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Herbal Medicinal Properties

The following herbal descriptions will be derived from many different sources. At first we will include mainly Mrs. M. Grieve, from her book "A Modern Herbal", but will be adding more shortly. The publishing of the following opinions, though all of them are professional, (except when the editor inserts his opinion), is not intended to constitute professional medical advice, because professional advice must take into account the individual needs of the patient, and not just the qualities of abstracted medications. Any persons minded to act upon the information provided must reckon themselves alone responsible for investigating and understanding the effects of their actions, and for the results of taking them. All that being said, we highly recommend your doing so, and taking your health care back into your own hands.

Mrs. M. Grieve ---Medicinal Action and Uses---Astringent tonic, diuretic. Agrimony has had a great reputation for curing jaundice and other liver complaints. Gerard believed in its efficacy. He says: 'A decoction of the leaves is good for them that have naughty livers': and he tells us also that Pliny called it a 'herb of princely authoritie.' Dioscorides stated that it was not only 'a remedy for them that have bad livers,' but also 'for such as are bitten with serpents.' Dr. Hill, who from 1751 to 1771 published several works on Herbal medicine, recommends 'an infusion of 6 oz. of the crown of the root in a quart of boiling water, sweetened with honey and half a pint drank three times a day,' as an effectual remedy for jaundice. It gives tone to the system and promotes assimilation of food.

Agrimony is also considered a very useful agent in skin eruptions and diseases of the blood, pimples, blotches, etc. A strong decoction of the root and leaves, sweetened with honey or sugar, has been taken successfully to cure scrofulous sores, being administered two or three times a day, in doses of a wineglassful, persistently for several months. The same decoction is also often employed in rural districts as an application to ulcers.

In North America, it is said to be used in fevers with great success, by the Indians and Canadians. In former days, it was sometimes given as a vermifuge, though that use of it is obsolete. In the Middle Ages, it was said to have magic powers, if laid under a man's head inducing heavy sleep till removed, but no narcotic properties are ascribed to it. Green (Universal Herbal, 1832) tells us that 'its root appears to possess the properties of Peruvian bark in a very considerable degree, without manifesting any of its inconvenient qualities, and if taken in pretty large doses, either in decoction or powder, seldom fails to cure the ague.'

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Herbal Properties Index

Arnica: Arnica montana

Mrs. M. Grieve ---Medicinal Action and Uses---In countries where Arnica is indigenous, it has long been a popular remedy. In the North American colonies the flowers are used in preference to the rhizome. They have a discutient property. The tincture is used for external application to sprains, bruises, and wounds, and as a paint for chilblains when the skin is unbroken. Repeated applications may produce severe inflammation. It is seldom used internally, because of its irritant effect on the stomach. Its action is stimulant and diuretic, and it is chiefly used in low fevers and paralytie affections.

Arnica flowers are sometimes adulterated with other composite flowers, especially Calendula officinalis, Inula brittanica, Kragapogon pratensis, and Scorzonera humilis.

For tender feet a foot-bath of hot water containing 1/2 oz. of the tincture has brought great relief. Applied to the scalp it will make the hair grow.

Great care must be exercised though, as some people are particularly sensitive to the plant and many severe cases of poisoning have resulted from its use, especially if taken internally.

British Pharmacopoeia Tincture, root, 10 to 30 drops. United States Pharmacopoeia Tincture, flowers, 10 to 30 drops.

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Herbal Properties Index

Alfalfa:

Mr. Humbart Santillo: Alfalfa was discovered by the Arabs, who called it the "Father of all foods." Its valuable nutritive properties include calcium, magnesium, phasphorus and potassium, plus vitamin K and vitamin P

It aids in the assimilation of protein, fats and carbohydrates and is an excellent blood purifier. Alfalfa has been substituted for red clover blossoms because of their similar properties. It is good for reducing fevers. Fresh or powdered alfalfa can be added to soups and salads.

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Herbal Properties Index

Angelica: Angelica Archangelica

Mrs. M. Grieve:---Medicinal Action and Uses---The root stalks, leaves and fruit possess carminative, stimulant, diaphoretic, stomachic, tonic and expectorant properties, which are strongest in the fruit, though the whole plant has the same virtues.

Angelica is a good remedy for colds, coughs, pleurisy, wind, colic, rheumatism and diseases of the urinary organs, though it should not be given to patients who have a tendency towards diabetes, as it causes an increase of sugar in the urine.

It is generally used as a stimulating expectorant, combined with other expectorants the action of which is facilitated, and to a large extent diffused, through the whole of the pulmonary region.

It is a useful agent for feverish conditions, acting as a diaphoretic.

An infusion may be made by pouring a pint of boiling water on an ounce of the bruised root, and two tablespoonsful of this should be given three or four times a day, or the powdered root administered in doses of 1O to 30 grains. The infusion will relieve flatulence, and is also of use as a stimulating bronchial tonic, and as an emmenagogue. It is used much on the Continent for indigestion, general debility and chronic bronchitis. For external use, the fresh leaves of the plant are crushed and applied as poultices in lung and chest diseases.

The following is extracted from an old family book of herbal remedies: 'Boil down gently for three hours a handful of Angelica root in a quart of water; then strain it off and add liquid Narbonne honey or best virgin honey sufficient to make it into a balsam or syrup and take two tablespoonsful every night and morning, as well as several times in the day. If there be hoarseness or sore throat, add a few nitre drops.'

A somewhat similar drink, much in use on the Continent in the treatment of typhus fever, is thus prepared: 'Pour a quart of boiling water upon 6 oz. of Angelica root cut up in thin slices, 4 oz. of honey, the juice of 2 lemons and 1/2 gill of brandy. Infuse for half an hour.'

Formerly a preparation of the roots was much used as a specific for typhoid.

Angelica stems are also grateful to a feeble stomach, and will relieve flatulence promptly when chewed. An infusion of Angelica leaves is a very healthful, strengthening tonic and aromatic stimulant, the beneficial effect of which is felt after a few days' use.

The yellow juice yielded by the stem and root becomes, when dry, a valuable medicine in chronic rheumatism and gout.

Taken in medicinal form, Angelica is said to cause a disgust for spirituous liquors.

It is a good vehicle for nauseous medicines and forms one of the ingredients in compound spirit of Aniseed.

Gerard, among its many virtues that he extols, says 'it cureth the bitings of mad dogs and all other venomous beasts.'

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Herbal Properties Index

Anise: Pimpinella anisum

Mrs. M. Grieve:---Medicinal Action and Uses---Carminative and pectoral. Anise enjoys considerable reputation as a medicine in coughs and pectoral affections. In hard, dry coughs where expectoration is difficult, it is of much value. It is greatly used in the form of lozenges and the seeds have also been used for smoking, to promote expectoration.

The volatile oil, mixed with spirits of wine forms the liqueur Anisette, which has a beneficial action on the bronchial tubes, and for bronchitis and spasmodic asthma, Anisette, if administered in hot water, is an immediate palliative.

For infantile catarrh, Aniseed tea is very helpful. It is made by pouring half a pint of boiling water on 2 teaspoonsful of bruised seed. This, sweetened, is given cold in doses of 1 to 3 teaspoonsful frequently.

Gerard said: 'Aniseed helpeth the yeoxing or hicket (hiccough) and should be given to young children to eat, which are like to have the falling sickness (epilepsy), or to/such as have it by patrimony or succession.'

The stimulant and carminative properties of Anise make it useful in flatulency and colic. It is used as an ingredient of cathartic and aperient pills, to relieve flatulence and diminish the griping of purgative medicines, and may be given with perfect safety in convulsions. For colic, the dose is 10 to 30 grains of bruised or powdered seeds infused in distilled water, taken in wineglassful doses, or 4 to 20 drops of the essential oil on sugar. For the restlessness of languid digestion, a dose of essence of aniseed in hot water at bedtime is much commended.

In the Paregoric Elixir (Compound Tincture of Camphor), prescribed as a sedative cordial by doctors, oil of Anise is also included - 30 drops in a pint of the tincture.

Anise oil is a good antiseptic and is used, mixed with oil of Peppermint or Gaultheria (Wintergreen) to flavour aromatic liquid dentrifrices.

Oil of Anise is used also against insects especially when mixed with oil of Sassafras and Carbolic oil.

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Herbal Properties Index

Aswaganda:Withania somnifera

James Green, Herbalist: This herb is popularly known as the Indian ginseng. It is used in Ayurvedic medicine to treat cerebral function deficits in the elderly, to enhance learning and memory retention in the normal population, and to enhance anti-stress and immune response. An exceptionally efficient herb for treating male impotence and infertility. (This excerpt is from Mr. Green's book on Men. This herb is equally exceptional for treating infertility and frigidity in women. Editor.) It is a specific strengthening tonic for countering poor growth in children as well as for convalescence and the diseases of aging. Ashwagandha has an affinity with the nervous system, improving strength of mind, treating wasting diseases, insomnia and neurasthenia. It shows an affinity with the musculo-skeletal system useful for treating joint and nerve pain as well as weaknesses in the knees and the back. (Mr. Green references, M. Tierra)

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Herbal Properties Index

Astragulus: Astragalus membranaceus

James F. Balch, M. D.: Acts as a tonic to protect the immune system. Aids adrenal gland function and digestion. Increases metabolism, produces spontaneous sweating, promites healing, and provides energy to combat fatigue. Increases stamina. Good for colds, flu, and immune-deficiency related problems, including AIDS, cancer, and tumors. Effective for chronic lung weakness.

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Herbal Properties Index

Barberry: Berberis vulgaris

Mrs. M. Grieve:---Medicinal Action and Uses---Tonic, purgative, antiseptic. It is used in the form of a liquid extract, given as decoction, infusion or tincture, but generally a salt of the alkaloid Berberine is preferred.

As a bitter stomachic tonic, it proves an excellent remedy for dyspepsia and functional derangement of the liver, regulating the digestive powers, and if given in larger doses, acting as a mild purgative and removing constipation.

It is used in all cases of jaundice, general debility and biliousness, and for diarrhoea.

It possesses febrifuge powers and is used as a remedy for intermittent fevers. It also forms an excellent gargle for a sore mouth.

A good lotion for application to cutaneous eruptions has also been made from it.

The berries contain citric and malic acids, and possess astringent and anti-scorbutic properties. They are useful in inflammatory fevers, especially typhus, also in bilious disorders and scurvy, and in the form of a jelly are very refreshing in irritable sore throat, for which also a syrup of Barberries made with water, proves an excellent astringent gargle.

The Egyptians are said still to employ a diluted juice of the berries in pestilential fevers, and Simon Paulli relates that he was cured of a malignant fever by drinking an infusion of the berries sweetened with sugar and syrup of roses.

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Herbal Properties Index

Bayberry: Myrica cerifera

Mrs. M. Grieve:---Medicinal Action and Uses---Astringent and stimulant. In large doses emetic. It is useful in diarrhoea, jaundice, scrofula, etc. Externally, the powdered bark is used as a stimulant to indolent ulcers, though in poultices it should be combined with elm. The decoction is good as a gargle and injection in chronic inflammation of the throat, leucorrhoea, uterine haemorrhage, etc. It is an excellent wash for the gums.

The powder is strongly sternutatory and excites coughing. Water in which the wax has been 'tried,' when boiled to an extract, is regarded as a certain cure for dysentery, and the wax itself, being astringent and slightly narcotic, is valuable in severe dysentery and internal ulcerations.

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Herbal Properties Index

Bilberry: Vaccinium myrtillus

Mrs. M. Grieve:---Medicinal Action and Uses---The leaves can be used in the same way as those of UvaUrsi. The fruits are astringent, and are especially valuable in diarrhoea and dysentery, in the form of syrup. The ancients used them largely, and Dioscorides spoke highly of them. They are also used for discharges, and as antigalactagogues. A decoction of the leaves or bark of the root may be used as a local application to ulcers, and in ulceration of the mouth and throat.

The fruit is helpful in scurvy and urinary complaints, and when bruised with the roots and steeped in gin has diuretic properties valuable in dropsy and gravel. A tea made of the leaves is also a remedy for diabetes if taken for a prolonged period.

Editor: I had a customer call who bought this all the time, saying that, while not a cure, yet it totally releived all symptoms of glaucoma, so long as she took it. She had but one eye left, as it had not been properly diagnosed by her MD, but it prevented the other one from being lost.

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Herbal Properties Index

Blackberry: Rubus villosus

Mrs. Grieve: ---Medicinal Action and Uses---An astringent tonic for diarrhoea, dysentery, etc. It is very similar in action to the wild English Blackberry.

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Herbal Properties Index

Black Cohosh: Cimicifuga racemosa

Mrs. M. Grieve: ---Medicinal Action and Uses---Astringent, emmenagogue, diuretic, alterative, expectorant. The root of this plant is much used in America in many disorders, and is supposed to be an antidote against poison and the bite of the rattlesnake. The fresh root, dug in October, is used to make a tincture.

In small doses, it is useful in children's diarrhoea.

In the paroxyms of consumption, it gives relief by allaying the cough, reducing the rapidity of the pulse and inducing perspiration. In whooping-cough, it proves very effective.

The infusion and decoction have been given with success in rheumatism.

In infantile disorders, it is given in the form of syrup. It is said to be a specific in St. Vitus' Dance of children. Overdoses produce nausea and vomiting.

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Herbal Properties Index