The hairy rockrose (Cistus incanus), a native to the Mediterranean tea plant, contains a large quantity of polyphenols. Especially in Greece the cistus-tea has a long tradition, however, has passed into oblivion over the years. In 1999, Cistus Incanus has won the „European Medicinal Plant of the Year“ award and was thus rediscovered. (More info, incl. scientific studies, down below.)
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This man is steadily improving and curing Lyme. Two years ago he had strong signs of paralysis, wasn’t able to survive without strong painkillers and could hardly speak:
(Video is in German and has been aired by German public broadcaster MDR (Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk = Central German Broadcasting)
Alternative upload (in case the video ‘disappears’):
Botany
South Europe is the home of the cistus incanus bush which has a pink-red blossom. Its aromatic and resinous scent lies over the typical macchia countryside with its low and dense expanses of bushes at harvesting time in the spring. Here, in one of the sunniest regions of Europe, the bush which loves heat and light prefers to grow on ground which is uncultivated and rich in magnesium. As a true survival expert, the grey-haired Cistus – or Rockrose – with its fireproof roots, ensures quick rejuvenation after the forest fires which frequently rage in the macchia: a very resistant early settler, robust and energetic, with high ecological significance.History
The use of cistus incanus can be traced back to the 4th century B.C. In the form of laboriously gained resin – so-called ladanum – the plant was brought to Egypt and the Sudan. Since this time, the grey-haired cistus has also been used as a tea to be drunk for pleasure and relaxation. From today’s point of view the method of gaining resin at that time causes some amusement. The shepherds drove their goats through the cistus thicket so that the sticky substance of the plant remained in their hair. Subsequently, the sticky coats were shorn off the animals and boiled in water. The valuable resin then remained on the surface of the water. The Christian churches still know resin from cistus incanus today as an important component of incense. The aromatic plant made international headlines in the year 1999: an expert jury awarded cistus incanus ssp. tauricus the title “European plant 1999”.Cistus incanus in Greece
The grey-haired cistus played a central role in some areas of Greece until the 1960’s: in summer and winter alike, the bitter tea was held in high regard as a thirst quencher and as a drink for relaxing after a strenuous day. Dr. Georgios Pandalis remembers his childhood in Greece over a glass of Cystus® tea. At that time he was sent by his grandmother to harvest the tea herbs which she needed as a midwife for washing young mothers who had just given birth. Today cistus incanus has largely been replaced by more “fashionable“ drinks.
The sun-soaked leaves are collected in spring and summer and laid in the shade. Here the fresh sea breezes waft over the scented harvest and ensure a gentle drying process.Polymorphism
Cistus incanus -plants, which completely look identical, vary in their biochemical structure exceedingly, that is, they possibly have quite different attributes. In this context, location is very important. Although Cistus incanus grows in a lot of southern European areas, as far as we know the tea was only drunk in some areas of Greece and not in Crete, Turkey or Italy. Consequently, it is questionable whether all varieties are suited for consumption.
Institute of Phytogeography, University of Hannover, has got the following explanation: Under the influence of climate and soil Pink Rockrose has developed in polymorphic ways over the course of evolution. In doing so it passed through the process of adaptive radiation, which is the reason for their morphologic and biochemic diversity. Pink Rockrose is a world champion of polymorphism, its morphologic variability is significant, which is expressed in its complex taxonomic naming in literature. Furthermore, numerous eco-species of this sort are differentiated in biochemic variations.Dr. Pandalis discovered a particular composition of vital substances in a special variety of the hoary rockrose, which grows on the Chalkidiki peninsula in Greece. It is accordingly registered at the European Community Plant Varieties Office under the name Cistus incanus L. Pandalis® and serves as a raw material for Cystus 052® and for Cystus ®herbal tea.
Kalus U1, Grigorov A, Kadecki O, Jansen JP, Kiesewetter H, Radtke H.Author information
AbstractIn this prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical study we aimed to investigate the clinical effect of a Cistus extract (CYSTUS052) in 160 patients with infections of the upper respiratory tract. The extract contains a high percentage of highly polymeric polyphenols. In cell culture and in a mouse model it exerts antiviral and antimicrobial activities. Principal active constituents of the genus Cistus are polyphenolic compounds. Plant-derived polyphenols have been shown to be strong antioxidants with potential health benefits. Various reports have appeared on the antiviral and antibacterial potential, including several reports describing the antiviral activity of polyphenols against influenza virus. Clinical studies on the effectiveness of Cistus incanus are scarce. Only one controlled application observation study demonstrated the effectiveness of a Cistus extract. The present randomised, placebo-controlled clinical study was designed to compare the symptom scores in patients with common cold treated either with CYSTUS052 or with placebo. A score of subjective symptoms decreased significantly over the course of treatment with Cistus, whereas treatment with placebo resulted in a less distinct decrease of symptoms. Among the inflammatory markers investigated, the C-reactive protein was mostly affected by Cistus and decreased significantly in the treatment group.
Rebensburg S1, Helfer M1, Schneider M1, Koppensteiner H1, Eberle J2, Schindler M1,3, Gürtler L2, Brack-Werner R1,4.Author information
Abstract
Novel therapeutic options are urgently needed to improve global treatment of virus infections. Herbal products with confirmed clinical safety features are attractive starting material for the identification of new antiviral activities. Here we demonstrate that Cistus incanus (Ci) herbal products inhibit human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections in vitro. Ci extract inhibited clinical HIV-1 and HIV-2 isolates, and, importantly, a virus isolate with multiple drug resistances, confirming broad anti-HIV activity. Antiviral activity was highly selective for virus particles, preventing primary attachment of the virus to the cell surface and viral envelope proteins from binding to heparin. Bioassay-guided fractionation indicated that Ci extract contains numerous antiviral compounds and therefore has favorably low propensity to induce virus resistance. Indeed, no resistant viruses emerged during 24 weeks of continuous propagation of the virus in the presence of Ci extracts. Finally, Ci extracts also inhibited infection by virus particles pseudotyped with Ebola and Marburg virus envelope proteins, indicating that antiviral activity of Ci extract extends to emerging viral pathogens. These results demonstrate that Ci extracts show potent and broad in vitro antiviral activity against viruses that cause life-threatening diseases in humans and are promising sources of agents that target virus particles.
– CYSTUS052, a polyphenol-rich plant extract, exerts anti-influenza virus activity in mice:
Droebner K1, Ehrhardt C, Poetter A, Ludwig S, Planz O.Author information
AbstractInfluenza, a respiratory disease caused by influenza viruses, is still a worldwide threat with a high potential to cause a pandemic. Beside vaccination, only two classes of drugs are available for antiviral treatment against the pathogen. Here we show that CYSTUS052, a plant extract from a special variety of Cistus incanus that is rich in polymeric polyphenols, exhibits antiviral activity against a highly pathogenic avian influenza A virus (H7N7) in cell culture and in a mouse infection model. In vitro and in vivo treatment was performed with an aerosol formulation, because the bioavailability of high molecular weight polyphenols is poor. In MDCK cells, a 90% reduction of plaque numbers on cells pre-incubated with the plant extract was achieved. For in vivo experiments we used a novel monitoring system for influenza A virus-infected mice that allows measurement of body temperature and gross motor-activity of the animals. Mice treated with CYSTUS052 did not develop disease, showed neither differences in their body temperature nor differences in their gross motor-activity and exhibited no histological alterations of the bronchiolus epithelial cells.
Ehrhardt C1, Hrincius ER, Korte V, Mazur I, Droebner K, Poetter A, Dreschers S, Schmolke M, Planz O, Ludwig S.Author information
Abstract
Infections with influenza A viruses still pose a major threat to humans and several animal species. The occurrence of highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses of the H5N1 subtype capable to infect and kill humans highlights the urgent need for new and efficient countermeasures against this viral disease. Here we demonstrate that a polyphenol rich extract (CYSTUS052) from the Mediterranean plant Cistus incanus exerts a potent anti-influenza virus activity in A549 or MDCK cell cultures infected with prototype avian and human influenza strains of different subtypes. CYSTUS052 treatment resulted in a reduction of progeny virus titers of up to two logs. At the effective dose of 50 microg/ml the extract did not exhibit apparent harming effects on cell viability, metabolism or proliferation, which is consistent with the fact that these plant extracts are already used in traditional medicine in southern Europe for centuries without any reported complications. Viruses did not develop resistance to CYSTUS052 when compared to amantadine that resulted in the generation of resistant variants after only a few passages. On a molecular basis the protective effect of CYSTUS052 appears to be mainly due to binding of the polymeric polyphenol components of the extract to the virus surface, thereby inhibiting binding of the hemagglutinin to cellular receptors. Thus, a local application of CYSTUS052 at the viral entry routes may be a promising approach that may help to protect from influenza virus infections.
Wittpahl G1, Kölling-Speer I1, Basche S2, Herrmann E2, Hannig M3, Speer K1, Hannig C2.
Author information
Abstract
The Mediterranean plant Cistus incanus is rich in polyphenols and has shown several pharmacological activities, mainly antibacterial effects. Furthermore, in situ studies revealed that a C. incanus infusion reduces the initial bacterial adhesion in the oral cavity due to the polyphenols, an indication that C. incanus might reduce the risk of caries disease. In the present study, the polyphenols from four different commercial C. incanus herbal teas were extracted by standardized accelerated solvent extraction for in vitro tests and by an infusion for in situ tests. Both extracts were characterized qualitatively and quantitatively by high-performance liquid chromatography and only the polyphenol content differed slightly. By means of diode array detection and mass spectrometry, 29 polyphenols, including ellagitannins, flavanols, and glycosylated flavonols, were identified. Thereby, only quantitative but no qualitative differences between the four samples were detected. Furthermore, the in vitro antibacterial activity of the C. incanus accelerated solvent extracts against Streptococcus mutans, one of the primary cariogenic bacterial species, was examined using a live/dead assay (BacLight®). With this approach, C. incanus yielded antibacterial properties. Additional in situ experiments indicated that rinses with a C. incanus infusion reduced the initial bacterial colonization of enamel samples exposed to oral fluids for over eight hours. Furthermore, it was shown by transmission electron microscopy that the application of a C. incanus infusion modifies the ultrastructure of the acquired enamel pellicle, yielding a more electron-dense morphology. It can be assumed that the polyphenols are responsible for the observed effects.
Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.
And this video proves that scientific studies that prove the potency of cistus incanus against viruses, incl. influenza virus & H5N1, are known and totally ignored by the government:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbmtw9wPHbw
Description:
Unglaublich, einfach mal ansehen…. Die Cistus Incanus ist das wohl wirksamste Mittel gegen Viren und das ohne Nebenwirkungen… Auch die Regierung weiß dies, ignoriert es jedoch… Ich verstehe sowas nicht!