Mitra, Achintya, Sur, Tapas Kumar, Upadhyay, Sachhidananda et al. · Journal of Ayurveda and integrative medicine · 2018 · DOI
Researchers tested an orchid extract called Coelogyne cristata on aging rats that had been made fatigued through repeated forced swimming. The extract improved the rats' movement, reduced depression-like and anxiety-like behaviors, and restored protective antioxidant levels in their brains, performing similarly to ginseng, a known stress-relief supplement.
Understanding how plant-derived compounds may restore antioxidant balance in the nervous system could inform exploration of new therapeutic approaches for ME/CFS, particularly given emerging evidence that oxidative stress may contribute to ME/CFS pathology. This research bridges traditional medicine with modern neurobiology.
This animal study does not establish that Coelogyne cristata would be safe or effective in humans with ME/CFS. Forced swimming-induced fatigue in aged rats is not equivalent to the complex, multi-system pathology of human ME/CFS. Results from rats cannot be directly translated to patient populations without human clinical trials.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
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