Some of the earliest-known uses of pine for health date back to 1536 when the Iroquois gave Jacques Cartier bark and needles from pines to treat him and his critically ill crew. These pine compounds provided the vitamin C the men needed at the time to treat scurvy.
Fast-forward to today and pine needles, and tea made from pine needles, are gaining prominent attention from both scientists and doctors who work within the health and wellness field.
"Pine needles, especially those from eastern white pines (Pinus strobus), are known to provide many different compounds and nutrients, including antioxidants, vitamin C, essential oils, amino acids, and flavonoids," writes Lance Schuttler for The Epoch Times.
"One of the most fascinating compounds that scientists began rediscussing in 2021 is the naturally-occurring shikimic acid found within some pine species – like the eastern white pines."
(Related: Check out our earlier coverage with Jeffrey Prather who during the "pandemic" told the Health Ranger all about the health benefits of pine needles and other natural remedies for covid.)
Primary active ingredient in Tamiflu comes from pine needles
When it comes to covid and other forms of influenza and the common cold, pine needles are a powerful, yet widely overlooked, remedy that could have saved countless lives over the past several years.
Pine needles are loaded with shikimic acid, which just so happens to be the primary active ingredient in the antiviral drug Oseltamivir, which is also commercially known as Tamiflu.
Tamiflu was pushed during the "pandemic" as a cure for the Chinese Virus, while little, if any, attention was afforded to the plants from which its constituents, most notably shikimic acid, are derived.
First discovered in 1885 by Dutch chemist Johan Fredrik Eykman, shikimic acid is also known in biology as the Shikimate Pathway. This pathway is crucial for life, involving a seven-step pathway used by bacteria, fungi, archaea, algae, some protozoans, and plants for the biosynthesis of vitamins, folates, and the aromatic amino acids phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan.
"These amino acids help produce neurotransmitters and compounds like serotonin, melatonin, epinephrine, dopamine, CoQ10, and thyroid hormone – specifically through the help of beneficial gut bacteria," Schuttler explains.
Another thing shikimic acid does is support healthy platelet and cardiovascular function in humans. It also supports a healthy gut and digestive system while improving the integrity and functionality of the myelin sheath, a fatty substance that surrounds neurons and functions as "insulation" for all of their electrical communication.
"Shikimic acid is also known to exert anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral, and anti-inflammatory properties, amongst other important properties," Schuttler adds.
Perhaps not surprisingly, many of the chemical contaminants that plague the toxic American food supply interfere with the shikimate pathway. Various pesticides and herbicides, including the infamous Roundup (glyphosate) herbicide from Monsanto, are enemies of the shikimate pathway.
"The pesticide creates a few different harmful and noteworthy effects, such as inhibiting the crucial cytochrome p450 enzymes as well as suppressing the function of the p53 gene. This particular gene is known loosely by scientists as the 'Guardian of the Genome,'" Schuttler further notes.
"With respect to the shikimate pathway, glyphosate targets this seven-step process by inhibiting a key enzyme known as EPSPS (5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase). When EPSPS is inhibited, the building of the amino acids necessary for the production of proteins is blocked and the plant dies."
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