February 23rd, 2007 by admin
Wild Black Cherry
Ajamoda
Black Cherry
Black Choke
Caban Cherry
Choke Cherry
Padmaka
Rub Cherry
Virginia Prune
Wild Black Cherry
Wild black cherry grows from Nova Scotia to Florida and as far west as the Dakotas, Utah and Arizona. Wild black cherry towers high at roughly 100 feet or so and has a trunk circumference somewhere between 4 and 5 feet. The trunk is covered with rough, black bark.
PARTS USED
Inner bark.
USES
Figuring in official pharmacopoeias and much used in the Anglo-American tradition, black cherry bark effectively counters chronic dry and irritable coughs. Combined with coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara), it treats asthma and whooping cough, “The astringent bark also eases indigestion and the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, especially when these conditions are of nervous origin.
Other medical uses - Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease ( COPD ).
HABITAT AND CULTIVATION
Native to North America, black cherry grows throughout much of the US. Black cherry is cultivated in central Europe for its lumber. The bark is collected in late summer and early autumn.
CONSTITUENTS
Black cherry contains prunasin (a cyanogenic glycoside that yields hydrocyanic acid), benzaldehyde, eudesmic acid, coumarins, and tannins. Prunasin reduces the cough reflex.
HOW MUCH TO TAKE
Many people use wild cherry tincture or syrup, taking 2-4 ml three to four times per day.
SIDE EFFECTS AND CAUTIONS
Very large amounts of wild cherry pose the theoretical risk of causing cyanide poisoning. However, this has not been observed in clinical practice, making it a very safe herbal remedy.
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
Maidenhair Fern
Adiantum capillus-veneris
Maidenhair Fern
Rock Fern
Venus’- hair Fern
A plant of great delicacy, maidenhair fern has a thin, polished, black main leafstalk and fanlike leaflets supported by stalks as fine as hair. The plant has a gossamer look that makes it in demand for dried flower arrangements. Maidenhair fern prefers a wet environment, usually growing in limestone soils dampened by waterfall spray. Water runs off its foliage with the result that, even after being immersed in water, it emerges with dry leaves-hence its scientific name, Adiantum, meaning “unwetted.” The fern’s association with hair gave rise to an old belief that drinking a tea made from the plant could keep hair from falling out. Unhappily, it has no such powers.
A tea from the fresh plant has been used as an expectorant in treating coughs since the time of the ancient Greeks. Later herbalists prescribed maidenhair fern for more serious respiratory conditions, such as pleurisy, but with less success, for it is not a potent plant. Maidenhair fern was also employed to promote menstruation and as a mild diuretic.
A relative is the northern maidenhair (A. pedatum), which has a somewhat forked stalk, as opposed to the single stalk of A. capillusveneris, also called southern maidenhair fern.
PARTS USED
Aerial parts.
USES
Still used by Western herbalists to treat coughs, bronchitis, excess mucus, sore throat, and chronic nasal congestion, maidenhair fern also has a longstanding reputation as a remedy for conditions of the hair and scalp.
HABITAT AND CULTIVATION
Native to Europe and North America, maidenhair fern grows in moist, shady sites.
CONSTITUENTS
Maidenhair fern contains flavonoids (including rutin and isoquercitin), terpenoids (including adiantone), a tannin, and mucilage.
APPLICATIONS
LEAVES:
FLUID EXTRACT - An extract of the fresh leaves is marketed in Europe for treating cerebral arteriosclerosis in the elderly and for diseases of the peripheral circulation.
TINCTURE - Combine with other cardiovascular herbs, such as greater periwinkle and lime flower, for circulatory problems, or with king’s clover for venous disorders.
INFUSION - Make with 50 g dried leaves to 500 ml water, and take for arteriosclerosis and varicose conditions. Use as a wash for varicose ulcers or hemorrhoids.
SEEDS:
DECOCTION - Combine with herbs such as ma huang, elecampane, or mulberry leaves for asthma and severe or persistent coughs: 3 - 4 seeds are enough for three doses.
MAIDENHAIR FERN SYRUP
Equal parts, dried and crumbled.
* 2 cups (40 g) fresh maidenhair fern leaves
* 4 cups (1 liter) water
* 2 cups (500 ml) unpasteurized honey
Boil the plant in the water for 3 minutes, cover and infuse for 3 hours. Strain the decoction, and then gently melt the honey, without bringing to a boil, for 5 minutes. Pour the mixture into a glass bottle. Store in the refrigerator and consume within 2 months at a rate of 1 to 2 T (15 to 30 ml) diluted in water, 3 times daily. Take in the event of chronic pulmonary disease, anemia or persistent skin disorders. This gentle treatment can be followed for 1 month without risk, by adding other, more caustic pectoral plants such as horseradish or wild thyme, but in small quantities.
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