Mechanisms of action of PhytoChi® in the words of a natural medicine expert
Mechanisms of action of PhytoChi® in the words of a natural medicine expert
Mechanisms of PhytoChi® action on body harmonization
It must be realized in advance that when using combinations of plant extracts based on the principles of traditional Chinese healing, classical pharmacological principles of Western medicine do not apply, especially the theory of action on so-called receptors, which relies on the lock/key model and the principle of dose-dependent effect.
The composition of PhytoChi® is optimized to maintain homeostasis in the body, as a basic prerequisite for maintaining body balance in terms of the Chinese yin/yang principles and thus permanent health.
The term homeostasis comes from the Greek "homoios" i.e. unchanging, same, stable and "stasis", i.e. state.
Processes in the organism constantly aim at achieving and maintaining an "optimal environment" – this state is called "stability of the internal environment" (factors such as body temperature, oxygen and carbon dioxide concentration in the blood, blood density, blood pH, concentration of various minerals and other substances).
It is therefore about maintaining health, which fundamentally differs from treatment, which restores, adjusts and changes important biochemical indicators so that they return to "normal limits", i.e. it heals by fundamentally intervening in deviated biochemical health indicators, so-called biomarkers.
Health can best be defined as the ability of functional adaptation to changed living conditions or changes in the environment. This adaptation arises by maintaining the above-mentioned factors and biomarkers within the range of tolerance limits, where they can only move without fundamentally deviating. The following figure provides a graphic representation of these processes:
"Dietary supplements", which PhytoChi belongs to, serve this maintenance of health, and the principle of maintaining homeostasis was recognized by the Council of Europe in Strasbourg as a justification for the effect of similar preparations that do not treat, but help support, maintain and optimize the best possible "stability of the internal environment" of the organism, which thereby remains within the limits of sustainable health.
During the aging of the body, due to various stress situations such as psychosocial changes, negative emotions, attacks by various pathogens and parasites, physical exertion, changes in weather and the environment, there is practically constant "allostatic load", which tries to "disrupt" the body, especially during greater wear and tear, or "get under its skin" with pathogenic agents and initiate the movement towards a state of illness. Through this dysregulation, physiological parameters deviate from the above-mentioned tolerance limits of homeostasis, and this tends to become temporarily unsustainable with the appearance of the first symptoms (so-called prodromal symptoms) of disease and aims at a more permanent abnormal/pathological state.
A complex composition of selected plant extracts acts against the deviation from homeostatic balance, many of which act as so-called adaptogens, i.e. substances helping to cope with various changes inside the body caused by changes in the external surroundings and environment. They therefore have: 1) a non-specific effect, such as increasing overall physical resistance to stress, 2) a normalizing effect on homeostasis regardless of the nature of the action trying to disrupt it, and 3) they are safe for use because they do not fundamentally affect normal body functions. These substances are supplied by standardized extracts of ginseng, eleuthero and schisandra.
Others act as immunomodulators that harmonize, i.e. optimize immune reactions to a healthy state – thus strengthening insufficient immunity and reducing exaggerated immunity in terms of allergic reactions. Furthermore, so-called immune complexes are formed in larger quantities from blocking microbes and their toxins by non-specific immunity, which must be gradually removed from the body. This includes astragalus, goji, reishi, job's tears and aloe gel juice.
During metabolism, many potentially harmful free radicals are formed, which, in addition to damaging cell structures, can also damage DNA, the carrier of genetic information. During its copying, various errors can occur, leading to the formation of mutated cells, which are a danger for creating initial neoplasms, so-called precancerous lesions. The immune system must first recognize these as mutated, i.e. foreign, and then destroy them with so-called killer cells. Mutated cells also mask themselves, and if compromised immunity does not eliminate these altered cells, natural substances must step in, especially polyhydroxyphenols and some natural dyes, which attach to the walls of the altered cells and thus initiate so-called natural cell death, or apoptosis, with final clean removal of the cells from the body. These substances are richly represented in knotweed and turmeric, while flavonoid antioxidants protecting DNA are used in licorice and rosehip fruits.
During the aforementioned permanent allostatic load, the body also reacts by upsetting other regulatory systems, e.g. cortisol, activation of pro-inflammatory cytokines and prostaglandins, catecholamines and hormones, which need to be brought back to normal production and breakdown by turning off disruption signals and inducing a subjective feeling of well-being – the substances in passionflower and tangerine peel act towards this.
Long-term stress of psychological origin can lead to the disruption of the neuroendocrine-immunological "brain-gut" axis, resulting in poor digestion of the upper or lower dyspeptic syndrome type, where so-called dysmicrobia (predominance of problematic microbes over symbiotic ones) occurs in the digestive tract. This is further supported in a vicious circle by increased production of the enzyme indoleamine 2-3 dioxygenase, which breaks down serotonin and tryptophan as its source, creating a serotonin deficiency in the brain and thus a tendency toward depressive moods. To improve digestion, the PhytoChi extract combination includes cinnamon, turmeric, and also schisandra protecting the liver from toxic damage.
Overall, the combination contains many natural substances that prevent changes in genetic transcription by triggering the body's natural defense enzymes, such as glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and also contribute to the proper functioning of the so-called "mismatch repair protein," which repairs already damaged DNA on the fly.
In conclusion, it must be noted that all the mentioned balance systems for maintaining health are of a dynamic nature, and a human individual contains much more bacterial DNA than their own DNA. Maintaining proper microbial diversity is a prerequisite for health, although on an individual level, because every person has their own "microbiome" (a set of symbiotic bacteria and commensal yeasts and molds) given by genetic makeup and what they have encountered during life since birth. Therefore, maintaining dynamic balance at various levels is important for a healthy and long active life.
Member of the Central Advisory Board for Medicinal Plants of the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic and member of the board of the European Botanical Forum Brussels.
