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Rehmannia

Rehmannia is a plant that is also known as Shu Di Huang, Sheng Di Huang and Di Huang. The root and the parts of this plant that grow above the ground are used to make medicine. Rehmannia is often found in herbal preparations in traditional Chinese and Japanese medicine. Rehmannia is used for diabetes, anemia, fever, osteoporosis and allergies, as well as a general tonic.

How does Rehmannia work?

There is not enough information about how Rehmannia might work for any diseases. However, some of the chemicals in Rehmannia appear to affect the immune system and may reduce pain and swelling. Some chemicals in Rehmannia may also lower blood sugar levels.

How effective is Rehmannia?

There is not enough scientific data to make a statement about the effectiveness of Rehmannia for diabetes, anemia, fever, osteoporosis and allergies, as well as for use as a general tonic. Further scientific research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of Rehmannia in these applications.

Safety and side effects

There is not enough information to say whether Rehmannia is safe and harmless or what side effects Rehmannia may have.

Precautions and warnings

Pregnancy and lactation: Not enough is known about the use of Rehmannia during pregnancy and lactation. For this reason, pregnant and breastfeeding women should avoid Rehmannia.

Diabetes: Since Rehmannia could affect blood sugar levels, diabetics should avoid Rehmannia or be very careful when using it. Diabetics taking Rehmannia should carefully monitor their blood sugar levels.

Surgeries: Rehmannia may affect blood sugar levels and there are therefore concerns that ragweed may interfere with blood sugar control during and after surgery. For this reason, you should stop taking ragweed two weeks before an operation.

Interactions

Care should be taken when combining Rehmannia with the following medications:

Diabetes medications

Rehmannia could lower blood sugar. Diabetes medication is also used to lower blood sugar levels. Taking Rehmannia in combination with diabetes medication could result in an excessive drop in blood sugar levels. For this reason, blood glucose levels should be carefully monitored. It is possible that the dosage of the diabetes medication may need to be adjusted.

Dosage

An appropriate dosage of Rehmannia depends on various factors such as age, state of health and others. At the present time, there is insufficient scientific data to make a statement about appropriate dosage ranges for Rehmannia. For this reason, you should follow the dosage instructions on the label and/or consult a doctor or pharmacist before use.

References

  1. Kim H, Lee E, Lee S, et al. Effect of Rehmannia glutinosa on immediate type allergic reaction. Int J Immunopharmacol 1998;20:231-40.
  2. Kim HM, An CS, Jung KY, et al. Rehmannia glutinosa inhibits tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-1 secretion from mouse astrocytes. Pharmacol Res 1999;40:171-6.
  3. Oh KO, Kim SW, et al. Effect of Rehmannia glutinosa Libosch extracts on bone metabolism. Clin Chim Acta 2003;334:185-95.
  4. Sasaki H, Nishimura H, Morota T, et al. Immunosuppressive principles of Rehmannia glutinosa var. hueichingensis. Planta Med 1989;55:458-62.
  5. Zhang R, Zhou J, Jia Z, et al. Hypoglycemic effect of Rehmannia glutinosa oligosaccharide in hyperglycemic and alloxan-induced diabetic rats and its mechanism. J Ethnopharmacol 2004;90:39-43.