Medigreen announces MAF, a new botanical-based anti-allergy formulation
2009-04-22
At a forum focusing on allergy causes and treatment strategies held in Taipei, botanically-derived health products company Medigreen Biotechnology unveiled its new anti-allergy formulation "MAF (Make Allergy Far away)" and announced the upcoming June launch of the formulation in Taiwan.

The event was hosted by Medigreen and Taipei's National Yang-Ming University Innovation and Incubation Center, where Medigreen's research center is located. The gathering also marked the Innovation and Incubation Center's ten-year anniversary.

Speaking first at the forum was Dr. Hsiao-Yi Lin, chief of the Division of Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine at Taipei Veterans General Hospital. Lin's presentation covered allergy facts and figures from the perspective of conventional Western medicine, and explaining the connection between asthma and other allergies, the genetic link that meant that allergies often ran in families, the cause and mechanism of allergies at the cellular level, allergy symptoms, current treatments and treatments under development, and so on.

Lin explained that allergy treatment varied depending on how severe the condition and symptoms.

"Treatment ranges from the early use of mast cell stabilizers or antihistamines, up to more severe treatments, including the administration of corticosteroids, which can have unpleasant side effects," he said.

Also speaking was Dr. Chiou-shia Cheng, a doctor of Chinese medicine from Taipei's renowned Yun Tson Herb Medicine Clinic, who also examined allergy causes, mechanisms and treatment options but from the perspective of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

"While TCM treatments tended to take longer and the effects were less strong, they also produced fewer and less severe side effects," explained Cheng.

Speaking next and introducing Medigreen's new anti-allergy formulation was Dennis Chen, project manager at the company's Research and Development Center. Chen described how MAF formulation was the result of research combining both Western and Eastern understanding of the cause and treatment of the human allergic response.

"The formulation is a proprietary processed blend of botanical extracts," explained Ryan Lee, business development manager at Medigreen. It's made up of extracts of Chinese Yam, Indian Bread, Loquat Leaf, and Mulberry Leaf, among others," he said.

Lee added that the formulation would be sold in hospitals and drug stores in Taiwan beginning in June, coming in either capsule or a peach-flavored powdered form, and suitable for all ages.

=====================================================

About Medigreen
Medigreen Biotechnology Corp. is a Taipei, Taiwan-based botanically-derived product research and development company, focusing on providing R&D and new products for the global pharmaceutical and nutraceutical markets. Founded in 2002, Medigreen has an exciting and diverse drug development portfolio, containing potential block-buster products in anti-allergic therapeutics, adjunctive treatment agents for cancer chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and a treatment and prevention therapy for gastric ulcers caused by Helicobacter pylori bacteria or alcohol. For further details, please visit the company website at http://www.medigreen.com.

About MAF formulation
MAF ("Make Allergies Far away") has been developed as a multiple-target anti-allergy health product. Its ingredients are a proprietary mix of botanical extracts, including Chinese Yam (Dioscorea opposita), Indian Bread (Poria cocos), Loquat Leaf (Eriobotrya japonica), and Mulberry Leaf (Morus alba), all safe for human consumption. The effectiveness of MAF for allergic rhinitis (commonly known as hay fever) in a mouse study undertaken by Medigreen compared to the treatment regimes of antihistamines, corticosteroids and probiotics is shown (right). MAF produced a reduction of nasal cytokine concentration over the cytokines types IL-4, IL-5, IL-13 and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF- α) greater than the other treatments, reducing concentrations below even the control group's level. MAF also reduced the levels of serum total and allergen (OVA)-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) concentration in mice, compared to other treatment regimes. Additionally, MAF treatment lead to lower lung and bronchial inflammation, as measured in cell biopsy studies.