Corydalis by Ray Sahelian, M.D.

Corydalis yanhusuo is an herb used in Chinese medicine. See Chinese Herbs for information.

Corydalis and Allergy
An alkaloidal component, dehydrocorydaline, isolated from Corydalis Tuber (tuber of Corydalis turtschaninovii forma yanhusuo), inhibits antibody-mediated allergic reactions but also influences cell-mediated allergic reactions. The inhibitory effect of Corydalis Tuber on allergic reactions may be partially attributed to dehydrocorydaline.

Corydalis and Heart
Corydalis yanhusuo rhizoma extract reduces infarct size and improves heart function during myocardial ischemia/reperfusion by inhibiting apoptosis in rats.
Phytother Res. 2006 Jun;20(6):448-53. Department of Pharmacology on Traditional Chinese Medicine, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310031, PR China.
The aim of the present investigation was to evaluate the effect of an extract from Corydalis yanhusuo W.T., a Chinese herbal medicine, on ischemia /  reperfusion injury and to determine the mechanism involved.. These results suggest that the protective effect of Corydalis yanhusuo on myocardial ischemia /  reperfusion injury is closely associated with the inhibition of myocardial apoptosis through modulation of the Bcl-2 family.

Corydalis and Pain Relief
Effects of Corydalis yanhusuo and Angelicae dahuricae on cold pressor-induced pain in humans: a controlled trial.
J Clin Pharmacol. 2004 Nov;44(11):1323-7. Tang Center for Herbal Medicine Research, Committee on Clinical Pharmacology, and Department of Anesthesia & Critical Care, Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago, Illinois
In this controlled clinical trial, the authors evaluated the analgesic effects of 2 herbal medicines, Corydalis yanhusuo and Angelicae dahuricae. They used the cold-pressor test-a simple, reliable, and widely used model in humans-for induction of tonic pain. They demonstrated that after a single, oral administration of the extracts of Corydalils yanhusuo and A. dahuricae, the pain intensity and pain bothersomeness scores significantly decreased . Dose-related analgesic effect was also observed. Results from this study suggest that Corydalis yanhusuo and A. dahuricae may have a potential clinical value for treating mild to moderate pain.

Corydalis and Cataract
Studies of anti-cataract drugs from natural sources. I. Effects of a methanolic extract and the alkaloidal components from Corydalis tuber on in vitro aldose reductase activity.
Biol Pharm Bull. 1994 Mar;17(3):458-9. Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kinki University, Osaka, Japan.
The inhibitory of Corydalis tuber (Corydalis turtschaninovii Besser forma yanhusuo Y. H. Chou et C. C. Hsu) was tested on crude rat lens aldose reductase, an enzyme involved in the complications of diabetes. The methanolic extract inhibited aldose reductase, while the aqueous extract (CA-ext) was ineffective. Only dehydrocorydaline, of the seven alkaloidal components isolated from corydalis methanol extract inhibited aldose reductase. It is suggested that the inhibitory effect of corydalis methanol extract on aldose reductase may be partially attributed to dehydrocorydaline.

Corydalis and Inflammation
Anti-inflammatory activities of methanolic extract and alkaloidal components from Corydalis tuber.
Biol Pharm Bull. 1994 Feb;17(2):262-5. Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kinki University, Osaka, Japan.
A methanolic extract (CM-ext) from Corydalis tuber (Corydalis turtschaninovii Besser forma yanhusuo Y. H. Chou et C. C. Hsu) has been screened for activity in experimental models of inflammation. Corydalis methanol extract and its alkaloidal components, dehydrocorydaline, d-glaucine and l-tetrahydrocoptisine inhibited compound 48/80-induced histamine release from peritoneal mast cells of rats. Since these substances from Corydalis tuber were found to be effective in both the acute and chronic phases of inflammation, the crude drug Cprydalis tuber can be considered to exert anti-inflammatory activity.

Corydalis Yanhusuo emails
Q. Do you know about the Chinese medicinal herb Corydalis Yanhusuo. The herb itself is very hard to source. It's active ingredient is THP, or
tetrahydrapalmatine. Om Chi herbs (in Oregon and on the web) has an extract of the herb that is 80% THP. I have used that extract. Also I have obtained from a friend in Europe some wild harvested Corydalis Lutea. So I have tried that species of herb in teas, as well as the extract. I found that a dose of 50mg of extract for my 120lb wife, and 75mg of the extract for myself (225 lbs), (yes I do own a very accurate milligram scale) was very effective in inducing sleep within 30-60 minutes. I would characterize it as a restful sleep. And as long as you don't do something stupid (like take a cap after midnight and expect to wake up for work at 4:30am), there is no grogginess in the morning. The tea with the Corydalis Lutea also worked, but not as easy to deal with. It required relatively a lot of herb. Anyway I was wondering your opinion of this herb / extract, and it's relative safety to use occasionally for sleep. My idea of occasionally is somewhere between 1-12 times in a month maximum, and only when something is keeping me from sleeping.