RESEARCH CONFIRMS
CENTURIES OF TRADITIONAL TREATMENT

Although deer antler velvet has been used for over 2000 years in Asia it is often regarded with scepticism in western societies.

Often there's a "nudge nudge wink wink" allusion to its perceived powers.

Traditional Oriental medicine uses are in fact as a warming tonic before winter, for children's growth, for blood loss, for weakness and for chronic joint pain.

The New Zealand deer industry has a great deal of personal anecdotal evidence of velvet's effectiveness in alleviating painful and debilitating conditions like arthritis, and in speeding up recovery from illness and injury.

But could velvet's role be proven? Was this just wishful thinking from people who wanted it to be true?

The New Zealand deer industry organisation, the New Zealand Game Industry Board (NZGIB), commissioned AgResearch scientists at Invermay near Dunedin to test velvet's effectiveness scientifically and provide a definitive answer.

The research programme covers a number of areas:

The chemical composition of New Zealand deer antler velvet compared to the traditional Russian and Chinese sources in Oriental medicine, to test whether New Zealand velvet is equally effective

The impact of New Zealand velvet on growth, on the stimulation of the immune system and for anti-inflammatory uses

Parallel research conducted in Korea tested anti-cancer drug side effects, which is related to the immune system

SCIENTIFIC PROCEDURE

The deer industry research programme follows accepted science procedure, with initial tests in vitro (cell culture in test tubes) to establish preliminary findings.

The next step is in vivo testing, using laboratory animals to verify and expand on previous findings. These are standard stepping stones to ultimately conducting clinical trials on human beings. The deer industry is currently proceeding with clinical trials.

This paper covers one part of the research programme results only — the tests relating to the stimulation of the immune system.

STIMULATING THE IMMUNE SYSTEM

In traditional Oriental medicine, velvet antler is often prescribed as a tonic for stress and fatigue and as a prevention of disease, especially prior to winter. This is part of oriental medicine's philosophy of "promoting wellness" rather than "curing illness".

This traditional usage, plus earlier Chinese research, indicates that velvet antler can act as a stimulator for the immune system. Known in scientific terms as "immunopotentiation", this means the stimulation of the body's immune system, especially through increased production of white blood cells.

The research programme was designed to test this theory.

In a cell culture system, human white blood cells were treated with varying doses of deef antler velvet extract. To test the impact of time of harvesting, extract of velvet cut at three different stages was used. To test the impact of diffefent parts of the antler, extract from base and upper portions were used.

A positive control of a natural growth factor for white blood cells was used. White cell production was measured after an incubation period.

Results showed:

• Extracts of New Zealand antler velvet showed clear evidence of stimulating the immune system, measured by the increased production of human white blood cells

• All the antler velvet extracts stimulated growth of human white blood cells, at all level of dilution

• This indicates the therapeutic functions of New Zealand deef antler velvet extracts may vary, depending on the time of harvesting and the section of the antler

• This also indicates that the traditional use of velvet in winter can be at least partly explained by its ability to stimulate the immune system and thereby ward off infections

• This also indicates that deer velvet may have other uses in building the body's immune system, both for a preventative effect and to sopport some remedial treatments

CONCLUSION

This research provides preliminary but positive information about the effectiveness of New Zealand antler velvet as a treatment for a range of conditions. The results indicate:

• That, albeit under experimental conditions, New Zealand velvet is effective in the treatment of a range of illnesses and conditions

• Different extracts from velvet may be effective in different ways and for different conditions

• Further research is required to confirm these preliminary findings, especially with regard to the optimum usage and effectiveness of different parts of deer antler

...end...

VELVET RESEARCH SUMMARY PAPER
IMMUNE SYSTEM – September 1997
The New Zealand Game Industry Board