By Dalia Acosta
HAVANA, May 23 2001 (IPS)

Scientific researchers in Cuba say the flower of the majagua tree could provide a good alternative remedy for asthma, a chronic ailment that affects nearly 150 million people worldwide and is one of the top 10 killer diseases.

A study carried out in Cuba indicated that the flower of the majagua, a tropical tree belonging to the Malvaceae, or mallow, family, and which grows in the West Indies, has antioxidant properties that can help combat asthma, a chronic disease marked by inflammation of the bronchial tubes.

Antioxidant substances found in the majagua flower are “nearly 50 percent effective” in fighting the causes of asthma, Armando Cuellar, the head of a University of Havana chemical- pharmaceutical team, told the local press.

In asthmatics, leukocytes like eosinophil produce damaging substances, including “reactive oxygen species”, which hurt the airways. Several chemical compounds contained in the majagua flower were found to inhibit the formation of reactive oxygen species, which means the plant could be used to treat asthma, said Cuellar.

The study focused on striking out at the causes of asthma, rather than merely easing the symptoms.

“You can describe how it feels, but if you haven’t gone through this, it’s hard to really imagine it,” said Roberto Gómez, a 69-year-old pensioner who all his life has suffered “shortness of breath which makes it impossible to even climb just three stairs.”

“I worry. Living like that really tires you out. And I see him getting more and more tired every day,” said Gómez’s daughter Alina, who recalled that the only time she saw her father well was “during the three years he was working in the ex-Soviet Union, because the climate there was dry, which is good for asthmatics.”

Among the symptoms of asthma are shortness of breath, wheezing and a constant dry cough. An asthmatic attack often occurs after a coughing fit or accompanied by allergic symptoms like itchy eyes. But it can be triggered simply by a bout of laughing, and some people have a crisis nearly every day.

Most asthmatics are sensitive to allergens, which number around 200, including dust, pollen, animal hair, dander, secretions or excretions, fungus, mold, feathers, ashes and tobacco smoke.

Attacks can also be triggered by chemical substances, exercise, or even psychological factors. And in a country like Cuba, where the level of humidity in the air is high, the climate is also a factor.

Research shows that asthma attacks can cause damage to the lungs. Furthermore, the disappearance of symptoms for several years does not mean the patient has been cured.

In women, symptoms tend to flare up during the first menstruation, pregnancy and menopause.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) reports that asthma claims 180,000 lives every year, a full 80 percent of which are avoidable, while one-third of the world’s 150 million asthma- sufferers are minors.

The steady rise in the number of asthmatics in the world “is one of the great mysteries of modern medicine,” according to WHO, which says the incidence of asthma and the number of asthma- related hospitalisations has grown 40 percent in the past 10 years.

A sharp increase has also been seen in the incidence of respiratory illnesses like chronic bronchitis and pulmonary emphysema, which cause nearly three million deaths around the world every year.

Around 25 percent of patients admitted to hospital in Cuba suffer respiratory tract problems.

According to the latest Public Health Ministry statistical yearbook, more than 4.9 million cases of acute respiratory disease were reported in 1998, or 441.6 per 1,000 inhabitants. The rate of patients attended for asthma that year was 66 per 1,000, with a slightly higher incidence among women.

Health professionals in Cuba recommend that asthma patients not only take steroids like prednisone, but follow relaxation, meditation and yoga therapies and incorporate so-called “green medicine”, including natural remedies, into their treatment plan.

The majagua flower, which is now recommended for asthma, has long been used by Cubans as an effective pain-killer and cough remedy, said Cuellar.

The study on the majagua flower formed part of a research programme by the governmental Pharmaceutical Chemistry Centre aimed at finding anti-viral properties in plants native to Cuba, in order to come up with new pharmaceutical products.

However, specialists at the University of Exeter in Britain say the benefits of “green medicine” in fighting asthma have not yet been conclusively demonstrated.

Most of the 17 studies reviewed contained errors or did not use standardised products, which made it difficult to ascertain their effectiveness, said a report by researchers at that university.

Meanwhile, researchers at the General Hospital of Southampton, also in Britain, said last year that asthma could be erradicated in 10 years, even though it is the only treatable chronic disease with a steadily growing mortality rate.

The solution, they said, would be to find a vaccine prepared with natural bacteria containing the CD14 molecule, which acts in the intestines, regulating the immune system and preventing allergic reactions.

Excerpt: