Michael Tierra
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 From medicinal plants of the Mountains West by Michael Moore, publ. 1993 by Red Crane Books, Santa Fe, New Mexico.)
Properties: Tonics, antiinflammatory, antidiabetic, antirheumatic.
Devil's claw with its tannins removed has demonstrated the ability to lower blood sugar. It is interesting that many studies have not shown its ability to lower blood sugar in alkaline or crude extracts including water. In fact, water extracts contain elements that actually can raise blood sugar. The hypoglycemic principle is separated when it is precipitated in acetone, hardly a home herbalist's process. |
Phyllis A. Balch, CNC
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 Tests performed at the Museum of medicinal plants in Macapa, Brazil, in 1993 suggested that andiroba may have anti-carcinogenic activity. Gelatin capsules containing the oil have been used for the treatment of internal cancers in Brazil.
Benefits of andiroba for specific health conditions include the following:
• Arthritis and rheumatism. Hot andiroba oil is rubbed into the skin to relieve arthritis and rheumatism.
• Fractures. Andiroba oil is rich in beneficial omega-3 fatty acids. These essential fatty acids are quickly absorbed through the skin and circulated to the area of a fracture. |
Michael Tierra, L.Ac, O.M.D.
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 This also applies to the energetic classifications of TCM, describing the relative heating or cooling nature of medicinal plants, the Five Flavors, and the organ meridians affected.
While certain plants appear to have some specific beneficial effects, we should not limit ourselves to the naive assumption that that is all they do. TCM at least teaches us that all substances have, to varying degrees, variations of two basic energetic effects encompassed by the yin-yang paradigm. |
Phyllis A. Balch, CNC
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| It was one of the first medicinal plants brought to the Americas from Europe. Reaching a height of only sixteen inches (forty centimeters), psyllium bears narrow leaves and clusters of minute off-white flowers. Herbal medicine uses whole seeds and ground plantain seeds, gathered in summer and autumn when the seeds have ripened.
EVIDENCE OF BENEFIT
For centuries, traditional Chinese and ayurvedic physicians have used psyllium to treat diarrhea, constipation, hemorrhoids, and urinary problems. Psyllium is a source of soothing mucilages for the digestive and respiratory tracts. |
Michael Tierra
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| What information I have about nigella I owe to herbalist and plant scientist Jim Duke who presented it in his book medicinal plants of the Bible. In it he describes black cumin as a Muslim miracle herb; which an Arab proverb says that "in the black seed is the medicine for every disease except death."
A Turkish colleague of mine reports that the herb's seeds are widely cultivated and traded in ton lots within his country throughout the Midle East, northern Africa, and India. |
| When purchasing herbs from a store, one should realize that though many of the medicinal plants are available in the United States, the ones that are available commercially are often imported. This is because herb growing is a labor intensive enterprise and labor costs are too high in the United States compared to other countries, especially those of Eastern Europe, South and Central America. The major exception to this is the wildcrafting of herbs in the Appalachian region. Here, the poorer people can gather wild herbs in the surrounding forest area for a little extra income. |
Bill Gottlieb
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 Herbal therapy is the use of medicinal plants for health and healing. It is one of the oldest forms of what is now called alternative medicine.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Plants contain a variety of chemicals that are beneficial to health. In fact, a large number of modern drugs contain compounds that were originally found in plants. Consider saponins. Found in many plants, these compounds break down excess mucus and improve elimination from the bowels. Other common compounds, called tannins, can slow bleeding from wounds, and some are now known to have antimicrobial properties. |
Michael Tierra, L.Ac, O.M.D.
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| Beyond the medicinal plants used in traditional Chinese herbalism, it is the profound holistic theory and philosophy that is of even greater value. Traditional Chinese medicine is, like most ancient medical systems, truly holistic because it understands and addresses all aspects of the mind-body connection, something that contemporary Western medicine has only recently come to recognize. It also sees a close relationship between health and all external factors such as climate, season, diet, work, lifestyle, and relationships. |
| Medicinal plants and foods are classified by their heating or cooling energy according to their flavors and bodily effects. Because in nature yin and yang embody aspects of each other, every plant or food has both a yin or yang aspect. The exceptions, in many cases, are seeds that represent a balance of yin and yang energy. It is the most predominant quality that determines the classification of medicinal herbs and therapeutic foods. Generally speaking, herbs that have spicy or sweet flavors and somehow stimulate or raise body metabolism have a warm energy. |
Phyllis A. Balch, CNC
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| A study of 204 Japanese medicinal plants found that prunella made one of the strongest showings in terms of anti-HIV properties. At a dosage of 16 micrograms per milliliter, prunella extracts completely eradicated HIV under laboratory conditions. Canadian scientists have confirmed that prunella extracts block cell-to-cell transmission of the virus and interfere with the virus's ability to bind with T cells, immune cells that are destroyed by HIV infection. Scientists at the University of California-Davis have identified the complex sugar in the herb that accounts for its actions against HIV. |
Kathi Keville
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 Since pharmaceutical drugs are not very effective against viruses, medical researchers are investigating medicinal plants as alternatives. In time, compounds from these herbs will probably be synthesized by pharmaceutical companies, the resulting formulas will be classified as prescription drugs, and consumers will have to pay a fortune to take advantage of them.
But why wait? And why pay through the nose? If you can go direct to the source for less money, why not do so?
In one study, medical researchers looked at more than 50 medicinal herbs. |
Margarita Artschwager Kay
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 I often hear now that my interest in medicinal plants has become known. Other common questions are Do they really work? Aren't they very dangerous? Are they "just" placebo? Do Mexicans and Indians use different remedies? Why do they have different names? What are the "correct" names for these herbs? It is hard to find answers to such questions about natural remedies used by Mexican Americans from southern Arizona and New Mexico and by peoples of the Mexican states of Sonora, Chihuahua, Baja California Norte, and Baja California Sur—primarily desert regions. |
Janet Zand, LAc, OMD, Allan N. Spreed, MD, CNC, James B. LaValle, RPh, ND
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 The efficacy of many medicinal plants has been validated by scientists abroad, from Europe to eastern Asia. Thanks to modern technology, scientists have identified some of the specific properties and interactions of botanical constituents. With this scientific documentation, we now know why certain herbs are effective against certain conditions. However, almost all of the current research validating herbal medicine has been done in Germany, Japan, China, Taiwan, and Russia. And for the most part, the U.S. |
Simon Mills and Kerry Bone
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 Queensland, Kerry Bone
Australia 1999
Acknowledgments
It is obviously a large task to comprehensively capture and review at any one time the now extensive literature on major medicinal plants. Several herbalists assisted with Part Three of this text which contains the herbal monographs. The contributions of Mark Walker, Berris Burgoyne, Andrew Pengelly and Michael Thomsen are gratefully recognized. |
| A common misconception about 'why medicinal plants work' occurs in lay and sometimes even professional circles. This is that the various nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and so on are responsible for the pharmacological activity of plants. Almost without exception, this is not the case. In fact, the archetypal plant constituents generally come from the class of plant metabolites known as secondary metabolites. Primary metabolites are necessary to sustain the life of the plant and include enzymes and other proteins, lipids, carbohydrates and chlorophyll. |
| Pharmacognosy, phytochemistry, medicinal plants. Lavoisier Publishing, Paris, 1995.
• Evans WC. Trease and Evans' pharmacognosy, 14th edn. WB Saunders, London, 1996.
Why should secondary metabolites have biological activity in animals? One suggestion put forward by Baker is that enzymes in animals can share a common ancestry with enzymes or proteins in plants. |
| If it is accepted that medicinal plants act at a chemical level in the body (as well as probably other levels of activity), then knowledge of herbal pharmacokinetics is vital.
• Given that, with a few exceptions in some countries, oral and topical doses are used for herbal medicines, a better knowledge of bioavailability is critical to meet the challenge of future health problems.
In particular, the information derived from the detailed study of herbal pharmacokinetics will confer certain advantages. |
| Chemistry and biological activity of tannins in medicinal plants. In: Wagner N, Farnsworth NR (eds) Economic and medicinal plant research, volume 5. Academic Press, London, 1991, pp 130-165.
132. Ducrey B, Marston A, Gohring S et al. Inhibition of 5a-reductase and aromatase by the ellagitarmins oenothein A and oenothein B from Epilobium species. Planta Medica 1997; 63: 111-114.
133. Mizuno T, Uchino K, Toukairin T et al. Inhibitory effect of tannic acid sulfate and related sulfates on infectivity, cytopathic effect, and giant cell formation of human immunodeficiency virus. |
| Nevertheless, to understand more effectively the potential of medicinal plants in affecting circulatory functions an appreciation of the earlier traditional perspective will be helpful. It is immediately obvious that before modern instruments, human experience of the circulatory system and the effects of treatments upon it was very different. As shall be seen, the insights developed in these early times usefully inform modern prospects. |
Michael Tierra
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| In conclusion, we might direct our attention not only to the powerful beneficial aspects of medicinal plants, but also to their ability to poison and inflict harm. Poisonous herbs are used in minute "homeopathic" dosage, often one part in thousands, to effect profound cures of both acute and chronic illnesses. In any case, never eat a strange herb or plant of which you have no positive identification. |
Schuyler W. Lininger, Jr. DC
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 CRC Handbook of medicinal plants. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 1985, 209.
29. Konig M, Scholz E, Hartmann R, Lehmann W, Rimpler H. Ellagitannins and complex tannins from Quercus petraea bark. / Nat Prod 1994; 57(10): 1411-15.
30. Schilcher H. Phytotherapy in Paediatrics. Stuttgart, Germany: Medpharm Scientific Publishers, 1997, 49-50.
31. Khin-Maung U, Myo-Khin, Nyunt-Nyunt-Wai, et al. Clinical trial of berberine in acute watery diarrhoea. Br Med J 1985; 291: 1601-605.
Dupuytren's Contracture
1. Thomson GR. Treatment of Dupuytren's contracture with vitamin E. BMJ 1949; Dec 17: 1382-83.
2. |
the Editors of PREVENTION
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 Arguably the mother of all medicinal plants, echinacea was the best-selling medicinal plant in America into the 1920s. In recent years, Americans have rediscovered its healing powers. "Echinacea is a potent antiviral," says Ed Smith, a professional member of the AHG and owner of Herb Pharm in Williams, Oregon. While no one component is credited for echinacea's medicinal action, it is rich in polysaccharides, substances that have been found to stimulate infection-fighting white blood cells.
Lemon Balm
Swish your mouth with some tea three to five times a day. |
Kathi Keville
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| Other herbs that keep cholesterol in line may seem even more like food than medicinal plants. In one German study, participants who were given compounds extracted from artichoke showed a consistent reduction in cholesterol levels, with an average decrease of 20 percent. So far, studies on eggplant have been done only on animals, but these preliminary studies indicate that it too may lower cholesterol levels. It's no wonder that India's ancient Ayurvedic medicine considered this vegetable a heart tonic.
The Ayurvedic herb guggul can also be used to slow cholesterol buildup. |
the Editors of PREVENTION
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| Good oP frankincense and myrrh are just two of the scores of medicinal plants referred to in the Bible, proving that there's not much new under the sun, herbally speaking. A garden description in the Song of Solomon, for example, is herb-filled: "... Spikenard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes ..." Today, we benefit from all of those, although we may call spikenard (Aralia nudi-caulis) wild sarsaparilla and calamus (Acorus calamus) sweet flag. trolled experiments). For most M.D.'s—even those open to herbal alternatives—that's not good enough. |
Ralph Golan, M.D.
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 The Healing Power of Herbs: The Enlightened Person's Guide to the Wonders of medicinal plants. Rockland, CA: Prima Publishing, 1991.
Pizzorno, J. E., and Murray, M. T. "Pharmacology of Natural Medicines." In A Textbook of Natural Medicine. Seattle, WA: John Bastyr College Publications, 1985.
Tierra, M. The Way of Herbs. New York: Pocket Books, 1980.
-. Planetary Herbology. Santa Fe, New Mexico:
Lotus Press, 1988. Weiss, R. F. Herbal Medicine. Beaconsfield, England:
Beaconsfield, Ltd., 1988. |
Dr. John Heinerman
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 Cleaning Purulent Matter from Small-Animal Eyes
Glasgow—To hear Theron Dunkirk, a small-animal practitioner tell it, all you need are a few medicinal plants to concoct a simple eye remedy. In a public lecture held last night in Yardley Hall, the good doctor devoted considerable time to proclaiming the virtues of plants over conventional agents in treating small animals.
The attentive crowd of some 175 listened eagerly as he told them how to make an eye wash for animals with conjunctivitis. His favorites for this are mint leaves, fennel seed, and spikes of brilliantly colored gladiola flowers. |
| He was of the decided opinion that hyperemia could be just as easily treated with medicinal plants as with drugs such as atropine or aspirin.
His very favorite herbes for this were rose petals, lilies, summer savory herbe, and rue flowers. He preferred to steep everything in spring water over several days time without the benefit of heat. He believed that by cooking them, their wonderful medicinal virtues disintegrated rapidly.
The herbes and flowers could be lightly crushed with a mortar in a stone pestle and then transferred to a flask before the cool water was poured over them. |
Jean Carper
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 DUKE'S MIRACLE "/ Didn't Believe It at First"
Probably nobody on the face of the earth knows more about medicinal plants than James Duke,
Ph.D., a medical botanist formerly with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He has designed databases of the pharmacological activity of plants and plant chemicals. He has written learned, scholarly books on the subject that are studied by other experts, as well as popular articles and books. One other thing: Jim suffers from gout. "I had my first attack of gout when I was forty-seven," he says, "I'm now sixty-seven, so it's twenty years ago. |
| Varro Tyler, a leading authority on medicinal plants and dean emeritus of the School of Pharmacy at
Purdue University. He points to recent German studies. For example, in 1992 two well-conducted German studies concluded that echinacea helped people get over colds and flu faster and reduced their severity. The plant worked especially well on people with weakened immune systems. One study tested echinacea on 108 people, ages thirteen to eighty-four, who were prone to infections—they had suffered at least three cold-connected infections the previous winter. |
Christopher Hobbs
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 Varro Tyler, a respected phar-macognocist with many years of research experience on medicinal plants and psychedelic mushrooms, who states emphatically that given our present state of knowledge, the use of Psilocybe mushrooms should be avoided altogether (Tyler, 1994). Some potential objections to the practice have been previously mentioned, namely the possible negative impact on the user's brain chemistry, mental health and immune system. |
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