A sloka (stanza) in the Rig Veda says, "Let all the medicinal plants become sweet. In India, the use of plant-based products to cure disease - the Ayurvedic system of medicine - dates back to the Vedic period, c. Another Chinese remedy, a decoction of kudzu root drunk with tea, is believed to cure dipsomaniacs. The Chinese, who have a penchant for tea, have always held the beverage to be good for health. The discovery of flavonoids in tea is just one example of the scientific processes that underlie a large number of traditional practices, many of which had hitherto been dismissed as superstition or quackery. Thus, by preventing oxygen from binding to IDL, flavonoids can reduce the risk of heart ailments. ![]() The oxygen-IDL combination sticks to blood vessels and clogs them, thereby impeding the flow of blood and leading to high blood pressure, or sometimes even a small tear in the heart muscle. However, medical scientists now say that flavonoids are chemicals belonging to the class of anti-oxidants that prevent oxygen from binding to or reacting with a form of cholesterol called IDL. Till recently, flavonoids - essentially brightly coloured flower pigments - were thought to aid the pollination process by attracting bees and butterflies. The East abounds with many such informal medical practices, but it is only recently that scientists are waking up to their beneficial properties. Hertog's discovery supports the belief held by most Chinese that tea is good for health. ![]() SCIENTISTS the world over are agog at the discovery of flavonoids in tea by Michael Hertog of the National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Protection, at Bilthoven in the Netherlands. Science reveals the magic in herbal cures
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