Herbal alternative to tamiflu ? True star anise Illicium verum

[tocqueville]

tamiflu is made out of it. ONLY the Chinese subspecies is the interesting one, the Japanese/Vietnamese species are toxic.

http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/fruit_veg_diary/star_anise.asp

[greyl]

1. Probably not. Tamiflu is made 'using' Star anise

There are a dozen processes between Star anise & tamiflu (Oseltamivir).

Once shikimic acid is extracted from the seeds of star anise it is converted to epoxide in a process requiring three chemical steps carried out at low temperature on seven separate sites.

The most dangerous part of the process involves the conversion of epoxide into azide in a reaction that produces highly explosive material. This is carried out by specialist companies that handle the material in small quantities to reduce the risk of explosion.

Currently only one US company and two European companies are approved by the drug regulatory authorities in America and Europe to carry out the process.

The final step involves the production of crystal strands of the active ingredient of Tamiflu, whose chemical name is oseltamivir, which are vacuum dried and converted to capsules.

-By Jeremy Laurance

http://www.advfn.com/stocks/roche-producers-of-tamiflu_10073966.html

edit: added author

[tocqueville]

2. damn, I thought I could motivate my Pernod drinking...

besides that's terrorist stuff you describe...

[greyl]

4. forgive me,

but I don't understand what the heck you said. :)

[bluedonkey]

6. Pernod

is made from anis.Very tasty!So is Uzo!

[greyl]

12. "besides that's terrorist stuff you describe..."

I'm still lost on that one.

[tocqueville]

14. making booms with seeds

nasty stuff...

[greyl]

18. oh. Duh! :) nt

[RedOnce]

3. Here is a possibility

Beat the Bird Flu Virus fee download: http://www.truthpublishing.com/survivinginfluenza.html

[benburch]

5. Nope.

MANY synthesis steps between the mother chemical and Tamiflu. I think it HIGHLY unlikely that Star Anise has ANY positive activity against the flu.

[REP]

7. Makes Those Selling Star Anise Richer

I'm one of those damned chronically ill/disabled people, so I'm supermegaultra intolerant of things like this, even though the OP probably meant well. Most of the time, these 'cures' are offered to the sickest and most desperate and at best, all they do is lighten the wallet. {/cranky}

[KitchenWitch]

8. Snake Oil

God I hate those that prey on the desperate.

[REP]

9. You Say Snake Oil, I Say Bullshit...

But I think we agree - you just have nicer manners!

[KitchenWitch]

10. for right now I have nicer manners

Do not get me started though! I can be very evil, in my own right!

[REP]

11. No Selling You Magnets, Then?

How about a super vitamin that will cure stuff you don't even know you have?

[KitchenWitch]

13. Oh and that Kevin Trudeau book

that touts Scientology as a great way to avoid disease.

[SpiralHawk]

15. Herbs have a long medicinal history here on Turtle Island

And they have demonstrated their efficacy with the people over many millennia. Many learned elders, Grandmothers mainly but some Grandfathers, are very wise in thier selection, preparation, and administration of herbal remedies. Their work has proved itself. This Herbal Way is not the answer to everything and certainly commercial exploitation and mass marketing can diminish the spirit of the plants, roots, seeds and so forth, and thus diminish their potential benefit.

Yet there is a Medicine Way with herbs for many ailments. The person in search of healing needs to make a sincere and careful search for the Medicine Ally among our relatives in the plant realm.

[greyl]

17. How did the natives of Turtle Island use herbs to beat Smallpox? nt

[nadinbrzezinski]

19. Yes many medicines DO COME from herbs

but in this case there are way too many steps between the original and the end product

There are some drugs used today (lasix) comes from plants, and this one is in almost pure form... but in this case the number of steps between the Anis and the final product are way too large.

Now I am not one to knock off herbal medications, heck I will be the first one to sing the praises of Chamomille and other drugs (yes in tea form), but I am also aware that there are some thigns for what you actually need the actual pharma

[tocqueville]

21. Gotta be first tested...

I believe myself that the active antiviral part is of course more than just anise seeds... specially after the descriptions made by Roche.

But that doesn't imply that the seeds could contain components very much alike and with protecting effects, or even the active part in very small quantities. It wouldn't be the first time. Most of our medecines are derivates of natural products and it's often the observation of local medical "shamanic" practices that put reserachers on the track.

Remember that the Tamiflu doesn't "cure" the flu, specially at a later stage. It makes you less likely to catch it.

[nadinbrzezinski]

22. Actaully what it does it that it stops teh

spread of the virus, that is why it is critical to get it within 48 hours of symptoms and it seems the recomended course is 10 days....

Oh and I am not a doctor, just what I have gethered from the lit. I inted to have a long discusion with my doc next time I see her

[northzax]

16. best alternative to Tamiflu?

[nadinbrzezinski]

20. to a point

the recomendation from the WHO should be followed, our minimum should be FDA having doses for at least 25% of the population, don't expect that with these fools

[northzax]

23. nice of the WHO to ask people to buy

25 billion doses of a drug from a single company, isn't it? (25% of the global population is about 2 billion people, a course of tamiflu, as I understand it is about 15 doses.) 20 doses will cost you roughly $100. let's see. 25 billion divided by 20 is, oh, 1.25 billion packages. Let's say a wholesale cost of $50 per package (a 100% markup to retail) that would be sales of $62.5 billion for Roche. That ain't bad, huh? for a drug that may not even do anything?

[nadinbrzezinski]

24. Ok who else makes it at this point?

If you answered NOBODY you win the price

On the plus side, Roche is aparently going to allow it to go generic ok, and I suspect that is WHO's pressure on them

[mduffy31]

25. Tamiflu

I can for one say that Tamiflu does actually work. The Nursing Home I used to work for had an epidemic of Influenza A last year. In past years when elderly people got infected there was a mortality rate there of at least 33%. This last flu season we put them on either Tamiflu and Rimantidine, and we only lost 2 people. I myself developed a high fever with all of the flu like symptoms and I went of Tamiflu and I didn't develop the flu, so to say that they are just in it to make money, yes they will make a ton on it, but the product actually works. Now the thing that I don't believe works sometimes is the flu vaccine. Over the last few years being a nurse I get the vaccine, but usually in a few weeks our infection control person tells us that it isn't the right one.