Plant-based support for your immune system against viruses and microbes, carefully balanced to be gentle on your digestive tract.*
$28.00
AcuIntegra’s V-Defence Formula™ is a balanced combination of herbal extracts traditionally used in natural medicine as potent antiviral and antibacterial remedies, whose function is supported by modern clinical studies.*
When creating V-Defence, we balanced in accordance with TCM principles. The cold, heat-clearing nature of rock rose & skullcap herbs is offset by the warm-natured ginger extract in order to make the formula gentle on the digestive tract.*
Our V-Defence Formula™ contains:
It comes in a vegan-friendly cellulose capsule.
Like our other nutraceuticals, our V-Defence Formula™ is free from allergens such as gluten, soy, fish, lactose, milk, meat and wheat.
We recommend 1 capsule per day or as advised by your healthcare professional. It can be consumed with meals.
Cistus Incanus
Cistus incanus (rock rose) is a plant native to the Mediterranean region, used for ages as a an anti-infection remedy in folk medicines.
It’s traditional use is supported in new clinical studies, which have demonstrated very powerful antiviral activity of this plant [1,2].
In a concentrated extract form, Cistus incanus has shown a potent viral inhibitory activity, by mechanism of preventing the attachment of a virus to the host’s cellular membrane, and blocking its entry into the cell [1].
Clinical, in vitro studies of Cistus incanus even indicated an effective inhibition of the proliferation of HIV and Ebola viruses when exposed to this extract [1]. No side effects were noticed, and crucially there was no propensity to induce viral resistance.
“Bioassay -guided fractionation indicated that CI extract contains numerous antiviral compounds and therefore has favorable low propensity to induce virus resistance .
No resistant viruses were present after 24 weeks of continuous propagation in presence of CI extract”
In a German clinical study on 160 patients with upper respiratory tract infection, the Cistus incanus extract administrated demonstrated strong antiviral, antibacterial and antioxidant activity. Subject receiving the Cistus extract have show significant decrease of symptoms and inflammatory markers – including hs-CRP – vs the placebo group [2]:
“Polyphenols derived from CI were effective against influenza virus in randomized placebo controlled clinical trial .”
A 2020 in vitro study by Feng et al. showed that Cistus incanus (as well as Scutellaria baicalensis) inhibited the proliferation of Borelia burgdorferi, and could thus be a viable therapeutic agent against lyme disease bacteria [3].
Our V-defence formula is designed to mitigate the GI side effects typical for antiviral agents. The cold nature of Cistus incanus and Scutellaria baicalensis are balanced with the hot nature of the ginger extract, making this formula easily digestible and absorbable.
Scutellaria Baicalensis
Plant-derived compounds have been widely used for centuries to combat microbial infections because they are considered safe for human consumption. Baicalin, one of the major flavonoid compounds from the roots of Scutellaria baicalensis (also known as Skullcap) has been described as an herb in the Chinese Pharmacopeia.
Numerous Traditional Chinese Medicince (TCM) formulae containing baicalin are thus used clinically for treating fever, bronchitis and upper respiratory tract infections [4,5,6]
Additionally, baicalin has been observed to exert:
Studies have shown that the hydrate of baicalin can exert a synergistic effect with tobramycin to kill biofilm-associated Pseudomonas aeruginosa cells in a colony count assay [12].
Another study showed Scutellaria baicalensis to be effective in the treatment of severe enteroviral infection of HFMD [13]. The study involved 725 patients aged over 1 year in a multicentre, retrospective analysis. The patients were divided into the Scutellaria baicalensis and ribavirin groups. The number of patients with oral ulcers and/or vesicles, as well as skin rashes, were significantly lower in the Scutellaria group when compared to the ribavirin group . The EV71 viral loads were also lower in this group, suggesting that Scutellaria baicalensis exhibited more potent antiviral effects compared to ribavirin. Scutellaria was also shown to quickly relieve fever .
Scutellaria baicalensis acts synergistically with Cistus incanus to support the immune system in the defence against viruses & microbes.
Zingiber Siccatum
Ginger (Zingiber siccatum, Gan Jiang heat-processed extract of Zingiber officinalae) is a powerful plant remedy used for centuries in TCM for the treatment of (among others):
Furthermore, ginger is rich in two important phytochemicals: gingerol and Shogaol [14].
Clinical trials have demonstrated that ginger can have powerful antibacterial properties, for example in inhibiting the proliferation of MRSa (Methycyllin-Resistant Staphylococus aureus) through the inhibition of the SaHPPIC (Staphylococcus aureus 6Hydroxymethyl-7-8 dihydropterin) enzyme [15]. This enzyme is essential for the docking of bacteria on cells’ memberane’s and thus their further proliferation.
The presence of ginger not only enhances V-Defence Formula’s anti-bacterial support but also mitigates its potential impact on the gastrointestinal system.
Scientific References & Relevant Research
[1]Rebensburg S, Helfer M, Schneider M, et al. Potent in vitro antiviral activity of Cistus incanus extract against HIV and Filoviruses targets viral envelope proteins. Sci Rep. 2016;6:20394.
[2] Kalus U, Grigorov A, Kadecki O, Jansen JP, Kiesewetter H, Radtke H. Cistus incanus (CYSTUS052) for treating patients with infection of the upper respiratory tract. A prospective, randomised, placebo-controlled clinical study. Antiviral Res. 2009;84(3):267-71.
[3] Feng J, Leone J, Schweig S, Zhang Y. Evaluation of Natural and Botanical Medicines for Activity Against Growing and Non-growing Forms of B. burgdorferi. Front Med. 2020;7.
[4] Havsteen BH. The biochemistry and medical significance of the flavonoids. Pharmacol Ther. 2002;96(2-3):67-202.
[5] Zhang H, Chen Q, Zhou W, et al. Chinese medicine injection shuanghuanglian for treatment of acute upper respiratory tract infection: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2013;2013:987326.
[6]Zhang F, Sun L, Gao SH, Chen WS, Chai YF. LC-MS/MS analysis and pharmacokinetic study on five bioactive constituents of Tanreqing injection in rats. Chin J Nat Med. 2016;14(10):769-775.
[7] Wang T, Shi G, Shao J, et al. In vitro antifungal activity of baicalin against Candida albicans biofilms via apoptotic induction. Microb Pathog. 2015;87:21-9.
[8] Li X, Liu Y, Wu T, et al. The Antiviral Effect of Baicalin on Enterovirus 71 In Vitro. Viruses. 2015;7(8):4756-71.
[9]Novy P, Urban J, Leuner O, Vadlejch J, Kokoska L. In vitro synergistic effects of baicalin with oxytetracycline and tetracycline against Staphylococcus aureus. J Antimicrob Chemother. 2011;66(6):1298-300.
[10] Huang YQ, Huang GR, Wu MH, et al. Inhibitory effects of emodin, baicalin, schizandrin and berberine on hefA gene: treatment of Helicobacter pylori-induced multidrug resistance. World J Gastroenterol. 2015;21(14):4225-31.
[11]Zhou Y, Yang ZY, Tang RC. Bioactive and UV protective silk materials containing baicalin – The multifunctional plant extract from Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi. Mater Sci Eng C Mater Biol Appl. 2016;67:336-344.
[12]Brackman G, Coenye T. Comment on: Synergistic antibacterial efficacy of early combination treatment with tobramycin and quorum-sensing inhibitors against Pseudomonas aeruginosa in an intraperitoneal foreign-body infection mouse model. J Antimicrob Chemother. 2013;68(9):2176-7.
[13]Lin H, Zhou J, Lin K, et al. Efficacy of for the Treatment of Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease Associated with Encephalitis in Patients Infected with EV71: A Multicenter, Retrospective Analysis. Biomed Res Int. 2016;2016:5697571.
[14]Bode AM, Dong Z. The Amazing and Mighty Ginger. In: Benzie IFF, Wachtel-Galor S, editors. Herbal Medicine: Biomolecular and Clinical Aspects. 2nd edition. Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press/Taylor & Francis; 2011. Chapter 7. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK92775/
[15]Rampogu S, Baek A, Gajula RG, et al. Ginger (Zingiber officinale) phytochemicals-gingerenone-A and shogaol inhibit SaHPPK: molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulations and in vitro approaches. Ann Clin Microbiol Antimicrob. 2018;17(1):16. Published 2018 Apr 2. doi:10.1186/s12941-018-0266-9
