Faculty of Health Sciences
School of Medicine
Department of Pharmacology
Selected Highlights from Research Findings
The Department of Pharmacology has proven scientifically for the first time in preclinical and clinical studies that humic acid possesses anti-inflammatory activity and is safe at dosages as high as sixty milligram/kilogramme. Two separate clinical trials were executed, a trial on patients suffering from hay fever and a trial on patients suffering from osteoarthritis of the knee. In both cases it has been proven that this product was effective in reducing inflammation. Results obtained from preclinical studies and from a clinical trial done on patients suffering from hay fever were presented at the South Africa Pharmacology and Toxicology Congress that took place on 2 - 5 October 2007 at Buffelspoort. The studies were done on a product derived from a safe brown coal source from the Letrobe valley in Australia which was formulated as potassium humate. Results indicated that humic acid inhibit the binding cells, associated with inflammation, to specific "sticky" molecules on the walls of blood vessels in the vicinity of the inflammation reaction. Another interesting finding by this team was that humic acid inhibits the activation and/ or release of certain blood products (for example cytokines and complement) responsible for stimulating and attracting these cells to sites where autoimmune and allergic reactions usually take place, such as airways and joints. In this way humic acid could protect areas of existing inflammation by stopping inflammatory cells from reaching affected sites, "sticking" to the nearby blood vessels and releasing toxic substances at these sites.
Contact person: Prof CEJ Van Rensburg-Medlen.
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