PLT Test Blog

Many natural products like Ginseng and Curcumin do have long known medicinal properties but suffer from extremely low bioavailability, which limits their benefit. Ginsenosides are compounds found in the Ginseng plant. They are metabolized by the gut flora into active compounds that include Compound K.   Compound K has been shown to have a variety of pharmacological actions such as anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-cancer and vasorelaxation.   It also has interesting effects that relate to autism and other neurological disorders. Compound K (CK) has extremely low bioavailability (circa 5%) which limits it potential therapeutic benefit. There are expensive versions of ginseng that aim to maximize Compound K (CK) production in the gut, but they do nothing to improve how much gets from the gut into the bloodstream. It is possible to modify Compound K by making an ester. This ester has been shown to be highly bioavailable and that means the theoretic benefits, shown in test tub...

Rather like negotiating with North Korea, today’s post does rather meander. It does in the end up with some interesting options for some people.   Korea - the centre of Ginseng research This post was prompted by research highlighted by our reader Ling, which suggested that bumetanide responders (i.e. people with high intracellular chloride) might benefit from a GABA B ant agonist.  There has been quite a lot of coverage in this blog about agonists of GABA B receptors, like Baclofen and Arbaclofen. Some people with an autism diagnosis do indeed seem to benefit, ranging from some with Fragile-X to others with Asperger’s. Russian-developed GABA B agonists like Phenibut and Pantogam are widely used by adults self-treating their behavioural/emotional disturbances. Some Aspies have commented in this blog that far from helping, Baclofen made them feel worse; perhaps the opposite therapy might help? (the Goldilocks scenario, from the previous post)  The paper below shows how a G...