Asthma is a disease characterized by increased responsiveness of the trachea and bronchi to various stimuliand manifested by widespread narrowing of the airway passages. Pathological changes associated with asthma include thickening of the smooth muscle, mucosal edema; hyperemia, thickening of the epithelial basement membrane; hypertrophy of mucus glands, and plugging of the airways by thick viscid mucus. The exact nature and physiopathology of asthma is unknown. Current understandings of the events, which precipitate, aggravate or maintain an asthmatic attack, suggest that abnormalities exist in the interactionof the adrenergic, cholinergic and peptidergic portions of the nervous system. The effects of the chemical neurotransmitters on the asthmatic airways is further complicated by the interaction of neurotransmitters with the cells of the immune system and on vascular physiology.

To summarize, physiopathology of asthma is a complex interaction between the nervous system, the immune system, and the vascular system within the airways.

While our understanding of asthma is growing, unfortunately so are the numbers of patients diagnosed with the condition. In fact, the prevalence of asthma has doubled in the United States in the past 20 years.

Despite advances in the understanding of asthma physiopathology and newer drugs to treat this condition, there is an alarming increase in the rate of both asthma related morbidity and mortality. Current traditional medical management of asthma has been disappointing or even controversial.

Since the introduction of inhalers, the mortality rate from asthma has grown substantially. Some leading experts suggest that rising asthma mortality is iatrogenic (caused by the treatment). The long-term safety of inhaled bronchodilators is unknown. Too frequent or prolonged use of these dilators may actually increase airway hyper responsiveness, one of the known fundamental defects in asthmatic airway function.

Not surprisingly, as asthma morbidity and mortality continues to climb, people are increasingly turning to alternatives to traditional medical treatment. Although dissatisfaction with medical treatment does not appear to explain this phenomena, greater than 1 in two asthma patients have tried alternative medicine remedies according to one study. The widespread use of alternative medical practices by asthma patients is stimulating interest in research of alternative asthma interventi

Treatment of asthma

The best recommendation is to look at the results of these studies, and then determine if the studies demonstrated worthwhile improvement in asthmatic symptoms. There are many complex interactions in the physiopathology of asthma. As mentioned above the exact mechanisms of the asthmatic attack are not completely understood.

However, we do know that one of the major players in the chemistry of asthma pathology are the leukotrienes. Leukotrienes are products of the Lipoxygenase enzyme pathway (LOX).

The effects of lipoxygenase inhibitors were investigated using human lung cancer cell lines and A/J mice. RT-PCR, 5-, 12-, and 15-lipoxygenase detected mRNA detected in NSCLC cells. One of the natural occurring ingredients in the BioZama™ , MW-302, inhibited 5-LO activity in adenocarcinoma cell line NCI-H1264. Usingan MTT assay, MW-302, MK591 and AA861, inhibited the growth of NSCLC cell lines tested with IC50 values of 3, 2, and 7 microM, respectively.

Using a clonogenic assay, 10 microM MW-302, significantly reduced NSCLC colony number. MW-302 significantlyslowed NSCLC xenograft growth in nude mice.

When the tumors were excised and analyzed, those nude mice treated with MW-302 showed significantly moreapoptotic figures than did the tumors from the untreated mice. A/J mice treated with urethane, developed adenomas after 4 months. MW-302 administration significantly reduced lung adenoma number. These data indicate that lipoxygenase inhibitors inhibit lung cancer growth, prevent lung carcinogenesis, and inhibit non small- cell lung cancer growth!

The BioZama™ are organic plant extracts from various medicinal plants, habituated in the North American Mojave Desert and the South American Amazon Forrest. They contain phytochemicals, like MW-302, which is a potent inhibitor of most, if not all, of the Lipoxygenase iso-enzymes!

Mangat HS, D'Souza GA, Jacob MS

Eur Respir J 1998 Aug; 12(2): 341-4

Moody TW, Leyton J,
Exp Lung Res 1998 Jul-Aug;24(4):617-28
Cell and Cancer Biology Department, National Cancer Institute,