than Tall People, Review Finds

Science (June 9, 2010) — Short people are at greater risk of developing heart disease than tall people, according to the first systematic review and meta-analysis of all the available evidence, which is published online June 9 in the European Heart Journal.

The systematic review and meta-analysis, carried out by Finnish researchers, looked at evidence from 52 studies of over three million people and found that short adults were approximately 1.5 times more likely to develop cardiovascular heart disease and die from it than were tall people. This appeared to be true for both men and women.

Dr Tuula Paajanen, a researcher at the Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland, said that over the years there had been a number of studies that had provided conflicting evidence on whether shortness was associated with heart disease.

“The first report on the inverse association between coronary heart disease (CHD) and height was published in 1951 and, since then, the association between short stature and cardiovascular diseases has been investigated in more than 1,900 papers. However, until now, no systematic review and meta-analysis has been done on this topic. We hope that with this meta-analysis, the association is recognised to be true and in future more effort is targeted to finding out the possible pathophysiological, environmental and genetic mechanisms behind the association, with eyes and minds open to different hypotheses,” she said.

Due to the many different ways that previous studies have investigated the association between height and heart disease, Dr Paajanen and her colleagues decided to compare the shortest group to the tallest group instead of using a fixed height limit.

From the total of 1,900 papers, the researchers selected 52 that fulfilled all their criteria for inclusion in their study. These included a total of 3,012,747 patients. On average short people were below 160.5 cms high and tall people were over 173.9 cms. When men and women were considered separately, on average short men were below 165.4 cms and short women below 153 cms, while tall men were over 177.5 cms and tall women over 166.4 cms.

Dr Paajanen and her colleagues found that compared to those in the tallest group, the people in the shortest group were nearly 1.5 times more likely to die from cardiovascular disease (CVD) or coronary heart disease (CHD), or to live with the symptoms of CVD or CHD, or to suffer a heart attack, compared with the tallest people.

Looking at men and women separately, short men were 37% more likely to die from any cause compared with tall men, and short women were 55% more likely to die from any cause compared with their taller counterparts.

“Due to the heterogeneity of studies, we cannot reliably answer the question on the critical absolute height,” write the authors in their study. “The height cut-off points did not only differ between the articles but also between men and women and between ethnic groups. This is why we used the shortest-vs.-tallest group setting.”

The findings have clinical implications. Dr Paajanen said: “The results of this systematic review and meta-analysis suggest that height may be considered as a possible independent factor to be used in calculating people’s risk of heart disease. Height is used to calculate body mass index, which is a widely used to quantify risk of coronary heart disease.”

It is not known why short stature should be associated with increased risk of heart disease. Dr Paajanen said: “The reasons remain open to hypotheses. We hypothesize that shorter people have smaller coronary arteries and smaller coronary arteries may be occluded earlier in life due to factors that increase risk, such as a poorer socioeconomic background with poor nutrition and infections that result in poor foetal or early life growth. Smaller coronary arteries also might be more affected by changes and disturbances in blood flow. However, recent findings on the genetic background of body height suggest that inherited factors, rather than speculative early-life poor nutrition or birth weight, may explain the association between small stature and an increased risk of heart disease in later life. We are carrying out further research to investigate these hypotheses.”

Dr Paajanen said that it was important that short people should not be worried by her findings. “Height is only one factor that may contribute to heart disease risk, and whereas people have no control over their height, they can control their weight, lifestyle habits such as smoking, drinking and exercise and all of these together affect their heart disease risk. In addition, because the average height of populations is constantly increasing, this may have beneficial effect of deaths and illness from cardiovascular disease.”

In an editorial on the research published at the same time, Jaakko Tuomilehto, Professor of Public Health at the University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland, welcomed the study, writing: “The systematic review and meta-analysis on this topic . . . is well justified 60 years after the first observation and the hundreds of other papers which have been published since then on this topic. The results are unequivocal: short stature is associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease. This meta-analysis provides solid proof for this, but, as the authors conclude ‘The possible pathophysiological, environmental, and genetic background of this peculiar association is not known’.”

He suspects that environmental events affecting growth before and after birth may be involved. “Socio-economic adversity in childhood is . . . associated with delayed early growth and shorter adult stature. The so-called catch-up growth during the first years of life among children who are born small has negative health effects in adulthood; much of the early growth is due to greater fat accumulation. Thus, it is most likely that short stature is the link to coronary heart disease, and that tallness is not a primary factor in preventing the disease, although it indicates healthy growth. Short stature seems to be a marker for risk.”

While more work is needed to understand the exact nature of the mechanisms at work, he writes that information on height can be used now for the prevention of heart disease and other chronic diseases linked to shortness. “Full term babies who are born small are likely to be short as adults. They should receive preventive attention early on. The primordial prevention of chronic diseases should start during foetal life, and health promotion should be targeted to all pregnant women with the aim of health development of the foetus. Low birth weight and some other birth characteristics can reveal potential problems during this period of life. After that, in babies with low birth weight, it is important to avoid excessive catch-up growth, i.e. early-life fatness.”

In adult life it becomes more difficult to discover best practices, but Prof Tuomilehto, thinks it is likely short adults would benefit from more aggressive risk factor reduction.

He concludes: “Most of us know approximately our own height ranking, and, if we are at the low end, we should take coronary risk factor control more seriously. On the other hand, tall people are not protected against coronary heart disease, and they also need to pay attention to the same risk factors as shorter people.”

Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 11th June 2010

LONDON (UPI) — Brushing your teeth twice a day can lower your risk of heart disease, British researchers said.

The researchers studied the brushing habits and medical histories of more than 11,000 adults and found that people who brush less than twice a day were 70 percent more likely to develop heart disease.

Inflammation in the body, mouth and gums included, plays a key role in the buildup of clogged arteries, which can lead to heart attacks.

“If you don’t brush your teeth, your mouth can become infected with bacteria, which can cause inflammation,” Judy O’Sullivan, a cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation told the BBC in a story published Friday.

More studies are needed to determine the exact cause and effect between oral hygiene and heart disease, said Damien Walmsley, scientific adviser to the British Dental Association.

Received and published by Henry Sapiecha 7th June 2010

You’ll Hate Yourself Later

a. The Myth of Good and Bad Cholesterol

For some people, cholesterol is bad because they do not know there are two types of it. These two types are LDL and HDL – the bad cholesterol is called LDL, while the good one is called HDL. Plaques can form on one’s arteries if you have a lot of LDL in the bloodstream. Eventually, your arteries will get narrow as a result of being clogged up and it will block off blood flow. The truth is, your high cholesterol is not caused by dietary cholesterol but by other things. This is caused by excessive amounts of Tran’s fat and saturated fat. Exercise and eating a lot of fiber and unsaturated fats will do a lot to keep cholesterol down.

b. What Numbers Mean in Cholesterol

Every adult should have their cholesterol checked at least every 5 years. When you get a cholesterol test, you’ll usually get back four different results. Here are the 4 categories and the healthy range you want to be in.

Total Cholesterol – less than 200 mg/dL (5.2 mmol/L)

LDL Cholesterol – less than 100 mg/dL (2.6 mmol/L)

HDL Cholesterol – greater than 40 mg/dL (1.0 mmol/L)

Triglycerides – less than 150 mg/dL (1.7 mmol/L)

If you are over or under the desired level on any category, it is usually indicative that a diet or exercise change is needed.

c. Vitamin E and How it Can Protect the Heart

Vitamin E is an important vitamin found in leafy vegetables, nuts, and vegetable oils. It was previously believed that a Vitamin E supplement could reduce the risk of heart disease, but several studies in the last few years have shown that this supplement does little to prevent heart attacks or strokes.

d. Five Fabulous Foods to Decrease Cholesterol Levels

1. Oatmeal and Oat Bran: These contain a high amount of soluble fiber, which can lower LDL.

2. Fish: Fish is a great source of omega 3 fatty acids, which lowers LDL and raises HDL.

3. Nuts: Not only are nuts high in fiber, but they contain the healthy fats you need to keep LDL in check.

4. Plant Sterols: This is found in foods like margarine, salad dressing, orange juice, and functional cookies. 2 grams per day will lower your LDL by 10-15%.

5. Soy: This popular meat replacement can lower LDL by up to 3%.

e. Health Benefits of Plant Sterols

Plant sterols can be found in foods such as Benecol Spread, granola bars, VitaTops Muffin Tops and fat free milk. To help your heart, you should eat a lot of plant sterols-packed food and stop eating foods with saturated fat. You should know that this does not balance out a diet rich in saturated fats. To be in control of your cholesterol, you should still eat healthy and exercise often.

About the Author – Deborah H. Land writes for the   http://www.cholesterolloweringdiets.net blog,

her personal hobby website she uses to help people eat healthy to lower bad cholesterol levels.

Received and published by Henry Sapiecha 6th May 2010

5 Easy Ways to Lower Blood Pressure Using 1 Great Fruit

Have you had your lycopene today? If you ate a green salad with fresh chopped tomatoes, then you not only got a healthy dose of this powerful antioxidant, but you have also taken significant action toward lowering your blood pressure. A recent double-blind study conducted in Israel has confirmed what hearth-healthy Italians have enjoyed for centuries – tomatoes (and tomato sauce) lower blood pressure and the risk of heart disease.

The Israeli study was led up by Dr. Esther Paran, head of the hypertension division of Soroka Medical Center. It involved patients who were already being treated for hypertension, but were not responding well to the medications. Dr. Paran had patients take a supplement of tomato extract. The results were a significant drop in blood pressure after just four weeks.

Tomatoes are so effective at lowering blood pressure because they contain lycopene. This potent antioxidant is even the focus of some hybrid tomatoes grown by the Israeli company, Lycomato, in order to have higher concentrations of lycopene in each piece of fruit. Other antioxidants found in tomatoes make this one super-food in the prevention of heart disease. It can even help keep LDL cholesterol from oxidizing which makes it stick to the arteries and narrow the passage way causing blood pressure to increase.

Even during the peak growing season it can be difficult to consume four whole tomatoes each day, which is the recommended amount for having a positive impact on blood pressure. Here are some ways to get the benefits of tomatoes without having to eat them straight off the vine.

1. Make Chili. Using tomato puree, which is a concentrated form of tomatoes, as the base for your chili utilizes the antioxidants without the bulk of a whole tomato. Add some ultra-lean and high protein ground bison and kidney beans with minced garlic and onions, and cayenne pepper and you have a heart-healthy main course and a full day’s allowance of tomato.
2. Since using olive oil with the tomatoes enhances the curative quality, make your pasta sauce red with tomatoes, tomato paste and olive oil to sauté the garlic and onion. Tomato paste used in making sauce contains more than 10 times the nutrients of a single tomato.
3. Have a fresh salad as a side dish to either of these entrees and cut one whole tomato on top. You’ll get one-quarter of you tomato intake right there.
4. 
5. Drink tomato juice. It is better to make your own fresh juice so that you can control the sodium. Store bought juices can be high in sugar and sodium-based preservatives. If you have a juicer, you can make some incredible veggie juices to suit your own tastes by adding carrots, celery and some low-sodium seasonings.
6. Take a tomato supplement. If you just can’t stomach tomatoes, then a 200 mg supplement provides the equivalent of more than the recommended four tomatoes.
7. 

Adding tomatoes to your diet can reduce systolic blood pressure by 10 points and diastolic pressure by 4 points as was evident in the Israel study. Whatever way you slice it, tomatoes will  strengthen your immune system and lower blood pressure.

Enjoy your tomatoes and live a healthier life

Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 17th March 2010

Another wonder plant for healing the body.

Mimosa tenuiflora
Mimosa tenuiflora
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Fabaceae
Subfamily:	Mimosoideae
Genus:	Mimosa
Species:	M. tenuiflora
Binomial name
Mimosa tenuiflora (Willd.) Poir.[1][2]
Range of Mimosa tenuiflora
Synonyms
Acacia hostilis Mart. Acacia tenuiflora Willd. Mimosa cabrera H. Karst. Mimosa hostilis (C. Mart.) Benth. Mimosa limana Rizzini

Mimosa tenuiflora (Jurema, Tepezcohuite) is a perennial evergreen tree or shrub native to the northeastern region of Brazil (Paraíba, Rio Grande do Norte, Ceará, Pernambuco, Bahia) and found as far north as southern Mexico (Oaxaca and coast of Chiapas). It is most often found in lower altitudes, but it can be found as high as 1000 m.

Description

The fern-like branches have leaves that are Mimosa like, finely pinnate, growing to 5 cm long. Each compound leaf contains 15-33 pairs of bright green leaflets 5-6  mm long. The tree itself grows up to 8 m tall and it can reach 4-5 m tall in less than 5 years. The white,fragrant flowers occur in loosely cylindrical spikes 4-8 cm long. In the Northern Hemisphere it blossoms and produces fruit from November to June or July. In the Southern Hemisphere it blooms primarily from September to January. The fruit is brittle and averages 2.5–5 cm long. Each pod contains 4–6 seeds that are oval, flat, light brown and 3–4 mm in diameter. There are about 145 seeds/g. In the Southern Hemisphere, the fruit ripens from February to April.

The tree’s bark is dark brown to gray. It splits lengthwise and the inside is reddish brown.

The tree’s wood is dark reddish brown with a yellow center. It is very dense, durable and strong, having a density of about 1.11 g/cm³.

Mimosa tenuiflora does very well after a forest fire, or other major ecological disturbance.It is a prolific pioneer plant It drops its leaves on the ground, continuously forming a thin layer of mulch and eventually humus. Along with its ability to fix nitrogen, the tree conditions the soil, making it ready for other plant species to come along.

Medicinal uses

Disaster response

Mimosa tenuiflora “tepezcohuite” proved vital in the treatment of some of the 5000 burn victims of the 1984 San Juanico Disaster (liquid petroleum gas explosion) near Mexico City.

The Maya in Mexico have used Mimosa tenuiflora “tepezcohuite” for over 1000 years to help heal wounds.

Mimosa tenuiflora root bark

The Mayans of Mexico have used roasted Mimosa tenuiflora “tepezcohuite” bark to treat lesions of the skin for over a thousand years.

Powdered tepezcohuite bark contains large amounts (16%) of tannins, which act as an astringent, making the skin stop bleeding. This helps protect the body from infection, while the skin builds new protective tissue.

Tannins in Mimosa tenuiflora bark help protect it from microorganisms.

Tannins in the bark diminish capillary permeability. The bark provides important micronutrients such as ions of zinc, copper, manganese, iron and magnesium, which play an important role in cellular repair and protection. It also contains antioxidant flavonoids.

Mimosa tenuiflora “tepezcohuite” proved vital in the treatment of some of the 5000 burn victims in the aftermath of a series of explosions at large liquid petroleum gas explosion at a huge facility located near Mexico City in San Juan Ixhuatepec (San Juanico), November 19, 1984. It was also used to treat victims of a large 1985 earthquake in Mexico. Powder from the bark has a 2-3 hour pain killing effect on the skin. Bark powder causes skin to regenerate fully in a matter of weeks.The results and some mechanisms thereof have been confirmed in the laboratoryTepezcohuite is used to treat acne, psoriasis and herpes.

Extensive research has been performed in labs in Mexico, Canada and the United Kingdom. It is now used in commercial hair and skin products for rejuvenating skin.
The bark is known to be rich in tannins, saponins, alkaloids, lipids, phytosterols, glucosides, xylose, rhamnose, arabinose, lupeol, methoxychalcones and kukulkanins. In vitro studies have shown three times more bacteriocidal activity on bacterial cultures than streptomycin, and it works to some degree in vivo.

In addition to the above effects, tepezcohuite may protect and stimulate the generation of collagen and “elastina,” as well as providing protecting flavonoids and hyaluronic acid, a building block for tissue regeneration.^{[citation needed]}

Treating traumatic injury

For traumatic injuries, tepezcohuite is believed to protect exposed bone and to help regenerate soft tissue. As mentioned before, it is an antiseptic. It is also used in the prevention of inflammation.

Treating venous leg ulcerations

Mimosa tenuiflora has been shown to be very effective in treating venous leg ulcerations, a condition especially problematic for people with diabetes.

Other

A tea made of the leaves and stem is used to treat tooth pain.

For cases of cough and bronchitis, a water extract (decoction) of Mimosa tenuiflora is drunk. handful of bark in one liter of water is used by itself or in a syrup The solution is drunk until the symptoms subside.

Other uses

The tree is an acceptable source of forage or fodder for animals, providing vital protein and other nutrients.It does well in the dry season and in drought, while providing life saving food for local livestock and animals. Cows, goats and sheep eat the pods and leaves. There seems to be evidence that Mimosa tenuiflora forage or fodder is teratogenic to pregnant ruminants in Brazil.^[15][16]

The tree is an important source of forage for bees, especially during the dry season and in the beginning of the wet season.

Mimosa tenuiflora root nodules, like these shown from soybeans, contain nitrogen fixing bacteria, which convert air nitrogen into nitrogen fertilizer for the plant, while improving the surrounding soil.

Like most plants in the Fabaceae family, Mimosa tenuiflora fertilizes the soil via nitrogen fixing bacteria. The tree is useful in fighting soil erosion and for reforestation.

Mimosa tenuiflora is a very good source of fuel wood and works very well for making posts, most likely because of its high tannin content (16%), which protects it from rot. It is used to make bridges, buildings, fences, furniture and wheels. It is an excellent source of charcoal and at least one study has been done to see why this is the case.

The bark of the tree has a high tannin content of about 16%making it is widely used as a natural dye and in leather production.

The healing properties of the tree make it useful in treating domestic animals. A solution of the leaves or bark can also be used for washing animals in the prevention of parasites. Because the tree keeps most of its leaves during the dry season, it is an important source of shade for animals and plants during that time.

Entheogenic uses

Mimosa tenuiflora is an entheogen known as Jurema, Jurema Preta, Black Jurema, and Vinho de Jurema. Dried Mexican Mimosa tenuiflora root bark has been recently shown to have a DMT (Dimethyltryptamine) content of about 1%The stem bark has about 0.03% DMT. The bark is the part of the tree traditionally used in northeastern Brazil in a psychoactive decoction also called Jurema or Yurema. Analogously, the traditional Western Amazonian sacrament Ayahuasca is brewed from indigenous ayahuasca vines. However, to date no ?-carbolines such as harmala alkaloids have been detected in Mimosa tenuiflora decoctions, yet the root bark is consistently used without added MAOI.

This presents challenges to the pharmacological understanding of how DMT from the plant is rendered orally active as an entheogen. In this view, if MAOI is neither present in the plant nor added to the mixture, the enzyme MAO will break apart DMT in the human gut, preventing the active molecule from entering blood and brain.

The isolation of a new compound called “Yuremamine” from Mimosa tenuiflora as reported in 2005 represents a new class of phyto-indoles, which may explain an apparent oral activity of DMT in Jurema.

Propagation

For outside planting, USDA Zone 9 or higher is recommended.

In nature, Mimosa tenuiflora “. . .fruits and seeds are disseminated by the wind in a radius of 5–8 m from the mother plant; rain carries them from slopes to lower plains and human activities contribute to their dissemination.”

For cultivation, the seed pods are collected once they start to spontaneously open on the tree. The collected pods are laid out in the sun so that the pods open up and release their seeds. The seeds can then be planted in sandy soil with sun exposure.

Scarification of the seed via mechanical means or by using sulphuric acid greatly increases the germination rate of the seeds over non-treatment. The seeds can be sown directly into holes in the ground or planted in prepared areas.

The seeds can germinate in temperatures ranging from 10–30 °C, but the highest germination rate occurs at around 25 °C (about 96%), even after four years of storage. Germination takes about 2–4 weeks.

It is also possible to propagate Mimosa tenuiflora via cuttings.

Trimming adult Mimosa tenuiflorae during the rainy season is not recommended because it can cause them to perish.

See also

• Dimethyltryptamine
• Psychedelic plants
• Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 27th Nov 2009
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