According to the National Kidney Foundation, more than 20 million Americans have chronic kidney disease and 20 million others are at increased risk. One way to help prevent and treat kidney conditions is through complementary medicine and its use of herbs. Since many herbs can also cause problems for patients who already have kidney disease, you should always check with your doctor before starting any alternative treatment.
Astragali and Angelica
Traditional Chinese medicine has frequently combined the herbs astragali and angelica to treat kidney diseases. A study at China's First Hospital and Institute of Nephrology induced acute renal injury in rats that were then treated with the A&A extract combination. The researchers found that A&A protected the kidneys against reduced blood flow and oxygen and accelerated both functional and tissue recovery.
Cranberry
Cranberry juice is often reported to decrease urine levels of calcium and increase levels of magnesium, potassium and oxalate in urine, factors which can help prevent kidney stones from forming. One research study at the Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town, suggested that 500 mL of cranberry juice with 1,500 mL of water was effective in helping prevent the formation of oxalate kidney stones.
Ginseng
Preliminary research suggests that a form of ginseng ordinarily not available in the U.S. known as Panax notoginseng, or PNG, may help diabetics with kidney damage. The study, conducted at the Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, treated one group of patients with Ticlid, a commonly-prescribed drug for renal disease, and the other with PNG. The results were similar enough that the researchers concluded PNG may be as effective as the prescription drug.
Grape Seed Extract
Laboratory animals with an induced form of kidney failure were treated with grape seed extract by scientists at Yugoslavia's University School of Medicine. After treatment, the animals showed a reversal of the experimental renal failure, which the study, published in "Renal Failure," contributed to the antioxidant activity of proanthocyanids, antioxidant compounds present in the extract.
Rhubarb
Rhubarb is frequently used to treat chronic renal failure in both China and Japan. A study at the Chinese Materia Medica treated rats with renal failure with rhubarb extract for three weeks and found that the extract improved the survival rate and protected the kidneys of the CRF rats better than an untreated control group.
Salvia
Extracts of Radix salviae miltiorrhizae, commonly known as salvia, red sage or dan shen, was administered to laboratory animals with acute renal failure at Shenyang Pharmaceutical University's Department of Pharmacy. The treated rats had a much higher survival rate than the untreated group, as well as much less kidney damage, verifying the extract's preventive and therapeutic effects on ARF.
References
- Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi: Preventive and Therapeutic Effects of Radix Salviae on on Acute Renal Railure
- Renal Failure: Reversal of Acute Renal Failure with Seeds of Grape
- Chinese Medical Journal: Astragali and Angelica Protect the Kidney
- Journal of Ethnopharmacology: Assessment of the Renal Protection and Hepatotoxicity of Rhubarb Extract in Rats
- NIH MedlinePlus: Ginseng
