From the ancient repertory of Traditional Chinese Medicine comes eucommia ulmoides, a plant with valid and safe physiological properties on our cardio-circulatory system and on those biological mechanisms that serve to maintain the balance of our pressure.

Dùzòng, the prehistoric rubber tree

The Eucommia ulmoides is a tree in endangered native of China and currently available mostly in cultivated form, while in the wild its availability is almost impossible. The bark is part of the 50 fundamental herbal ingredients found in the pharmaceutical repertoire of Chinese herbal medicine, where it is called Dùzòng (In Chinese: ??). For this reason, its cultivation is widespread throughout China.

Eucommia is the only member of the Eucommiaceae family. It is also known as "Gutta-percha Tree" or "Chinese rubber tree", but has nothing to do with the "Gutta-percha Tree" of its Asian-east or with the rubber tree of South America.
It is also the only rubber tree with a high resistance to cold, and the fossil records indicate how in prehistoric times this plant was native to Europe and of North America.

Eucommia in Traditional Chinese Medicine

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Eucommia bark is mainly used as a tonic of the kidneys and the liver , thus rebalancing their respective meridians, as well as for > treat imbalances of the lower body, for example back pain and back pain, knees pain, impotence, urinary disorders.
It is also used to tone the muscles and know and relieve fatigue.
The Chinese believe that the dry extract and the decoction of the bark are more effective in regulating the pressure of that consumed raw as powder and herbal tea, or extracted in hydroalcoholic dye .

From tradition to scientific research

In recent years a growing interest on the part of the scientific community has been aroused by the possible ability of eucommia bark to reduce high blood pressure.
In a clinical study involving 119 people, 46% of those treated with the cortex showed a significant reduction in blood pressure as reported by The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants, (London: Dorling Kindersley, 1996.), however, would seem to have little effect in the case of severe hypertension. .

Researchers from the National Institutes of Health reported in 2008 about a Russian study that has shown how the Eucommia lowers blood pressure, without causing any side effects in humans, and another US study seems to give it even more credit with a research that proves safety in humans even at doses high.
Dr. Frank Greenway of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center reported in 2008 that Eucommia extract could act as a beta-blocker.
This is the mode of action of the drugs most commonly prescribed in the treatment of hypertension.

An additional help to "ease" the pressure

There are several points on which to leverage the fight against arterial hypertension including:

• nutrition: reducing the salt contained in the diet, taking more foods of plant origin, introducing less saturated fat and more unsaturated fat.
• weight reduction.
• limiting the use of alcohol
• the elimination of tobacco
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• An adequate aerobic physical activity.

Nature also offers us some plants able to favor the regulation of pressure values ?? such as garlic, hawthorn, mistletoe, some aquaretic plants (Verga d'oro, Peduncoli of cherry etc.) and last but not least, thanks to the millenary wisdom of traditional Chinese medicine, the bark of Eucommia ulmoides or Dùzòng.