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Herbs Against Cancer: History and Controversy Ralph W. Moss PhD See book keywords and concepts

Fernando Cabieses of the Peruvian Ministry of Health found Uncaria species missing from the oldest and most important books on Peruvian medicinal plants. There are several possible explanations for this lacuna: a) Since cat's claw was used as a contraceptive it formed part of "women's medicine," and was hidden from men, including Western ethnobotanists. b) Explorers shied away from the area in which cat's claw grew because of the fierce reputation of the Ashaninkas.

The Way of Herbs Michael Tierra See book keywords and concepts

Just as the climate and outward conditions of our life affect our characteristics and personality, so also do the growing conditions of a specific area affect the characteristics of the medicinal plants that can be found growing there. I decided that this particular "Baja" chaparral was especially good for diseases involving the liver because of the traditional relationship in Chinese medicine between the wind and the liver. Other considerations I have noted for various reasons are as follows: 1.

Alternative Medicine the Definitive Guide, Second Edition Larry Trivieri, Jr. See book keywords and concepts

In between these two poles lies a wide spectrum of medicinal plants with significant medical applications," says Donald Brown, N.D., a leading author and researcher on herbal medicine and former Professor of Botanical Medicine at Bastyr University, in Seattle, Washington. "One need only go to the older editions of the United States Pharmacopoeia to see the central role that plant medicine has played in American medicine." What is an Herb? The word herb in herbal medicine refers to a plant or plant part that is used to make medicine, spices, or aromatic oils for soaps and fragrances.

An organization committed to the preservation of medicinal plants in North America. Produces conferences, books, and operates a native medicinal plant sanctuary in central Ohio. Recommended Reading Magazines and Newsletters American Herb Association Newsletter. Available from: P.O. Box 1673, Nevada City, California 95959; (530) 265-9552; Website: www.jps.net/ahaherb.This publication covers a wide range of herbal topics: media coverage, research, regulatory issues, quality control, and more. HerbalGram. Available from: American Botanical Council, P.O.

Artemisia absinthium: This is one of the oldest European medicinal plants, similar to the Artemisia annua of Chinese herbal tradition. Known as "wormwood," it was highly prized by the Greek physician Hippocrates and used to expel worms. Artemisia absinthium taken alone can be toxic, though, and therefore should be used in combination with other herbs to nullify its toxicity. Aloe vera: Known as "the potted physician," the aloe plant is filled with a clear gel that acts as a digestive tonic. Studies have shown that aloe can destroy bacteria, yeasts, and parasites in the intestines.

Western Medicine: The use of medicinal plants is also fundamental to Western society's pharmacologically based approach to medicine. The majority of medicinal drug groups were discovered or developed from the plant kingdom (or plant kindom as some modern evolutionary biologists prefer to call it, acknowledging the kinship and interconnectedness of all living organisms), even if they are now manufactured synthetically. However, most modern health professionals view medicines as biochemical "magic bullets," which should be expected to provide instant results.

The Encyclopedia of Popular Herbs Robert S. McCaleb, Evelyn Leigh, and Krista Morien See book keywords and concepts

The Healing Power of Herbs:The Enlightened Person's Guide to the Wonders of medicinal plants. Rocklin, CA: Prima Publishing, 1995. Murray M, Pizzorno J. Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine, 2nd ed. Rocklin, CA: Prima Publishing, 1998. Ody P. Healing with Herbs: Simple Treatments for More Than 100 Common Ailments. Pownal, VT: Storey Books, 1999. Ody P. Herbs for First Aid, 2nd ed. Los Angeles: Keat's Publishing, 1999. Pederson M. Nutritional Herbology: A Reference Guide to Herbs. Winona Lake, IN: Wendell Whitman, 1994. Robbers JE, Tyler V.

Melatonin in feverfew and other medicinal plants. The Lancet 1997; 350: 1598-1599. 8. Awang DVC. Feverfew trials: the promise of—and the problem with—standardized botanical extracts. HerbalGram 1997; 41: 16-17. 9. McGuffm M, Hobbs C, Upton R, et al., eds. American Herbal Products Association Botanical Safety Handbook. Boca Raton and New York: CRC Press LLC, 1997. 10. Foster S. 101 Medicinal Herbs. Loveland, CO: Interweave Press, 1998.

Moerman D. medicinal plants of Native America. Vol. 1 and 2. Ann Arbor: Regent of the University of Michigan, Museum of Anthropol-ogy, 1986. Reynolds J, ed. Martindale: The Extra Pharmacopoeia, 30th ed. London: The Pharmaceutical Press, 1993. Tyler V. Pharmacognosy, 8th ed. Philadelphia: Lea and Febiger, 1981. Upton R, ed. American Herbal Pharmacopoeia Monographs. (See appendix E for more information.) Wagner H, Bladt S. Plant Drug Analysis, 2nd ed. Berlin and Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag, 1996. Wagner H, Farnsworth NR. Economic and Medicinal Plant Research. San Diego: Academic Press, 1991.

Red clover also contains coumarins, compounds found in several medicinal plants that have been linked to protective effects against cancer and edema (swelling due to fluid accumulation), as well as antioxidant, blood-thinning, and cholesterol-lowering actions.10 More studies are needed to determine the health benefits of the specific coumarins found in red clover.

For example, one of the world's oldest known cultivated medicinal plants is the Chinese herb ma huang, or ephedra, which has been grown for over 5,000 years in China for treating respiratory disease, including asthma. Ephedra is the source of the modern drugs ephedrine, still used today to treat asthma, and pseudoephedrine (what we know as Sudafed), which is used as a nasal decongestant. These chemical compounds can be made synthetically in a laboratory, but they are no more effective than the plant itself; they are merely more concentrated.

Herbs Aloe Aloe vera LlLIACEAE State of Knowledge: Five-Star Rating System Clinical (human) research * Laboratory research * * History of use/traditional use * * * * Safety record * * * International acceptance * * * Part Used: Leaf gel Primary Uses External • Minor burns and sunburn • Wound healing • Other skin conditions Internal • Diabetes (experimental) • HIV infection (experimental—acemannan) After more than 4,000 years of traditional use, aloe vera ranks as one of the oldest medicinal plants known to humanity.

The Woman's Encyclopedia of Natural Healing Dr. Gary Null See book keywords and concepts

An ethnobotanical survey was made of the medicinal plants of Israel. The species identified as hypoglycemic treatments include Achillea fragrantissima, Ammi visnaga, Atriplex halimus, Capparis spinosa, Ceratonia siliqua, Cleome droserifolia, Eryngium creticum, Inula viscosa, Matricaria aurea, Origanum syriaca, Paronychia argentea Lam, Prosopis farcta, Salvia fruticosa, Sarcopoterium spinosum, and Teu-crium polium. Z. Davini et at, "Plants Used for the Treatment of Diabetes in Israel," Journal of Ethnopharmacology 19, no. 2 (March-April 1987): 145-51.

Desta, "Ethiopian Traditional Herbal Drugs, Part III: Anti-Fertility Activity of 70 medicinal plants," Journal of Ethnopharmacology 44, no. 3 (December 1994): 199-209. BIRTH CONTROL PILLS: RISKS Risks of birth control pills can include cerebral arterial thrombosis, peripheral arterial thrombosis, cerebral embolism, pelvic vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, thrombosis of the sinus agittalis, recurrent pancreatitis, and focal nodular hyperplasia of the liver, according to a report. C. Piper and B.

Alternative Medicine the Definitive Guide, Second Edition Larry Trivieri, Jr. See book keywords and concepts

The five elements are of particular importance to the Chinese herbalist, because they give rise to the five tastes by which all medicinal plants are evaluated. Fire gives rise to bitterness, earth to sweetness, metal to acridity, water to saltiness, and wood to sourness. Each taste is said to have a particular medicinal action: bitter-tasting herbs drain and dry; sweet herbs tonify and may reduce pain; acrid herbs disperse; salty herbs nourish the kidneys; and sour herbs nourish the yin and have an astringent action, preventing unwanted loss of body fluids or vital energy (qi).

Heinerman's Encyclopedia of Fruits, Vegetables and Herbs John Heinerman See book keywords and concepts

Details of the evidence may be found in Craker and Simon's recent book, Herbs, Spices and medicinal plants (Oryx Press, 1986). Consider this, for instance—two groups of mice were given a dangerous compound found in a deadly species of mushroom. The untreated group died in 3 hours with massive internal bleeding around the liver, while the group treated with milk thistle seed survived very nicely.

The Green Pharmacy: New Discoveries in Herbal Remedies for Common Diseases and Conditions from the World's Foremost Authority on Healing Herbs James A. Duke, Ph.D. See book keywords and concepts

Astk ma Martha was one of my favorite people—a tall, pretty, free-spirited woman in her thirties who worked as a technician with me in the medicinal plants Research Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). We were both involved with the joint USDA/National Cancer Institute plant-screening program, looking for plants with anti-cancer potential. Martha loved to hike in the woods, and we occasionally hiked together. I can see her now, working happily in my ginseng patch in big, tall cowboy boots.

The Natural Pharmacy: Complete Home Reference to Natural Medicine Schuyler W. Lininger, Jr. DC See book keywords and concepts

Moore M. medicinal plants of the Desert and Canyon West. Santa Fe: Museum of New Mexico Press, 1989, 27-29. 10. Sheikh NM, Philen RM, Love LA. Chaparral-associated hepato-toxicity. Arch Int Med 1997; 157: 913-19. 11. Smart CR, Hogle CR, Vogel H, et al. Clinical experience with nordihydroguaiaretic acid—"chapparel tea" [sic] in the treatment of cancer. Rocky Mtn Med J 1970; 67: 39-43. 12. McGuffin M, Hobbs C, Upton R, Goldberg A. American Herbal Products Association's Botanical Safety Handbook. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 1997, 67. Chickweed 1. Duke JA. CRC Handbook of Medicinal Herbs.

The Green Pharmacy: New Discoveries in Herbal Remedies for Common Diseases and Conditions from the World's Foremost Authority on Healing Herbs James A. Duke, Ph.D. See book keywords and concepts

In fact, the more we clip the leaves of medicinal plants, the more medicinal they become. This makes sense botanically because herbs' medicinal constituents are basically part of the plant's self-protection system. Harvesting the leaves makes the plant respond as if it's under attack (which it is), so it produces more of what protects it. Studies have shown that infections, insect infestations and leaf-plucking, among other attacks on the plant, increase the levels of some of the same chemicals that we view as medicines.

Those years with the USDA took me around the world many times, learning about the medicinal plants in The Green Pharmacy. Retirement has allowed me to do more than just write this book. I've become deeply involved with The Amazon Center for Environmental Education and Research (ACEER), with its U.S. base in Helena, Alabama. I've become a consultant for the American Botanical Council in Austin, Texas, Herbalife in Los Angeles and Nature's Herbs in American Fork, Utah.

The Doctor's Vitamin and Mineral Encyclopedia Sheldon Saul Hendler See book keywords and concepts

Fenugreek (Good Culinary Spice)_ Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) is one of the oldest medicinal plants, dating back to the ancient Egyptians and Hippocrates. The women of the harem were said to eat roasted fenugreek seeds to make them more shapely, while the lord of the harem ate them as an aphrodisiac. Fenugreek seeds are used in curries and soups. The list of beneficial properties claimed for fenugreek (mainly the seeds) is a long one but without supporting evidence. Some believe that consumption of fenugreek seeds helps clear mucous congestion.

Miracle Medicine Foods Rex Adams See book keywords and concepts

Dastur, in his book medicinal plants of India, recommends that a garlic poultice be applied to the pubic region, as well as the abdomen, in cases of urine retention due to atony of the bladder. time, several times a day. Also massage the bladder nerves—a little past the center on the inner edge of each foot toward the heel, to relieve stones. It may also help to massage the center of each wrist, near the palm. One man who did this, Mr. R.A., says: "In about ten minutes, I went to the bathroom and passed a stone ... big enough to make a big splash when it hit the water.

Heinerman's Encyclopedia of Fruits, Vegetables and Herbs John Heinerman See book keywords and concepts

Perry's medicinal plants of East and Southeast Asia, published by the Massachusetts Institute of iccuuuiugy ricss in ^amuiiuge, uescnues uic use ui uic sccua mauc into a strong tea for reducing stomach cancer and their external application as a heated poultice for treating breast cancer in women. Dr. Jonathan L. Hartwell, formerly of the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, carefully screened thousands of plants for potential anti-cancer activity. His comprehensive report appeared in different issues of the scientific journal, Lloydia. In the March 1969 number, Dr.

Herbs Against Cancer: History and Controversy Ralph W. Moss PhD See book keywords and concepts

Nor is it mentioned as an Ojibwa plant in the Field Guide to American Indian medicinal plants (279). Two related plants, Rumex obtusi-folius and Rumex crispus (bitter dock and yellow dock) were used as medicines for cuts, ulcers and eruptions, but again there is no mention of any use against cancer by the Ojibwas. A Foreign Medicinal Plant At one point, Rene Caisse claimed that enough of Essiac's component herbs grew in Ontario to supply the whole world. This is probably true of the first three ingredients, but could not have been true of Turkey rhubarb.

Heinerman's Encyclopedia of Fruits, Vegetables and Herbs John Heinerman See book keywords and concepts

In his recent work, medicinal plants of the Bible, he devotes a couple of inches of space to their potential with cancer. For instance, he says that a poultice made from crushed date pits and date meat may help testicular tumors. And the fresh fruit,' 'prepared in various manners,'' he asserts, may "remedy cancer of the stomach and uterus, abdominal tumors, hardness of the liver and spleen and ulcerated and nonulcerated cancers.

In his scientific reference work, medicinal plants and Traditional Medicine in Africa, Abayomi Sofowora, who is Professor of Pharmacognosy at the University of Ife in Ile-Ife, Nigeria, indicates that a water extract of the active principle from the powdered root of prickly ash "will revert sickle-cell anaemia." "Studies show that the extract of the root is not toxic orally," he adds. "It has reduced significantly the painful crisis of sickle-cell patients in a clinical trial carried out in Ibadan.

Consumer's Dictionary of Food Additives: A Consumer's Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients Vitamin E Ruth Winter See book keywords and concepts

A class of medicinal plants used as a flavoring in alcoholic beverages only. VERX1TE GRANULES and FLAKES • Hydrated magnesium-aluminum iron silicate. Soft and resilient. Used as an anticaking and blending agent in ruminant feeds. VERXITE GRITS • Used as a roughage replacement in ruminant feeds. VERY LOW SODIUM • Less than 35 mg per serving. VETIVER OIL • Vetiverol. Khus-Khus. Stable brown to reddish brown oil from the roots of a fragrant grass. It has an aromatic to harsh woodsy odor. Used as a flavoring in alcoholic beverages only and as a scent in soaps and perfumes.

Food Revolution: How your diet can help save your life and our world John Robbins See book keywords and concepts

Agribusiness) has this attitude that the weeds are stealing from them, so they spray (Roundup or other herbicides) on a field which has sometimes 200 species that the women of the area would normally use in various ways as food, medicinal plants, or fodder."2'1 Shiva goes on to say that in many cases, people are suffering from vitamin A deficiency not because they don't have access to golden rice, but because their fields have been doused with too many chemicals.

Herbal Defense Robyn Landis See book keywords and concepts

Moore, Michael. medicinal plants of the Desert and Canyon West. Mowrey, Daniel, Ph.D. Scientific Validation of Herbal Medicine. Mowrey, Daniel, Ph.D. Herbal Tonic Therapies. Null, Gary. Healing Your Body Naturally. Ody, Penelope. The Complete Medicinal Herbal Rector-Page, Linda, N.D., Ph.D. Power Plants: Building Immunity with Herbs. Santillo, Humberto. Natural Healing with Herbs. Tierra, Lesley. The Herbs of Life.*** Tierra, Michael, C.A., N.D. The Way of Herbs. Vogel, Virgil J. American Indian Medicine. Willard, Terry. The Wild Rose Scientific Herbal. American Herbalist Guild.

Food and Healing Annemarie Colbin See book keywords and concepts

The nightshade family, or Solanaceae, comprises some ninety-two genera with over two thousand species; its members include many stimulating, poisonous, or medicinal plants, such as tobacco, henbane, mandrake, and belladonna (deadly nightshade); ornamental plants, such as petunia, chalice vine, and angel's-trumpet; and some of our most widely used food plants—potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers of all kinds (green, red, chili, paprika, cayenne, hot, sweet, and so on, except for black and white pepper).

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