Belamcanda Chinensis root extract for Skin and Body

Belamcanda chinensis root extract, a widely used traditional Chinese medicine known as She Gan, is a
flowering perennial herb native to East Asia. For thousands of years in China, the rhizome of Belamcanda chinensis has been used to treat inflammation, mumps, acute mastitis, oxyhepatitis, and asthma, as well as throat disorders such as cough, tonsillitis, and pharyngitis

• Anti-inflammatory Activity: Many studies show that the isoflavones extracted from Belamcanda chinensis affect the inflammatory process of the mammalian system and possess anti-inflammatory as well as an immune-modulatory activity both in vitro and in vivo. Studies have shown that tectoridin and tectorigenin from iris exhibited excellent anti-inflammatory activity by markedly inhibiting hyaluronidase activity (a proteolytic enzyme that specifically degrades extracellular hyaluronic acid) in vitro and in vivo. This shows that Belamcanda Chinensis root extract can calm red, irritated, or inflamed skin and can be used in cosmetics.

• Anti-tumour Activity: the anti-tumor activity of Belamcanda Chinensis root extract was studied and they concluded that tectorigenin may be a possible therapeutic agent for leukemia because both tectorigenin and genistein exhibited cytotoxicity against various human cancer cells. Some of the Belamcanda chinensis extracts have been evaluated to determine their potential as anticancer drugs. Among them, tectorigenin was found to be useful for the prevention or treatment of human prostate cancer by in vitro and in vivo methods.

• Estrogenic Activity: certain compounds isolated from the rhizomes of Belamcanda chinensis, including resveratrol, iriflophenone, tectorigenin, tectoridin, and belamphenone, had been shown to stimulate MCF-7 and T-47D human breast cancer cell proliferation.

• Scavenging Free Radicals and Anti-oxidative Activity: Belamcanda Chinensis root extract has a high antioxidant level and because of that it is able to scavenge free radicals and thus prevent aging.

• Anti-Alcohol Injury and Hepatoprotective Effects: The results indicate that both compounds have therapeutic potential in the treatment of alcoholism and liver injury.

• Hypoglycaemic and Hypolipidaemic Effects: Studies have shown that tectorigenin and tectoridin isolated from the rhizomes of Belamcanda chinensis could inhibit aldose reductase, which plays important role in diabetic complications. In vitro studies also showed that tectorigenin had potent hypoglycaemic activity. Intraperitoneal administration of tectorigenin significantly reduced the blood glucose, LDL-cholesterol, total cholesterol, VLDL-cholesterol, and triglyceride levels in the streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats, thus showing potent hypoglycaemic and hypolipidaemic effects in vivo.

• Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Effects: Tectorigenin had significant protective effects against damage to the vascular endothelial cells induced by low-density lipoprotein. One study reported that the anticoagulant effect of Belamcanda chinensis is due to one of its components, acidic polysaccharide. Tectorigenin was also found to inhibit arachidonic acid and collagen-induced platelet aggregation, suggesting that tectorigenin may be one of the active ingredients that resulted in the antithrombotic effect of Belamcanda chinensis.

• Antibacterial and Antifungal Activity: Previous studies have shown that the Belamcanda chinensis had different degrees of antibacterial effects on many bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus, pneumococcus, meningococcus, influenza A, Group B streptococcus, E. coli, typhoid and paratyphoid bacillus, and Haemophilus influenza bacilli. An in vitro study showed that isoflavone glycosides did not inhibit the growth of Helicobacter pylori. However, their irisolidone, aglycones, tectorigenin and genistein, inhibited Helicobacter pylori growth. The antifungal activity of Belamcanda chinensis against 17 strains of fungi and 6 strains of bacteria were investigated, and the results showed that tectorigenin had marked antifungal activity against dermatophytes of the genus Trichophyton.

• Skin allergies: it has been reported that four days after treatment with Belamcanda chinensis root extract, a patient presented with red rashes of various sizes and blisters on the skin of the neck and back, possibly due to an allergy to the antiviral injection. The symptoms gradually disappeared after medicine withdrawal and anti-allergy treatment.

• Systemic muscle rigidity: one report indicated that patients had muscle rigidity of the limbs, neck, and abdominals after using Belamcanda chinensis. Symptoms included speech and language impairment, masseter tension, physical impairment, and plate-like abdominal muscles.

Belamcanda chinensis seed extract should be suitable for all skin types including sensitive skin and skin of colour, but do make sure to conduct a test patch to see if you are allergic to this extract.