Japanese Knotweed from a Clinical Perspective

Popular Herb For Co-infections

Japanese Knotweed has been the hype as an herb used to help fight co-infections, such as bartonella, for many years. Sometimes hype is hype because everyone uses it whether it works or not. Japanese knotweed contains polysaccharides that feed infections that make people respond with an increase in symptoms. Some polysaccharides are known to have antimicrobial properties. Japanese knotweed does have antimicrobial properties. However, it also has enough sugars in one serving to feed bugs and make people react negatively.

Feeding Pathogens

When we feed bugs (bacteria, yeast, mold, viruses, protozoa, etc), bugs get excited. When the bugs get excited, they become more motile, proliferate more rapidly, and they release more antigens. When bugs become more motile, the immune system responds and causes an increase of immune reactions, such as but not limited to, inflammation and pain that can cause an array of different symptoms; histamine reactions that can affect sleep and cause sinusitis; limbic reactions, and reactions associated with any system of the body. When we keep the bugs quiet,the immune system quiets down, thus quieting down symptoms.

Biochemical Make-up of Japanese Knotweed

That said, yes, Japanese knotweed has good antimicrobial properties. It contains anthraquinones such as emodin, physcion, chrysophanol, rhein, anthragly· coside A, fallacinol, citreorosein, questin, questinol, 2-methoxy-6-acetyl-7-methyljuglone, torachrysone-8-0-D-glucoside, stilbene glycosides, such as, 3.4′,5-trihydroxystilbene (resveratrol), resvera- troi-3-0-8-D-glucoside (polydatin); tannins such as, catechin, protocatechuic acid and other constituents such as 2,5-dimethyl-7-hydroxychromone, 7-hydroxyl- 4-methoxy-5-methylcoumarin, 8-sitosterol glucoside, amino acids (Bensky). But it also contains polysaccharides that feed pathogens. So why not use an herb like this without the polysaccharides that feed bugs?

People who are very ill with a very high pathogenic load cannot tolerate any amount of sugar that feed bugs. They will most times experience an increase in symptoms, sometimes leading to emergent situations.

Clinical Experience with Japanese Knotweed

As a clinician, I work with people with Lyme disease and autoimmune disease caused by an excess pathogenic buildup. When I designed the Trillium formulas, I made absolute certainty certain there were no polysaccharides or certain starches that feed pathogens in any of the herbs. When people begin a protocol I put them on, I have people remove all polysaccharides that feed infections from their diet. When polysaccharides and starches that feed infections are not consumed, pathogens get fatigued, then the immune system does not need to fire as much, which contributes to a gradual significant decrease in symptoms. By not consuming biochemical properties alone that feed bugs is enough to decrease symptoms dramatically.

There was a time when Trillium wanted to try Japanese knotweed in Trillium’s Intra-Cell II formula. It has been used for decades. The intention was not to conform to what everyone else was doing in regard to treatment, but to try it and see how people responded, even though it contained polysaccharides that feed infections. So, Trillium put it in a batch of Intra-Cell II. Within a few days, everyone taking Intra-Cell II started having an increase in immune reactions. People proceeded to get worse and not better, just from one herb in one formula with approximately 8 other herbs. As well, they were also taking another formula with 10 other herbs with no polysaccharides that feed pathogens. As soon as the patients were recommended to discontinue that formula, after one bottle, and resumed the Intra-Cell II formula, their symptoms ceased completely in 3-7 days..

Trillium’s Aim for Perfection

With my protocol and herbal formulas, people’s bodies and systems get very clean. Their symptoms subside as much as they can for what they have at that time and continue to decrease month by month. Bugs are most likely waiting to be fed. When they are, they increase their motility which in turn increases immune function which in turn increases the severity and frequency of symptoms.

If I were to make formulas like everyone else does, according to the Buhner protocol, Trillium would be more well known. But instead, Trillium sticks to what works faster and better, with less symptoms that brings people to sustained remission without the further need for treatment. 

What Could be Used in Replacement of Japanese Knotweed

Chinese qing hao (wormwood stem), sida acuta, cryptolepis, Chinese an ye (eucalyptus leaf) and there are more. Chinese chai hu and can guo are not as powerful, however they do have powerful intracellular guiding properties. Knowing how to use herbal combinations is very important to optimize the desired result one is after. Merely using an herb with antimalarial properties is not enough. When dealing with certain pathogens, it is also important to rotate different herbs with different antimicrobial properties but with the same function; as many pathogens develop resistance within a relatively short period of time. For example, coming from a clinical perspective, I have seen people with an abundant babesia and or mycoplasma infection have an increase in symptoms within 7.5 weeks from the first dose of whatever they use; whether it be wormwood, cryptolepis, sida acuta and more. To prevent the increase in symptoms due to microbial resistance, it is a good idea to rotate herbs at 7 weeks. Research studies say 8 weeks for these two pathogens, however in my clinical experience, based on people’s symptoms, resistance more times than not begin at 7.5 weeks. For bartonella, depending on the species, 8 weeks seems to be the norm for that family of pathogen to develop resistance. As soon as a drug or herb is rotated, then symptoms subside. When the rotation is continued every 7 weeks, then the pathogenic load decreases quite nicely if everything else is done correctly.

© Patrick Lynch, DAOM July 2023

References:

I. Bensky, Dan, et al. Chinese Herbal Medicine Materia Medica. Eastland Press, 2004.