Phyllis A. Balch, CNC
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 Other natural healing alternatives are medicinal herbs. For detailed information on using herbs and on interactions between drugs and herbs (an important concern), consult Prescription for Herbal Healing (Avery/Penguin Putnam, 2000). Use the table below to identify some of the many foods that can be used for healing.
TYPE OF DRUG THERAPEUTIC ALTERNATIVE
COMMENTS cherries, garlic, green tea, kale, kelp, kiwi, onions, oranges, pink grapefruit, plums, red grapes, red bell peppers, reishi mushrooms, rose hips, spinach, tomatoes. |
Stephen T., M.D. Sinatra
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 For example, the only medicinal herbs I learned about in medical school were the flowering foxglove plant, which is a source of the heart medication digitalis, and rauwolfia, the source of a medication used to control high blood pressure. Most other medicinal herbs were not given any credibility, despite the fact that many common pharmaceuticals originated from plants and barks. Herbal treatment was belittled and even scorned. Nevertheless, as my comfort level with botanicals grew, I decided to use them in my practice. |
Mark Blumenthal
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 The Natural Pharmacist: Clinical Evaluation of medicinal herbs and Other Therapeutic Natural Products. Rocklin, CA: Prima Publishing; 1999:1—8.
Braunig B, Knick E. Therapeutical experiences with Echinacea pallida for influenzalike infections, [in German]. Naturheilpraxis 1993;1:72-5.
Braunig B, Dorn M, Limburg E, et al. Echinacea purpurea radix for strengthening the immune response in flu-like infections, [in German]. ZPhytother 1992;13:7-13.
Brevoort P. The booming US botanical market. HerbalGram 1998;44:33-40.
Brinkeborn R, Shah D, Degenring F. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 This is such a reversal of reality that it's absolutely astounding they can get away with even talking about it without being laughed off of the television show or radio interview.
If you think about it, prescription drugs are what's killing people. Prescription drugs are extremely dangerous, even according to the statistics put out by organized medicine. We have one class of drugs, Cox-2 inhibitors, which, all by itself, is responsible for at least 144,000 heart attacks in the United States alone. Over 40 percent of those are fatal. |
Andrew Pengelly
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 Miscellaneous phenolic compounds
The basic phenolic structure occurs in many other classes of compounds found in medicinal herbs, including the following:
• Tannins—see Chapter 3
• Glycosides, e.g. most flavonoids, anthraquinones
• Essential oils, e.g. thymol
• Alkaloids, e.g. oxyacanthine
References
Adzek, T. and Camarasa, J. 1988, 'Pharmacokinetics of polyphenolic compounds', in Herbs, Spices & Medicinal Plants, Vol. 3, Oryx Press, Phoenix.
Ammon, H. and Wahl, M. 1990, 'Pharmacology of Curcuma longa\ Planta Medica 57: 1-7.
Beckham, N. |
Jack Challem
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 Medicinal herbs can be especially potent, while culinary herbs are perhaps less potent but more tasty anti-inflammatory nutrients.
Over the past several years herbal medicines have moved from folk-medicine status to scientifically supported treatments. Major drug companies routinely fund expeditions to the Amazon and other undeveloped regions to identify new plants and potentially therapeutic molecules. Almost half of all modem drugs have either been developed from plant compounds or are synthetic replicas of molecules found in plants. |
Dr. Michael Heinrich, Joanne Barnes, Simon Gibbons and Elizabeth M. Williamson
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 In this climate of change, it was obvious that pharmaceutical educators asked questions about the future use of medicinal herbs. The active principles of many herbs were not known and it was assumed, by some, that they did not contain any active principles.
Pharmacy is an applied discipline and student courses have to reflect current practice. With a syllabus bursting at the seams, changes were needed and course material had to be re-evaluated. Academics had to face up to the real world. |
Richard P. Brown, M.D., and Patricia L. Gerbarg, M.D.
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 Since only a few studies have focused on the similarities and differences among medicinal herbs, the best we can do to answer this question is evaluate the quantity and quality of the research, then add our own clinical experience into the mix. We should point out that some herbs—notably Eleutherococcus senticosus, Panax ginseng, and Rhodiola rosea—have been the subjects of extensive investigation, while others have been largely ignored. The absence of solid scientific research leaves a question mark regarding their value in healing, even though they may be quite useful. |
| Research on Rhodiola rosea and other medicinal herbs was part of the Soviet Union's great push to compete with the West in military development, the arms race, space exploration, Olympic sports, science, medicine, and industry. During World War II, the Soviet government drafted scientists to work on projects for the military, with a focus on physical and mental performance. The Soviets were determined to find substances that would help their soldiers overcome combat fatigue and win on the battlefield. |
Dianne Onstad
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 Tincture An alcohol or water-alcohol fluid extraction of medicinal herbs that concentrates herbal properties and can be kept at full potency for years. Tinctures were particularly popular with herbalists during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Usually a specified number of drops of tincture are mixed with a small amount of water or juice and taken according to directions.
Tisane An infusion of flowers.
Tocopherol Any of a group of alcohols having the properties of vitamin E. There are four tocopherols, and all possess vitamin E activity: alpha, beta, gamma, and delta. |
David Hoffman, FNIMH, AHG
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 Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary defines herbalism as the "knowledge of herbs" and an herbalist as "one who grows, collects, or specializes in the use of herbs, especially medicinal herbs." A secondary definition refers to the herb doctor: "One who practices healing with herbs. Also called herbalist."
From a very broad perspective, I define an herb as a plant in relationship with humanity. Thus, herbalism becomes the study and exploration of the interactions between humanity and the plant kindom (see box on page 9). |
| In addition, a deliberate substitution of medicinal herbs by inferior or cheaper species may also be made. Some years ago, a Belgian consumer organization reported that the majority of locally purchased peppermint products did not contain Mentha piperita at all, but rather the much cheaper species M. crispa. Likewise, most samples of linden flower did not come from Tilia cordata or T. platyphyllos but instead from T. argentea.
Careless gathering, storage, or distribution of medicinal plant material may result in accidental substitution or contamination with another botanical. |
Mark Blumenthal
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| CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, Inc; 1985;98-9.
Eberle L, Gluck U. Clinical experiences with local capsaicin treatment of chronic rhinopathy. [in German]. HNO 1994;42(11):665-9. Ellis C, Berberian B, Sulica V, et al. A double-blind evaluation of topical capsaicin in pruritic psoriasis./^ AcadDermat 1993;29:438-42. Ellison N, Loprini C, Kugler J, et al. Phase III placebo-controlled trial of capsaicin cream in the management of surgical neuropathic pain in cancer patients. / Clin
O«™/1997;15(8):2974-80. |
| Araliaceae]
Overview
Asian ginseng is one of the most economically important medicinal herbs in world trade (Iqbal, 1993; Ma, 1999). In the U.S., ginseng ranks second in total sales in food, drug, and mass market retail stores with sales in 2000 totaling $62.5 million (Blumenthal, 2001). The U.S. Department of Commerce (USDOC) tracks ginseng imports due to the herb's significant economic value. The U.S. imports over 1 million pounds of cultivated Asian ginseng roots annually mainly from China, Hong Kong, and Korea (USDOC, 2000). |
| Conferences and continuing medical education modules offer a variety of options, including information on medicinal herbs. For example, a week-long course on "Botanical Medicine in Modern Clinical Practice" has been offered by the Rosenthal Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (www.rosenthal.hs.columbia.edu) since 1996. |
| In: Clinical Evaluation of medicinal herbs and Other Therapeutic Natural Products. Rocklin, CA: Prima Publishing; 1999; 1-6. Brenner R. Nutritional and hormonal factors influencing desaturation of essential fatty acids. Prog Lipid Res 1981 ;20:41 -8. Brinker F. Herb Contraindications and Drug Interactions, 3rd ed. Sandy, OR: Eclectic
Medical Publications; 2001:92-93. Brown D. Evening Primrose In: Herbal Prescriptions for Better Health. Rocklin, CA:
Prima Publishing; 1996;79-89. Brzeski M, Madhok R, Capell H. |
| REPPED: A Brief History of medicinal herbs in North America
Herbs have enjoyed a long history of use as medicines in North America. Native Americans had medicinal uses for at least 2,582 species of plants, including such uses as analgesic, contraceptive, laxative, sedative, and remedies for colds, tuberculosis, and cancer (Moerman, 1998).
Until about 1930, herbs and herbal products constituted a significant proportion of the materia medica of North America during the 17th, 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries. |
David Hoffman, FNIMH, AHG
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| Studies on levels of toxic metals in medicinal herbs have been conducted in Germany. Considerable variation was found among levels of pollutants in the same species collected from different habitats.
The decoction of herbs can affect the metal content. One study compared lead and cadmium levels in 120 sam-
Table 10.8. Lead and Cadmium in Wild-Grown Herbs*
METAL PLANT
HABITAT
LEVEL OF CONTAMINATION (MG/KG)
Total
Flower
Leaf
Stem
Root
LEAD
Achillea millefolium
Median strip
8.41
4.66
23.73
1.34
4.59
Roadside
2.37
2.33
8.90
1.25
4.16
Hypericum perforatum
Median strip
11. |
| Using medicinal herbs does not negate the importance of eating a high-quality diet.
Water
As the most plentiful component in the body, water is also crucial to survival. It is the medium for bodily fluids such as blood and lymph, in which forms it transports nutrients into cells and carries out waste products and toxins.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates, proteins, and fats—a group of dietary components known as macronutrients—provide fuel in the form of calories. Carbohydrates, the body's main energy source, can be divided into two types. |
volker schulz and Rudolf Hansel
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 Duke JA (1985) CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs. CRC Press, Boca Raton (USA): 358-359.
Englisch W, Beckers C, Unkauf M, Ruepp M, Zinserling V (2000) Efficacy of artichoke dry extract in patients hyperlipoproteinemia. Arzneim-Forsch/Drug Res 50: 260-5.
Ernst E, Pittler MH (2000) Efficacy of ginger for nausea and vomiting: a systematic review of randomized clinical trials. Br J Anaesth 84: 367-71.
Fiegel G (1971) Die amphocholeretische Wirkung der Fumaria officinalis. Z Allg Med 34:1819. |
Barrie R Cassileth, Ph.D.
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 Research Evidence to Date
Many herbal remedies remain unstudied, and much of the research that has been conducted on medicinal herbs is not of the highest scientific quality. The herbal remedies listed below under "What It Can Do for You" represent only a small fraction of the medicinal herbs available in health-food stores, markets, and through the mail. They are included here because they are some of the safer and more popular products for self-use. Descriptions of the effectiveness and safety of these herbs is based on scientific research and commentary. |
volker schulz and Rudolf Hansel
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| Similarly, the constituents of medicinal herbs can vary greatly as a result of genetic factors, climate, soil quality, and other external factors. In general, the material derived from cultivated medicinal plants shows smaller variations in chemical constituents than material gathered from the wild. Another advantage of cultivation is that the increase in relevant constituents can be monitored during plant growth, making it possible to determine the optimum time for harvesting. |
Andrew Pengelly
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| The author is a well known and respected authority on medicinal herbs who through his teaching and journal articles has helped to pioneer the scientific understanding of herbal practice in Australia.
Kerry Bone
Adjunct Senior Lecturer in Health Sciences (Herbal Medicine), University of New England, Armidale Director, Research and Development, MediHerb, Warwick
PREFACE
This is a book about plant chemistry written by a herbalist with no claims of being a chemist. |
volker schulz and Rudolf Hansel
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| The development of cromolyn from khellin (from Ammi visnaga) is another instance where a plant constituent was modified to obtain a more useful medicine. medicinal herbs from the New World were another source of important drug substances. The leaves of the coca shrub (Erythoxylum coca) yielded cocaine, the prototype for modern local anesthetics, while the bark of Cinchona species yielded quinine, a drug still important in the treatment of malaria. |
| When we consider that the history of classical herbal medicine spans more than 2500 years from antiquity to modern times, it is reasonable to assume that many of the medicinal herbs used during that period not only have specific actions but are also free of hazardous side effects. Otherwise they would not have been passed down so faithfully through so many epochs and cultures. It would be frivolous and unscientific to dismiss the collective empirical experience of more than 50 generations of patients and physicians as simply a "placebo effect" (Benedum, 1998). |
| The plants named by Dioscorides were identified and illustrated with woodcuts, and some locally grown medicinal herbs were added. Herbals were still based on classical humoral pathology, which taught that health and disease were determined by the four bodily humors -blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile. The humors, in turn, were associated with the elemental principles of antiquity: air, water, earth, and fire. |
| The term "medicinal herbs" or "plant drugs" generally refers to plants or plant parts that have been dried to yield a storable product. A medicinal herb or a preparation made from it is generally considered to be one active constituent, regardless of whether or not specific "main active constituents" are known (Note for Guidance, 1998). |
Andrew Pengelly
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| Understanding organic chemistry
It does not require a science degree to gain an understanding of the fundamental chemical structures found in medicinal herbs, but some knowledge of organic chemistry is desirable. Hence reference to any good introductory text on organic chemistry or biochemistry will help those who haven't done an elementary course at tertiary level. |
Dianne Onstad
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| The emperor of China at that time also recorded certain therapeutic uses of sprouts in a book about medicinal herbs.
Buying Tips
General guidelines for buying sprouts are that the sprouts should be fresh looking and fresh smelling with no dark soggy spots, and if they are to the leafy stage, the leaves should be green not yellow.
Culinary Uses
Sprouts have now gone mainstream, with alfalfa and mung bean sprouts showing up in almost every grocery store, but many more besides can be sprouted right in your own kitchen. |
Linda B. White, M.D.
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 To get you started, here is an overview of five medicinal herbs that are easy to grow in many climates, and five herbs that are easy to harvest from the wild. Naturally there are many more. five herbs to grow
Calendula (Calendula officinalis)
Also known as pot marigold, this ed-ibleannual flower is easily grown from seed in a sunny spot. The fresh flowers are marvelous to add to salads or cooked foods. Dried, they can be used in teas or gargles for sore throat or inflammations of the mouth or in infused oils for minor skin injuries or irritations. |
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