Epimedium sagittatum. 淫 羊 藿 Yín yáng huò   Barrenwort   Family: Berberidaceae    
PART USED: Leaves
Nature: Warm    FLAVOR: Pleasant
FUNCTIONS
1. Warms the Kidneys and strengthens the Yang element (virility), removes excess moisture and flatulence.[1]
INDICATIONS
1. Impotency, weakness in back and knees.[1]
2. Neurasthenia.[1]
3. Rheumatoid numbness and pain, insensitivity.[1]
COMBINATIONS
- Kidney Yin and Yang deficiency: Warms and Tonifies the Kidney Yang, supplements and secures the Kidney Jing, nourishes the Blood Morinda Combination- Ba yin yang tang
PREPARATIONS: Decoction. Leaves 15 g for each dose.[1] Can also be steeped in white wine.[1]
HABITAT: Found growing on hillsides, in damp shady bamboo groves or in cliff crevices.
DESCRIPTION: Perennial evergreen herb. Rhizomes creeping, in nodular formation. Basal leaves 1-3, 3 parted compound: central leaflet oval to ovate-lanceolate, apexes acuminate, bases cordate: leaflets on both sides. Flowers: in spring, light yellow terminal flowers appear to form racemose or panicle inflorescences. Fruit: an ovoid-rounded follicle.
References
Inner Path can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.
Research

Neuroprotective properties of icariin in MPTP-induced mouse model of Parkinson's disease: Involvement of PI3K/Akt and MEK/ERK signaling pathways.
Chen WF, Wu L, Du ZR, Chen L, Xu AL, Chen XH, Teng JJ, Wong MS.
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Epimedium sagittatum is a traditional Chinese herb normally which is used to treat the osteoporosis, cardiovascular dysfunction, and to improve neurological and sexual function in China, Korea and Japan. Icariin is the major active ingredient in Epimedium sagittatum. In the present research, we examined the neuroprotective effects of icariin on dopaminergic neurons and the possible mechanisms in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease (PD).
METHODS:
Ovariectomized PD mice were treated with vehicle or icariin (3 days before MPTP injections) with or without the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitor LY294002 or mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK) inhibitor PD98059. The dopamine (DA) content in the striatum was studied by HPLC. Western blot was used to determine the protein expressions of Bcl-2, Bax and Caspase 3 in the striatum. The numbers of tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive (TH-IR) neurons in the substantial nigra pars compacta (SNpc) were assessed by immunohistochemistry. The activation of Akt and ERK by icariin were detected in doparminergic MES23.5 cells.
RESULTS:
Icariin pretreatment could ameliorate the decreased striatum DA content and the loss of TH-IR neurons in the SNpc induced by MPTP. The MPTP-induced changes of Bcl-2, Bax and caspase 3 protein expressions in the striatum could be reversed by icariin pretreatment. Blockade of PI3K/Akt or MEK/ERK signaling pathway by LY294002 or PD98059 could attenuate the increase of DA content in the striatum and TH-IR in the SNpc induced by icariin in PD mice model. Additionally, icariin treatment alone significantly induced the phosphorylation of Akt and ERK in a time dependent pattern in dopaminergic MES 23.5 cells. These effects were abolished by co-treatment with LY294002 or PD98059.
CONCLUSION:
These data demonstrated that icariin has neuroprotective effect on dopaminergic neurons in PD mice model and the potential mechanisms might be related to PI3K/Akt and MEK/ERK pathways. PMID: 28190476 DOI: 10.1016/j.phymed.2016.12.017  Phytomedicine. 2017 Feb 15;25:93-99. doi: 10.1016/j.phymed.2016.12.017. Epub 2016 Dec 29. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Angiogenesis and anti-angiogenesis activity of Chinese medicinal herbal extracts.
Wang S, Zheng Z, Weng Y, Yu Y, Zhang D, Fan W, Dai R, Hu Z.
Abstract
The aqueous extracts of 24 herbs traditionally used as curing ischemic heart disease in clinic in China were screened for their in vitro angiogenic activity, another twenty-four traditionally used as anti-tumor or anti-inflammatory remedies in China were screened for their in vitro anti-angiogenic activity. The activity of angiogenesis was determined by quantitation of vessels on chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) model and cell proliferation of cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAECs). Among the herbal extracts examined, the aqueous extracts of Epimedium sagittatum, Trichosanthes kirilowii and Dalbergia odorifera showed the strong angiogenetic activity both in CAM and BAECs models; and the aqueous extracts of Berberis paraspecta, Catharanthus roseus, Coptis chinensis, Taxus chinensis, Scutellaria baicalensis, Polygonum cuspidatum and Scrophularia ningpoensis elicited significant inhibition at a concentration of 1g dry herb /ml.
PMID: 15010258 DOI: 10.1016/j.lfs.2003.03.005 Life Sci. 2004 Apr 2;74(20):2467-78. Life Sci. 2004 Apr 2;74(20):2467-78. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Repair of Critical Calvarias Defects With Systemic Epimedium sagittatum Extract.
Burim RA, Sendyk DI, Hernandes LS, de Souza DF, Correa L, Deboni MC.
Abstract
It is well established in reconstructive surgery the repair of great bone defects is a difficult goal to be achieved. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of an extract rich in icariin on bone neoformation in critically sized defects in rat calvaria. Under continual saline irrigation, a circular bone defect was created in 40 rat calvarias with an 8-mm diameter trephine drill. Animals were randomly divided into a test group that received an Epimedium sagittatum extract (containing 5.8 mg/mL of icariin) and a control group that received an equal volume of saline solution. Substances were administered daily through a feeding tube until euthanasia. After 7, 14, 21, and 42 days, 5 animals from each group were euthanized. Calvaria defect samples were fixed in 10% formalin for 48 hours, X-rayed, and histologically processed. In the test group, there was a significant reduction in the bone defect area on X-ray images and an increase in new bone area in all of the experimental periods in the test group. At 42 days, the bone in the test group also exhibited a significant reduction in osteocyte (P = 0.002) and osteoclast density (P = 0.041). The authors conclude that administration of systemic Epimedium extracts containing high concentrations of icariin can induce bone neoformation and reduce osteocyte and osteoclast densities, thereby altering the normal deposition and remodeling patterns that are present in critically sized bone defects.
PMID: 26982112 DOI: 10.1097/SCS.0000000000002451  J Craniofac Surg. 2016 May;27(3):799-804. doi: 10.1097/SCS.0000000000002451. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov