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Healing Herbs:
This is a listing of plants that have healing properties and are used in some herbal remedies. The scientific name of the plant is given. When available, an image has been included.
ALFALFA (Medicago sativa)
Second cutting alfalfa / photo. by L.C. McClure, Denver
Courtesy Library of Congress
Alfalfa came from Europe, but it’s been naturalized all over North America, particularly in the western states. Alfalfa contains plant world equivalents of human estrogen, so a woman, whether she’s going through menopause or breastfeeding a baby, may derive some benefit from it. (TOP)
BITTER MELON (Momordica charantia)
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A tropical vine with yellow flowers and red-tinged green fruit, bitter melon grows commonly throughout South America, Asia, and Africa. It’s also called balsam pear, as the fruit looks like an odd cross between a cucumber and a bean pod. Several clinical trials have shown that bitter melon extract and juice lower blood sugar in people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. (TOP)
CARAWAY (Carum Carvi)
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The fruit of this biennial
member of the carrot family looks like a seed (and is so called) and has
long been used in baking.
The
plant, with its
tiny white or red-tinged flower clusters, is native to Africa and Eurasia
but now grows wild over much of North America. Caraway contains mild antihistamines,
antimicrobial compounds (particularly against bacterial and candida infections),
and muscle relaxants that help
check spasms. It also cuts down on intestinal gas- all reasons the seeds
have been considered good digestive aids since ancient Egyptian times. (TOP)
DEVIL’S CLAW (Harpagophytum procumbens)
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Devil’s claw became familiar
to the Europeans in the 1950s. But this shrub-like perennial vine has a
long history
of use in southern
Africa,
where it is indigenous. Harpagoside and other phytochemicals in devil’s
claw have been studied extensively, notably for their analgesic, anti-inflammatory,
and cardiovascular
effects. The research confirms that plant extracts quell inflammation,
stabilize heart rhythm, and stimulate appetite, among other effects, but
practical
applications in clinical trials have produced mixed results. (TOP)
ELDERBERRY (Sambucus nigra)
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People have been cultivating this small tree,
with its clusters of tiny white flowers and blackish purple berries, probably
since prehistoric times. The phytochemicals in European elder are good viral
vanquishers, particularly
in the respiratory system. The
extract, some research suggests, binds to flu viruses, preventing them from
invading cells and replicating. (TOP)
FEVERFEW (Tanacetum parthenium)
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Feverfew, a relative of dandelion and marigolds,
supposedly kept fevers at bay. The name is based on febrifuge, the scientific
term for a fever-reducing
medication. Although laboratory studies have validated its worth in reducing
fevers, allergic reactions, and other inflammatory conditions, it’s
best documented use is in preventing and alleviating migraines. (TOP)
GOTU KOLA (Centella asiatica)
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Gotu kola, which grows in tropical Africa, America, Asia, and Australia, is part of the parsley family. Any go-to-it restorative effect it impacts does not come from caffeine. Clinical studies over the years have proved that gotu kola is a good skin and tissue rejuvenator. It speeds healing of wounds of all kinds and deters scarring and keloid formation. (TOP)
HOPS (Humulus lupulus)
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Laying your head on a pillow filled with hops strobili (the fruiting cones that follow the yellowish or greenish flowers), will cure insomnia. The plant is a close relative of stinging nettle and the Cannabis genus, which gives us marijuana- is native to North America, Europe, and Asia. A number of phytochemicals in hops possess sedative and muscle-relaxing qualities. Other compounds depress the central nervous system. The bitterness helps trigger your appetite. (Top)
IPECAC (Cephaelis ipecacuanha)
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People chew the roots to repel insects and treat amoeba infections.
Ironically, very small doses of ipecac inhibit vomiting and may even curb
morning sickness. (Top)
There’s a little bit of juniper juice in a shot of gin. The bluish black berries are the liquor’s main flavoring ingredient. The berries technically are cones, which befit a shrub that, with its pointy, needlelike leaves, sort of resembles a pine tree. Juniper is a good diuretic and urinary antiseptic, helpful against urinary tract infections. It also contains a powerful virus-killing substance, deoxypodophyllotoxin, and other phytochemicals that can fight herpes and influenza. (Top)
KUDZU (Pueraria lobata)
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It’s native to Asia where it has thrived for more than a thousand years. Kudzu root, which can grow as big as an average-sized male, once served as a primary source of starch in China and Japan until the introduction of sweet potatoes. Kudzu root is apparently richer in these estrogenic phytochemicals than soybean. Flavonoid-like constituents improve blood flow through coronary arteries, as well as veins and capillaries. Kudzu extracts are used to treat angina pectoris chest pains and high blood pressure, including such hypertensive symptoms as dizziness, headache, and ringing in the ears. (Top)
LOBELLA (Lobelia inflate)
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Native Americans use to smoke the jagged-edged leaves of this native American plant, which grows across much of the continental United States. Lobelia has a yellowish green leave that tastes as bitter as tobacco when chewed, and it has been used to relieve nicotine withdrawal symptoms. The lobeline in lobelia acts much like nicotine, although it’s less potent. It stimulates the central nervous system and speeds respiration. It also helps break up mucus and facilitates coughing. (TOP)
MA HUANG (Ephedra, various species)
Herbalists in China have used it for thousands of years. Ephedra is a primitive, almost leafless shrub with minute, yellow green flowers. Ephedra works, but too well and with too many side effects to regard it as safe for self-medication. Ephedrine and pseudoephedrine are strong bronchial dilators and decongestants, which also are active ingredients in Ephedra. (TOP)
NETTLE (Urtica dioica)
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Nettle is native to Europe and Asia, but it’s now also found across southern Canada and most of the United States. It’s medicinal applications haven’t been limited to self-flagellation. Australians and others are longtime advocates of nettle tea and nettle root juice to open up bronchial passages. Extracts of nettle roots are reliable diuretics that encourage excretion, especially of uric acid, but simultaneously discourage nighttime urges to go to the bathroom. (Top)
OREGON GRAPE (Mahonia aquifolia)
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A strange, attractive evergreen planted as an ornamental, Oregon grape is a hardy shrub indigenous to the western United States. It has a yellowish inner bark, yellowish flowers, and purple, grape-shaped edible fruit. Oregon grapes contain immune-stimulating, infection-fighting, virus-killing antiseptic berberine. Goldenseal, which is currently an endangered species, may be better known among herb aficionados, but it’s not necessarily better for all indications. (TOP)
PASSIONFLOWER (Passiflora incarnate)
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Spanish explorers in North America believed that this vine’s pale lavender flowers, from the corona and stamens to the number of petals, represented many aspects of the Crucifixion, or Passion, of Christ. Apigenin and other flavonoids relax, reduce anxiety, stop spasms, and soothe inflammation. The phytochemical passicol fights a number of bacteria, molds, and yeasts. The herb also shows some ability to lessen postherpes nerve pain. (TOP)
ROSEMARY (Rosmarinus officinalis)
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This shrubby herb, with pale blue flowers and gray green, pinelike foliage, provides a familiar fragrance in both the bathroom and the kitchen. Its essential oil is used to scent toiletries; its dried leaves are a flavorful addition to stews, soups, and meats. Rosemary gives us much to remember-and the phytochemical “stringaround the finger” through which to do so. Some six or so substances in the herb help prevent the breakdown of the brain chemical acetylcholine, a deficiency of which has been implicated in Alzheimer’s disease. (TOP)
SWEET ANNIE (Artemisia annua)
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To the eye, sweet Annie’s silhouette looks somewhat like asparagus. But its scent is quite distinctive-pleasing to some, irritating to others. In China, it’s known as qing hao; elsewhere, people know it as annual wormwood or wormweed, which befits a member of the wormwood genus. Sweet Annie boasts at least a half dozen antiviral phytochemicals that fight intestinal parasites. (TOP)
TOMATO (Lycopersicon esculentum)
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Soup, juice, sauce-tomato is many things, including a clambering, scented annual whose vine, as anyone who’s ever walked through a garden on a summer day knows, often needs to be tied to a stake to keep those juicy orbs off the ground. Tomatoes are juicy globes of antioxidant health, courtesy of their beta-carotene, vitamin C, and lycopene, a relative newcomer to scientific study. (TOP)
UVA URSI (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi)
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Throughout most of the 1800s and up to 1936, bearberry was the official recommendation for urinary tract infections in the U.S. Pharmacopeia. From the Chinese to Native Americans, people used this ground-hugging woody evergreen, a close relative of cranberry, to treat urinary problems. Several phytochemicals in this plant, especially arbutin, aim squarely at helping urinary disorders. Some of the plant substances fight bacteria and cleanse the urinary tract; others promote excretion, deter water retention, support the kidneys, and cool inflammatory reactions. (TOP)
VERVAIN (Verbena officinalis)
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It’s not mentioned in the Bible, and biblical scholars would dispute the claim, but legend has it that those who retrieved Christ’s body from the cross on Calvary used this inconspicuous plant to stop his wounds from bleeding, giving rise to vervain’s general reputation as a sacred, good luck charm. Vervain has helped keep down inflammation, quiet coughs, and encourage the mouth to water in animal and test tube experiments. It also has increased the secretion of breast milk and stimulated uterine contractions, which may help explain the plant’s reputation as an aphrodisiac and its folk uses for menstrual pain and menopause. (TOP)
WITCH HAZEL (Hamamelis virginiana)
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Widely used by Native Americans for all sorts of skin afflictions, witch hazel remains today almost as common as aspirin in medicine cabinets. Witch hazel is a native of eastern and central North America. The astringent tannins and other phytochemicals in witch hazel counteract pain, soothe, cool, tone blood vessels, and improve circulation- making the herb an all-purpose palliative for everything from abrasions and minor bleeding to varicose veins and most other skin problems. (TOP)
YERBA SANTA (Eriodictyon californicum)
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A varnish-like brown resin covers the stem and thick yellowish leaves of this short evergreen shrub, which sometimes reaches a height of 6 to 8 feet. It grows in clumps, usually on hillsides in California and northern Mexico. The limited experimentation done on yerba santa indicates that its essential oil can help break up congestion. It also eases inflammation and aids in eliminating excess fluid, both of which help relieve arthritis pain. (TOP)
In India, there exists a well-known, widely
used demulcent for in- flamed mucous membranes, especially for infants and
convalescents. It’s
made from zedoary, a member of the ginger family that resembles its herbal
kin physically, chemically, culinarily, and medicinally.
Curcumin soothe inflamed tissue in much the same way as the relatively
new class of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs called cyclooxygenase-2
inhibitors.
It deters the body’s release of COX-2 prostaglandins, which are secreted
in response to inflammation and swelling. (TOP)