Jiaogulan Tea

Jiaogulan is a longevity herb. This jiaogulan is called the"immortality herb". Teas and capsules are made from jiaogulan.The chinese herb jiaogulan has been used by the people in the mountainous regions of Southern China as an energizing agent. They would take it as a tea before work to increase endurance and strength, and after work to relieve fatigue. It has also been taken for general health and has been recognized as a rejuvenating elixir. Jiaogulan has been described "Like ginseng but better than ginseng." Another story states that in a village near Fanjing Mountain in Guizhou province, the inhabitants would drink jiaogulan tea instead of the more common green tea and as a result many people there were living to be 100 years of age. Thus jiaogulan gained notority as "the herb of immortality. A famous doctor discovered that jiaogulan contains four kinds of saponins exactly like those in Panax ginseng and seventeen other kinds of saponins very similar to those in Panax ginseng. His research team has identified and named eighty-two saponins from jiaogulan, whereas Panax ginseng has been found to have up to 28 saponins. Although these two plants are not related, they contain the same major components: saponins, a substance that has the unique quality of dissolving both in water and oil, and when mixed with water and shaken, will foam up. In Panax ginseng the saponins are called ginsenosides, in jiaogulan, or amachazuru, they are called gypenosides. While doing research the team saw that jiaogulan increased the activity and strength of mice in a swimming test, showing the herb's ability to improve endurance. Another study on mice showed the herb's effectiveness as a neoplasm or tumor inhibitor, and a third showed the herb's ability (adaptogenic) to prevent the unpleasant side effects of dexamethasone (hormone treatmen). These studies used mice as subjects; nevertheless having been tested on mammals, they were a significant marker for the herb's possible effectiveness on humans. This was borne out by subsequent studies on humans. Jiaogulan would prove, in studies, to enhance endurance, inhibit tumors and help protect the cellular immunity in humans, as well as provide many other health-promoting benefits.