February 23rd, 2007 by admin
Alder
Alnus glutinosa
Alder
Black Alder
Common Alder
English Alder
European Alder
Fever Bush
Owler
Winter Berry
Alder - a deciduous tree; the European alder can reach 100 feet. The branches spread to a rounded crown. Broad, sharply toothed leaves, up to 4 inches long, are dark glossy green on top, pale and sticky below. Greenish-yellow male and reddish female flowers (March) are borne in separate cone like clusters (catkins). The fruits grow in roundish cones, green in summer and brown and woody in fall. The red alder resembles the European tree but has elliptical, bluntly toothed leaves.
So indestructible is the wood of the European alder that it was used to make the piles on which the city of Amsterdam and Venice’s famed Rialto section were raised. The tree’s remarkable resistance to wet rot made it a prime choice for posts and pilings in the construction of bridges and sluice gates, for water conduits, and for wooden shoes.
Herbalists through the centuries have used brews made from the bark and leaves of the alder as an astringent and a quinine substitute, and to fight inflammations and fevers. The leaves and branches also have a reputation as natural pesticides. The inner bark, boiled in vinegar and rubbed on the body, reportedly kills lice and scabies mites and dries up scabs.
The red, or Oregon, alder looks like its European cousin, which now grows wild in parts of eastern North America, and has similar properties. Alders are also valued for the nitrogen-fixing bacteria that colonize their roots and thereby enrich the soil.
PARTS USED
Bark, leaves.
USES
The astringent alder is employed most often as a mouthwash and gargle for tooth, gum, and throat problems. The drying action of a decoction of the bark helps to contract the mucous membranes and reduce inflammation. A decoction may also be used to staunch internal or external bleeding and to heal wounds. Alder is also used as a wash for scabies. In Spain, alder leaves are smoothed and placed on the soles of the feet to relieve aching. Leaves are used to help reduce breast engorgement in nursing mothers.
Both species supply natural materials for dyers and tanners and wood for smoking meats and fish and for making pilings used in wet locations. The red alder is used for furniture. Medicinally, the trees have fallen into general disuse.
HABITAT AND CULTIVATION
Alder is native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa. Alder thrives in damp places and along riverbanks. The bark and leaves are gathered in spring.
CONSTITUENTS
Alder contains lignans, tannin (10 to 20%), emodin (an anthraquinone), and glycosides.
Source: Herbs2000
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February 23rd, 2007 by admin
Boneset
Eupatorium perfoliatum
Agueweed
Boneset
Crosswort
Eupatorium
Feverwort
Indian Sage
Sweating Plant
Thoroughwort
Tse-Ian
Vegetable Antimony
Wood Boneset
Names of plants often reveal much information about them. They can also be misleading. There is little difficulty with the scientific name of boneset, Eupatorium perfoliatum L. The genus name of this member of the daisy family (Asteraceae) derives from Mithridates Eupator, ancient king of Pontus, who first used a closely related plant for medicinal purposes. The species designation, perfoliatum, refers to the manner in which the erect hairy stem of the hardy perennial herb, which attains a height of about five feet and is crowned with heads of white tubular florets, appears to perforate the center of the pairs of oppositely joined leaves. Boneset, the common name, is more likely to lead one astray since the plant was classically employed in the treatment of fevers, not to mend broken bones. However, when it is recognized that the old name for dengue was break bone fever, the derivation becomes clear.
American Indians introduced the use of boneset leaves and flowering tops to the early settlers for the treatment of colds, catarrh, influenza, rheumatism, and all kinds of fevers, including break bone (dengue), intermittent (malaria), and lake (typhoid). To break up colds and flu, the medication is taken in the form of a hot tea to induce sweating and relieve the associated aches and pains. For loss of appetite, indigestion, and as a general bitter tonic, cold boneset infusion is recommended thirty minutes before meals. In either case, the remedy is a bitter, astringent one with a nauseous taste. The hot version is much more likely to cause vomiting than the cold.
Chemical studies have identified some of the constituents of boneset, which include various flavonoid pigments, sterols, and triterpenes. Compounds with pronounced therapeutic virtues are generally absent. However, it has been reported that xyloglucurans from the polysaccharide fractions of aqueous extracts of boneset increased phagocytosis by a factor of 1 to 2.5 in the carbon clearance and granulocyte test, suggesting immunostimulating activity. Eclectic physicians reported using boneset as an effective preventative and treatment for the “Spanish influenza” epidemic of 1918, as well as flu epidemics of the nineteenth century.
The plant held official medication status in the United States from 1820 to 1950, even though boneset was rarely prescribed by physicians, at least during the latter part of that period. Nevertheless, there is presently a revival of interest in the use of boneset among adherents to herbal medicine who employ it primarily to relieve fevers. Although safer and more effective treatments, such as common aspirin, certainly exist, it is comforting to know that the medical literature is essentially devoid of reports of adverse incidents attributed to boneset. Given the presence of potential immunostimulating polysaccharides, coupled with historical reports of efficacy in the prevention and treatment of influenza in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, this herb, relegated to historical obscurity, is deserving of closer scientific scrutiny.
Legendary among North American Indians and early settlers for its capacity to cause profuse perspiration and to loosen the bowels, boneset was used to treat fevers associated with a number of illnesses, including colds and influenza as well as malaria and similar recurrent illnesses. Boneset was usually taken as a hot tea made from the leaves and flowers.
A related species, E. purpureum, more commonly known as joe-pye weed, generally shares the medicinal properties attributed to boneset. Identifiable by its purple flowers, joe-pye weed was named in honor of an Indian medicine man who was famous throughout New England for using it to cure typhus. Most herbal authorities, however, consider the species inferior to boneset in treating fever.
PARTS USED
Aerial parts.
USES
A hot infusion of bone set will bring relief to symptoms of the common cold. Boneset stimulates resistance to viral and bacterial infections, and reduces fever by encouraging sweating. Boneset also loosens phlegm and promotes its removal through coughing, and it has a tonic and laxative effect. Boneset has been taken for rheumatic illness, skin conditions, and worms.
HOMEOPATHY
Boneset was traditionally used for fevers and is said to be a principal Native American remedy for malaria. It became known to the European settlers and was used in New York in 1830 to treat malaria. It is also said to have been recommended in ancient times by Dioscorides for ulcers, dysentery, reptile bites, chronic fevers, and liver disease. The plant is used in herbal medicine for flu with aches and pains.
Eupator is used mainly to treat flu and other feverish illnesses where characteristically there is tremendous bone pain and fever with scanty perspiration and restlessness because of the pain. The bones often feel as if they have been broken. The head, eyeballs, and chest are sore and there is a desire for ice-cold water and cold food. There may be a cough that exacerbates symptoms and can be relieved by going on all fours.
HABITAT AND CULTIVATION
Native to eastern North America, boneset is found in meadows and marshland. Boneset is gathered when in flower in summer.
CONSTITUENTS
Boneset contains sesquiterpene lactones (including eupafolin), polysaccharides, flavonoids, diterpenes, sterols, and volatile oil. The sesquiterpene lactones and polysaccharides are significantly immunostimulant.
HOW MUCH TO TAKE
Infusion: pour a cup of boiling water onto 1 - 2 teaspoonfuls of the dried herb and leave to infuse for 10 - 15 minutes. This should be drunk as hot as possible. During fevers or the ‘flu it should be drunk every half hour.
Tincture: take 2 - 4ml of the tincture three times a day.
Source: Herbs2000
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February 23rd, 2007 by admin
Bistort
Also Known As:
Polygonum bistorta
Adderwort
Bistort
Dragonwort
Easter Giant
English Serpentary
Osterick
Passions
Patience Dock
Red Legs
Sweet Dock
Bistort - a hardy perennial with slender stems, growing up to 30 inches tall. Each stem is topped by a dense cylindrical cluster of tiny white or pinkish flowers (May-August). Lower down the stem grow long bluish-green leaves that are lance shaped; higher up, the leaves become smaller. The rhizome of bistort (underground stem) is dark brown to black, thick, knobby, and twisted into an S or double-S shape.
Dense clusters of tiny pink blossoms atop slender stalks in a forest clearing or in a meadow-that is bistort, a common summer sight in the wild throughout the temperate Northern Hemisphere. Two species native to the Old and New Worlds, P. bistorta and P. bistortoides respectively, are closely akin. The name bistort comes from Latin word elements meaning “twice-twisted.” This refers to the gnarled appearance of bistort’s dark brown rhizome, or underground stem.
Traditional uses of bistort in herbal medicine are varied. In Shakespeare’s day the juice of the bistort served as a remedy for nasal polyps. The rhizome of bistort, boiled in wine, was used for diarrhea and dysentery. The same decoction reportedly checked heavy menstrual bleeding, stopped vomiting, and healed mouth and throat inflammations. Bistort also had a reputation as a mouthwash that would fasten loose teeth. A common thread unites most of these uses-namely, bistort’s high tannin content, which makes it astringent and therefore effective in checking bleeding and diarrhea. Because the rhizomes are starchy, they served as famine food, roasted, boiled in soup, or ground to make flour. Young bistort leaves may be cooked and eaten like spinach.
PARTS USED
Root, rhizome, leaves.
USES
One of the most strongly astringent of all herbs, bistort is used to contract tissues and staunch blood flow. It makes a valuable mouthwash and gargle for treating spongy gums, canker sores, and sore throats, and is also useful as a wash for small burns and wounds, a douche for excessive vaginal discharge, and an ointment for hemorrhoids and anal fissures. Internally, bistort may be taken to treat peptic ulcers, ulcerative colitis, and conditions such as dysentery and irritable bowel syndrome that give rise to diarrhea. Bistort is occasionally used in cases of urinary problems such as cystitis and for upper respiratory congestion.
HABITAT AND CULTIVATION
Native to Europe, Asia, and North America, bistort prefers damp conditions. The leaves are gathered in spring, the rhizome in autumn.
CONSTITUENTS
Bistort contains polyphenols (including ellagic acid), tannins (15-20%), phlobaphene, flavonoids, and a trace of the anthraquinone emodin.
HOW MUCH TO TAKE
Decoction: pour a cup of water onto 1 teaspoonful of the dried herb, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 - 15 minutes. This should be drunk three times a day. For external use, this tea can also be used as a mouthwash or gargle.
Tincture: take 2 - 4 ml of the tincture three times a day.
COLLECTION AND HARVESTING
Roots and rhizomes of bistort are dug up in the autumn from the moist pastures where bistort thrives. The large roots should be cut longitudinally and dried in the sun.
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