It’s rare, but today the column “It’s my health” takes us on a journey. We are going to New Zealand where a traditional Maori plant has just proven its effectiveness against eczema.
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The conclusions of Doctor Shaun Holt, co-founder of a New Zealand pharmaceutical laboratory which uses always natural raw materials for its medicines, are enthusiastic. Against eczema, they used oil from the leaves of a tree, the kanuka. This oil is a mainstay of traditional local Maori medicine.
Dr. Shaun Holt explains that they had based their hopes on initial laboratory research proving kanuka’s anti-infective and anti-inflammatory power. An interesting double power against eczema. Because in this disease, the balance of the skin is out of order: it is dry, often with chronic inflammation. And the itching can cause wounds to become infected. This skin problem then really damages the daily life of patients. Some children even have to live with full cloth overalls to avoid scratching.
The kanuka could relieve them and more precisely a moisturizer containing 3% kanuka oil. A placebo-controlled study showed real effectiveness. In just six weeks, the volunteers went from severe eczema to mild eczema. That is to say, still according to Dr. Shaun Holt, an improvement equivalent to that obtained with the current conventional therapy based on corticosteroids, the side effects of which limit the use. However, the test did not reveal any worrying side effects with the kanuka-based cream. This was confirmed by Nick Short, coordinator of the study at the New Zealand Institute of Medical Research.
The quality of this scientific evaluation now allows Dr. Shaun Holt to hope to quickly find distributors in Europe. Because this cream would not fall into the category of drugs but of medical devices, which would facilitate its marketing. They already have pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity. And they are working in partnership with another local biotechnology company created by the Maori community, owners of the kanuka forests. This organization will take care not to exceed the quantity of leaves that the trees can support from “give”. The production of the cream will therefore not damage this natural heritage and will create employment for this population which is very affected by unemployment. It’s rare, but it sure sounds like a great story. Especially since other products are being evaluated to treat dry eyes.