I am sure we have all taken a punt to try something that is not evidence based medicine and by that I mean a proper clinical trial compared to the tosh we often see on tele were x out of y say they prefer z in some rubbish survey….yep your typical skin care advert….guff that sites such as google and youtube pushes your way etc etc etc.
Likewise you get bias in the scientific literature as there is an over expression of positive data especially when you look at animal work. Who is interested in stuff that doesnt work….we have lab books full of the stuff. You try and weave the negatives with the positives to get it out there, becuase why do you want people to repeat negative work….However I have to say you can shout as many times as you like that cannabidiol is not the wonder therapy, yet people (AKA scientists) still keep doing studies to say the opposite, using doses of drug that are meaningless. I say if you take enough toothpaste it will stop EAE. So this paper caught my eye to ask what is Oxymatrine
Li M, Huang F, Song J, Liang R, Zhou Z, Lin Y, Hu L, Gu J, Yang H, Hou S, Ma H, Wang P. Oxymatrine possibly inhibits differentiation and maturation of oligodendrocytes in the remyelination of the toxin-induced demyelination animal model. Metab Brain Dis. 2025 Oct 18;40:293. doi: 10.1007/s11011-025-01726-3.
Apparently “Oxymatrine (matrine oxide, matrine N-oxide, matrine 1-oxide) is one of many quinolizidine alkaloid compounds extracted from the root of Sophora flavescens, a Chinese herb.
Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4276798.
I have spent many a long hour boiling Chinese Herbs to stink out the house to create a foul tasting concoction that seemed to do the trick.
This concoction was supplied by university doctors and was commercialised. I once spoke to one of the entrepreneurs who tried to make it an easier delivery and they put the plants into alcohol to make a tincture and nearly cause someone to need a liver transplant as it was toxic. The Chinese boil it for a reason., just like you need to boil kidney beans to get rid of the toxin.
However this is one example where the compound does not do the trick in the beasties and it acts as a warning of buyer beware and do these things with your eyes wide. open because it is your pockets that are open and being emptied. Yep academia plays its role in hyping stuff that people will take before there is evidence that it works or not.
The paper says “compounds like OMT may exert dualistic effects on neurodegeneration depending on disease stage, cellular targets, or microenvironmental cues, warranting cautious translational exploration”.
Translated again Buyer Beware…..Gosh it sounds like a purchasing a house
Source: multiple-sclerosis-research.org