As in other mammals, thermoregulation is an important aspect of human homeostasis. Most body heat is generated in the deep organs, especially the liver, brain, and heart, and in contraction of skeletal muscles. Humans have been able to adapt to a great diversity of climates, including hot humid and hot arid.
Japanese knotweed is a perennial weed, producing tall canes, up to 2.1m (7ft) in height during the summer. The canes have characteristic purple flecks, and produce branches from nodes along its length. These branches support shovel-shaped leaves.
Japanese knotweed is included in several herbal preparations that contain other plants that have shown therapeutic success. One of these compositions is an herbal for alleviating menstrual discomfort, comprising therapeutically effective amounts of Japanese knotweed, chaste tree berry, Mexican wild yam, dandelion, Devil's claw, grapeskin, and syzygium (Charters et al, 2003).