Desmodium liquide

A concentrated Desmodium liquide formula

Waybio Desmodium liquide is a food supplement to be diluted in water. Its formula is based on a desmodium leaf extract, providing 5 g of dry plant equivalent per three capfuls, or 30 ml.

The liquid form makes it easy to spread intake throughout the day, notably by diluting the three capfuls in one litre of water. The natural lemon flavour improves the taste of the preparation.

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The liver, an essential processing centre

The liver is continuously involved in managing substances circulating in the body. It processes carbohydrates, lipids and proteins from food. In particular, it can store some glucose as glycogen, then make it available again between meals when the body needs it.

Liver cells, called hepatocytes, also modify many molecules originating from food, the environment or the body’s normal functioning. Some are transformed and then bound to other substances to be more easily eliminated in bile or urine.

The liver also produces bile, which is needed to digest and absorb fats. It is also involved in producing many circulating proteins. Supporting liver function therefore means supporting several mechanisms related to metabolism, digestion and natural elimination.

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How does desmodium support these functions?

Desmodium is traditionally used to support the liver. It naturally provides several families of plant constituents:

  •  flavonoids, including vitexin and isovitexin derivatives;
  •  various polyphenols;
  •  D-pinitol, a natural compound related to the sugar family;
  •  saponins and other secondary constituents.

Flavonoids contribute to antioxidant balance. They can neutralise certain reactive molecules before these propagate oxidation reactions around cell membranes and proteins. This function is particularly valuable for the liver, whose metabolic activity naturally produces reactive compounds.

Certain desmodium flavonoids have a relatively stable chemical bond. Under simulated digestion conditions, vitexin and isovitexin derivatives withstand the initial digestive stages before being partially transformed in the intestine. This describes the behaviour of certain plant constituents, without making it possible to quantify their absorption from this supplement.

D-pinitol completes this phytocomplex. It is considered one of the markers associated with the liver support provided by desmodium, together with flavonoids and the other constituents naturally present in the leaf.

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Synergy within the leaf

Desmodium is the ingredient mainly responsible for the liver benefit presented. The complementarity does not rely on combining several plants, but on the coexistence of different constituents in the leaf extract.

Flavonoids support antioxidant balance around liver cells. D-pinitol completes the plant’s metabolic profile, while the leaf’s other compounds contribute to the overall phytocomplex.

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The origin and history of desmodium

Desmodium belongs to the Fabaceae family. This creeping or climbing herbaceous plant bears leaves made up of three leaflets and small flowers arranged in clusters.

Native to equatorial Africa, it grows wild. Botanical references more broadly describe a tropical species naturally found in Africa and the Americas.

Its use spread in France from the 1960s, after the physician Pierre Tubéry gathered information in Cameroon about its traditional uses. At the time, the aerial parts were generally prepared as a decoction in water.

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When should it be used?

This formula may be included:

  •  after a period when the diet has been richer;
  •  during changes of season or pace;
  •  when wishing to support natural elimination mechanisms;
  •  in a routine devoted to maintaining liver function;
  •  when you prefer a diluted solution to drink gradually rather than capsules;
  •  when looking for a formula based on a single active plant.

Desmodium does not act as a purge. It supports the physiological functions already performed by the liver every day.

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Who is this product for?

Desmodium liquide may be particularly suitable for:

  •  people wishing to provide targeted plant-based support for their liver function;
  •  those who prefer to dilute their supplement in a glass or bottle of water;
  •  people seeking a concentrated intake, with 5 g of dry plant equivalent at the maximum dose;
  •  those wishing to spread their intake throughout the day;
  •  users who prefer a single-plant formula with a lemon flavour.

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What does the science say?

A comparative human observation using desmodium herbal tea

A 2015 publication reports on an observation conducted from 2003 to 2013 at the SH Centre in the Republic of San Marino. Its aim was to examine digestive tolerance and changes in various liver markers in people receiving chemotherapy, with or without desmodium consumption.

The article reports 153 participants with metastatic intestinal or breast cancer.

The participants followed the same diet. Some of them consumed 500 ml of desmodium herbal tea, which was then diluted in one litre of water and divided throughout the day. The herbal tea was used three days a week, starting 15 days before chemotherapy.

In a first group of 48 people with metastatic intestinal adenocarcinoma:

  •  nausea affected 22% of people taking desmodium, compared with 67% without desmodium;
  •  abnormal alkaline phosphatase values were found in 33% versus 71%;
  •  abnormal transaminase values were observed in 22% versus 43%, with no statistically significant difference for this latter parameter.

In a group of 40 patients with a breast tumour and liver metastases:

  •  nausea affected 8% of the desmodium group, compared with 40% of the comparison group;
  •  alkaline phosphatase values were abnormal in 20% versus 80%;
  •  transaminase values were abnormal in 16% versus 47%.

Reference: Tubéry P., Ragot J., Lagarde P., Authier-Derivaux D., Pidoux M., Rasolohery C., Bourdy G. Desmodium adscendens. De l’usage traditionnel camerounais contre les hépatites à l’accompagnement des chimiothérapies. Hegel. 2015;5(4):268–282. DOI: 10.4267/2042/57914.