Botanical Name

• Family Umbelliverae
• Anethum graveolens syn. Peucedanum graveolens

Common Name

• Dilly, Dillweed, Eneldo (Spanish)

Cautions

• Do not take essential oil internally unless under professional supervision.

Description

Indigenous to the Mediterranean region, southern Russia, central and southern Asia, the herb is now cultivated throughout Europe and North and South America. The plant is an aromatic annual, growing to thirty inches, with an erect hollow stem, feathery leaves, and numerous yellow flowers in umbels. The fruit, or seeds, are lightweight and pungent. The leaves are harvested as a culinary herb in spring and summer, while the seeds are collected, when ripe, in late summer.

History

Dill is an ancient Egyptian remedy described in the Ebers papyrus (c. 1500 BCE), where it is an ingredient in a pain-killing mixture.

The ancient Greeks are believed to have covered their eyes with fronds of the herb to induce sleep.

Dill was commonly used as a charm against witchcraft in the Middle Ages and was burned to clear thunderclouds.

Its name is derived from the Norse “dylla”, meaning to soothe.

Key Actions

• antispasmodic
• bacteriostatic
• carminative
• digestive aid
• mild diuretic

Key Components

• volatile oil (up to 5% mainly carvone and limonene)
• fatty oil
• coumarins
• flavonoids
• coumarins
• xanthones
• triterpenes

Medicinal Parts

Seeds, essenial oil, leaves

Dill seeds contain an oil that has mild antibacterial properties which may help destroy intestinal micro-organisms that cause ulcers and intestinal problems. German health authorities have approved dill as a treatment for intestinal complaints related to bacteria.

Experiments have also found that dill oil can relax the smooth muscles that control intestinal motility, and thus may reduce colicky abdominal pain.

Other studies indicate that the leaves and stem of the plant contain substances that lower blood pressure and slow the heartbeat, at least in lab animals.

Traditional Uses

Dill is a popular pickling herb commonly grown in most gardens. Although it is no longer extensively used as a medicinal herb in the US, most European herbalists rely on it as a digestive aid, to treat intestinal gas and flatulence, and calming the digestive tract. It has long been used to relieve infant colic, induce sleep, and treat kidney disorders and spasms. The essential oil relieves intestinal spasms and cramps and helping to settle colic.

Like caraway, chewing dill seeds, not only helps digestion, but clears bad breath (halitosis).

Indian medicine uses it for halitosis, worm infestation, respiratory complaints, and syphilis.

Whole seeds are crushed are used to make teas or infusions for internal use and makes a useful addition to cough, cold, and flu remedies.

Used with such antispasmodics as crampbark, it will help relieve menstrual pain.

Dill has long been used to increase milk production; and, when taken regularly by nursing mothers, it helps to avoid colic in their babies.

A related species native to India and tropical Asia, A. sowa, is also used to soothe indigestion.

Botanical Name

• Family Pedaliaceae
• Harpagophytum procumbens

Common Names

• Grapple Plant, Wood Spider

Cautions

• Do not take if suffering from stomach or duodenal ulcers.
• Do not take during pregnancy.
• Care must be taken not to mix the tubers, which contain the active constituents, with the roots, since this can render the herb ineffective.

Description

 Native to the Kalahari Desert and other arid areas of southwestern Africa, it is found most commonly on the veldt of the Transvaal and now cultivated in other parts of the world. Devil's Claw is a trailing perennial, reaching five feet in length with fleshy, lobed leaves, bright red, trumpet-like flowers, and barbed, woody fruit. It thrives in clay or sandy soil, preferring roadsides and wasteground, especially in places where natural vegetation has been cleared. The underground tubers have the ability to store water that they need in order to survive the harsh desert climate. Young tubers are unearthed in autumn.

Devil’s Claw must survive up to ten months of drought each year and, therefore, depends on a very deep root system. Along its long root fibers are potato-like tubers that store moisture. It is this secondary storage root system where the medicinal properties of the plant are found. When first unearthed, the moisture content is very high and must be processed soon after harvesting. The water saturation is such that each root provides only a relatively small proportion of active ingredients, about 6 kg (13.2 pounds) for every 100 kg of tubers.

The tuber is covered with a thin, grooved cork shell. In processing, the root is slit once or twice lengthwise, then slowly dried. As it dehydrates, it shrinks into the characteristic fan-shape. These are carefully grated, but mills or knives are not used because the sticky substance would soon coat the metal surfaces and render them useless.

History

 The pods are heavily barbed and very strong. They can severely injure animals that get too close. Often, pliers are needed to pry a pod loose from an animal’s hoof. The hook-like projections can become so entangled in a sheep’s wool that the animal is unable to free itself and dies there. The moisture from the dead animal allows for seeds to germinate and thus its name. It is indeed a “devilish” way for any plant to seek its survival. It is due to these pods, which can inflict such damage on the herds of desert tribes, that the plant received its name. Its various names were also derived from the appearance of the fruit, which looks like it is covered with tiny hooks, claws, or spider legs.

Its medicinal properties are said to have been discovered by various southern African peoples who used a decoction of the tubers to treat digestive problems and arthritis. Two related African species are still used interchangably with H. procumbens.

African healers have used the tubers for centuries to treat everything from cancer, intestinal disorders, and fevers, to menstrual and pregnancy problems. Various peoples from southern Africa, including the Khoikhoin and the Bantu, used the herb for digestive problems, arthritis and rheumatism, to reduce fevers, and in ointments to treat sores, ulcers, and boils.

Although it was used for centuries in Africa, it was unknown in Europe until the beginning of the 20th century, when a German farmer heard stories about its medicinal properties while travelling in South Africa. He decided to try cultivating it in Germany, and it soon became popular as a botanical medicine. Over the next few years, its popularity increased and spread to include North America. It is now also cultivated in China, where it has been added to the list of traditional Chinese botanical medicines.

Key Actions

• anti-inflammatory
• analgesic
• digestive stimulant
• estrogenic effects

Key Components

• iridoid glycosides (mainly harpagoside)
• sugars (stachyose)
• phytosterols
• flavonoids
• harpagoquinone
• triterpenes
• resins
• flavonoids
• vitamins and minerals (mainly niacin, cobalt, iron, magnesium, manganese, sodium, and zinc)

Medicinal Parts

 Tuber

In 1992, French researchers proved the anti-inflammatory effects of the herb; but opinion is still divided as to its effectiveness.

Stigmasterol and other fatty acids may act as a natural estrogen.

Harpagoside has been proven to reduce inflammation, especially that associated with rheumatoid arthritis. Unlike many NSAID drugs which relieve arthritis pain but may also increase cartilage damage, devil’s claw appears to protect the cartilage, while relieving the pain and increasing joint flexibility.

The bitters stimulate the flow of saliva and digestive juices. These effects help perk up the appetite and may also improve digestion and reduce gas.

Beta-sitosterol may lower cholesterol.

Traditional Uses

 Since it has some analgesic effects, it is used to ease the symptoms of joint pain.

It is used to tone the digestive system; and, since many arthritic symptoms appear as a result of poor digestion and absorption of food, the stimulating effect of this herb on the stomach and gallbladder contributes to its overall therapeutic value as an anti-arthritic and digestive tonic.

The tubular secondary roots are also used to treat pain, dyspepsia, loss of appetite, and liver and gallbladder complaints.

Western use falls in line with the traditional African applications, but it is also used as supportive therapy for degenerative disorders of the CNS (central nervous system). The herb is sold today in pharmacies and health food stores as a remedy for arthritis and rheumatism.

In Europe, it has become a popular botanical medicine, taken as a painkiller, diuretic, and sedative. It is used to reduce arthitic pain and inflammation, calm jittery nerves and ease anxiety, helps rid the body of excess fluid, treats mild digestive problems, and stimulates the appetite.

Botanical Name

• Family Palmae (Arecaceae)
• Phoenix dactylifera

Common Names

• None listed.

Cautions

• Being high in sugars, they, therefore, should be avoided by diabetics.

Description

 The Date palm is a woody plant that starts bearing fruit in the 6th or 7th year, but does not reach maturity until the 30th year. From then on, it will continue to produce for two centuries. There are male and female trees. A good-sized female is capable of producing hundreds of pounds of dates each year. The tree is both cultivated and found wild from India through Western Asia, the Middle East, and all of Northern Africa. In the past, it grew in such abundance in Israel that the area from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea was one huge date forest.

History

 It has been called the staff of life for good reason. An Arabic saying states that there are as many uses for the date palm as there are days in the year, and the people could easily survive on nothing but that tree.

During times of war, the worst thing an enemy could do to a tribe was to destroy the male trees, thus ruining the possibility of future food.

According to Gerard, dates were good for those who were spitting blood or suffering from the bloody flu, as well as for those with sore throats, weak lungs, feeble spleens, failing livers, and flagging libidos. He also stated that the ashes of the pits have a binding quality and used this on puffy eyes, as well as eyelids that were losing their lashes.

Key Actions

• nutritive
• digestive aid

Key Components

• sugars (50%)
• leucoanthocyanidine
• fatty oil (10%)
• piperidine derivatives

Medicinal Parts

• Fruit, seed

Traditional Uses

 In Ayurvedic medicine, dates are used for bronchitis, clouding of the cornea, headaches, inflamed wounds, kidney disease, and gastric complaints. Date honey is made from dates produced in Algeria, using juice-rich dates dried in the sun. The left-over liquid (date honey) is used to treat chest complaints.

In Saudi Arabia, the stones of the fruit are still ground and roasted as a "coffee" substitute. They can also be ground and soaked in water for several days and fed to camels, cows, and goats. The stones are so nutritious that animals do better physically on this fare than their usual wheat and barley.

Throughout the Middle East, male date palms are tapped in much the same way as Americans tap maple trees for its syrup. A single tree will yield three or four quarts of sap a day for several weeks. This sweet juice can be drunk as is for a refreshment.

The date may be high in sugars, but it also has the ability to restore health to those who are failing, something plain sugar cannot do. The juice of boiled dates is given to invalids to restore their overall strength and vigor.

Traditional Arab medicine uses the date to relieve coughs, to clean out the system, to regulate urination, and enhance fertility. Green date kernels are made into a poultice to treat genital ulcers.

Botanical Name

• Family Turneraceae
• Turnera diffusa syn. T. diffusa var. aphrodisiaca

Common Names

• Mexican Damiana
• Spanish: Agüita de Damiana, Yerba del Pastor, Pastorcita

Cautions

• None noted.

Description

 Native to the Gulf of Mexico region, the Carribean, and Namibia in southern Africa, the herb is an aromatic shrub, growing to six feet with smooth, pale green leaves and small bright yellow flowers. It grows wild in these areas, as well as being cultivated, preferring a hot, humid climate. The leaves are harvested when in flower during the summer.

History

 Damiana has been the traditional aphrodisiac of the Mayan people of Central America.

Its leaves are used in Mexico as a substitute for tea and as a flavouring.

The ancient Mexicans used it as a tonic to increase the appetite and as a digestive aid, but today it is used mainly to treat sexual dysfunctions.

Ironically, it is also a popular cure for a hangover, while, at the same time, used to flavour a liquor made in Guadalajara called Damiana.

Key Actions

• antidepressant
• mild laxative and diuretic
• reputed aphrodisiac
• stimulant
• testosterogenic
• tonic

Key Components

• arbutin (up to 7%)
• volatile oil (including 10% delta-cadinene and 4% thymol)
• cyanogenic glycoside (tetraphyllin)
• resins (7%)
• gums
• tannins (4%)

Medicinal Parts

• Leaves
• Arbutin is converted to hydroquinone, a strong urinary antiseptic also found in other plants, including uva-ursi.

Traditional Uses

 Related species are used as tonics in their respective countries: T. opifera in Brazil and T. ulmifolia in Central America.

Its testosterone principle has long made it an herb for men treating premature ejaculation and impotence. The fresh or dried leaves are beneficial for both sexes as a restorative tonic to the nervous system and reproductive organs.

It is often given for painful or delayed periods, and is especially good for headaches connected to menstruation.

As a urinary antiseptic, it is used in the treatment of infections, including cystitis and urethritis.

Damiana is also a mild laxative useful in the treatment of constipation caused by poor bowel muscle tone.