T Archives - Herbal Encyclopedia

Turmeric

December 30, 2010 By Cloverleaf Farm

Botanical and Common Names

Family Zingiberaceae
Curcuma longa syn. C. domestica (Turmeric, Haldi [Hindi], Jiang Huang [Chinese])
Curcuma zedoaria (Zedoary)
Curcuma amada (Mango-Ginger)
Curcuma xanthorrhizia (Curcuma, Japanese Turmeric, Tewon Lawa, Temu Lawak)

Cautions

Turmeric should not be used if there is a bile duct obstruction.
It should not be used during pregnancy.
It should not be used by those with gallbladder disease as it will increase the flow of bile, creating a possible flare-up.
It should not be used by those on blood-thinning medications.

Description

Turmeric is an aromatic perennial, reaching about three feet in height. It produces long tapering leaves and white or pale yellow flowers that grow in spikes. Turmeric is likely indigenous to India where it is still cultivated as well as in other tropical regions of Southeast Asia. Zedoary is found in India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, China, and Madagascar, the Moluccas, the Philippines, and New Guinea. Curcuma is indigenous to the forests of Indonesia and the Malaysian peninsula. It is cultivated mainly on Java, in Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines and harvested in the second year of growth.

History

Better known as a food spice and colouring agent, turmeric has also long been used as a medicine. Only during the last two decades has research caught up with ancient knowledge to affirm its use as a treatment for digestive and liver problems and for relieving inflammatory conditions.

As its name suggests, mango-ginger rhizomes have the scent similar to that of mangoes. It is used as a food, medicine, and in perfumery, as are all the other relatives of the plant.

Key Actions

antioxidant
antibacterial
antitumor
antimicrobial
anti-inflammatory
eases stomach pain
stimulates bile excretion

Key Components

volatile oil
curcuminoids
starch (30-40%)

Medicinal Parts

Rhizome; leaves/stem/root (C. xanthorrhizia)

Some of the curcuminoids (curcumol and curdione) have anticancer properties.

The active medicinal ingredient in turmeric is curcumin. It is the substance that gives turmeric its distinctive pungent flavour and bright yellow colour. Curcumin is thought to reduce inflammation by lowering histamine levels and to stimulate the adrenal glands into increasing production of cortisone, a hormone that also reduces inflammation. Curcumin is said to protect against liver damage, which may also be caused by its potent antioxidant properties. Curcumin also has antiplatelet activity which reduces the blood's ability to form clots. This may help improve circulation and offer some protection against heart attacks and strokes.

The bitter principles stimulate the flow of bile and other digestive juices relieving indigestion, gas, and other intestinal problems.

Traditional Uses

The uses for these related roots are basically the same. Turmeric is commonly used for dyspeptic complaints, particularly the feelings of fullness after meals and regular distention caused by gas. It is also used for diarrhea, intermittent fever, edema, bronchitis, colds, worms, leprosy, kidney inflammations, and cystitis.

Other uses include for headaches, flatulence, upper abdominal pain, chest infections, colic, amenorrhea, and blood rushes.

Externally, the root is mashed and used on bruising, leech bites, festering eye infections, oral inflammations, skin inflammations, and infected wounds.

In Chinese medicine, turmeric is used for chest pains, or pain in the rib, abdomen, or liver area, nose bleeds, vomiting with bleeding, and heat stroke. The rhizome is also used to treat certain types of tumors and in liver disease. Chinese research has proven zedoary's use in reducing cervical cancer and increasing the cancer-killing effects during radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

In Ayurvedic medicine, turmeric is used for inflammation, wounds and skin ulcers, itching, stomach complaints, flatulence, conjunctivitis, constipation, ringworm, and colic.

In India, zedoary is used for loss of appetite, tuberculosis, wounds, leukodermia, fever, bronchitis, and asthma; but it is used mainly as a stomachic for digestive problems and as a general body tonic.

Western herbalists use it mainly to treat inflammatory diseases, especially rheumatoid arthritis.

Thyme

December 30, 2010 By Cloverleaf Farm

Botanical and Common Names

Family Labiatae
Thymus vulgaris (Thyme, Common thyme, Garden thyme, Tomillo [Spanish], Tohmiyoxihutil [Nahuatl])
Thymus serpyllum (Wild Thyme, Mother of Thyme, Serpyllum, Shepherd’s Thyme)

Cautions

Do not use during pregnancy, externally or internally, as it is a uterine stimulant. There is little problem with normal cooking amounts.
Thyme oil can irritate mucous membranes so must be well diluted.

Description

Thyme is native to the western Mediterranean and southern Italian regions, while the wild thyme is indigenous to southern Europe. It is now cultivated worldwide, preferring light, chalky soils. The plant is an aromatic perennial shrub of the mint family, growing to about sixteen inches in height and producing woody stems, small leaves, and pink flowers. Wild thyme is a tuft-forming evergreen herb, growing to a height of only three inches. It has square stems, small aromatic oval leaves, and spikes of bright mauve flowers. Garden thyme is the cultivated form of the wild thyme. There are many related species with each having a different volatile oil content. The aerial parts are harvested before and during flowering.

History

It is known as “mother thyme” because of its traditional use for women’s disorders.

Thyme’s fragrance has inspired poets from Virgil to Kipling; and it is particularly strong on the warm, sunny hillsides of the Mediterranean.

To the Greeks, thyme denoted elegance; and, after bathing, they would include the oil in their massage.

Its botanical designation may have been derived from the Greek word thymon, meaning “courage” as many of their traditions relate to this virtue.

Wild thyme received its botanical name from the plant’s serpentlike appearance. Pliny recommended it as an antidote for snakebites and other poisonous creatures and for headaches. The Romans burned the plant in a belief that the fumes would repel scorpions.

Roman soldiers bathed in thyme waters to give themselves vigor.

During the Middle Ages, European ladies embroidered a sprig of thyme on tokens for their knights-errant.

A soup recipe from 1663 recorded the use of the herb, as well as in a beer to overcome shyness.

Scottish highlanders drank tea made from wild thyme for strength and courage and to prevent nightmares.

Its powerful antiseptic and preservative qualities were well-known to the Egyptians, who used it for embalming. It was also used to preserve anatomical and herbarium specimens and to protect paper from mold.

Sprigs were included in judges’ posies and clasped by nobility to protect themselves from disease and odour.

Thyme is the first herb listed in the Holy Herb Charm recited by those with herbal cunning during the Middle Ages, and it is a feature in a recipe from 1600 that “enabled one to see the Fairies”.

The English herbalist, Nicholas Culpeper (1616-1654), praised thyme as a strengthener of the lungs and prescribed it for children who had whooping cough. He also used it for internal bleeding and vomiting.

The 18th century Swedish botanist, Carolus Linnaeus, used the plant to treat headaches and hangovers.

In an Aztec Herbal of 1552, a plant identified as thyme was included in an elaborate remedy for nursing mothers whose breasts failed to produce a necessary supply of milk.

By the 18th century, thyme’s antiseptic properties were known; and its oil, thymol, was extracted and made available.

It was widely used as an antiseptic during WWI; but, when shortages of thymol developed, it was gradually replaced by other antiseptics. Thymol remains a key ingredient in the mouthwash, Listerine.

In the late 19th century, thyme was used as a disinfectant in sickrooms and to speed the recovery of patients.

Key Actions

(a) Thyme

antiseptic
antispasmodic
astringent
antimicrobial
antiparasitic
antibiotic
diuretic
expectorant
heals wounds
increases blood flow to an area (topically)
soothes coughs
uterine stimulant

(b) Wild Thyme

actions similar to those of Garden thyme, but less potent than the essential oil.

Key Components

(a) Thyme

volatile oil (varying amounts of thymol, carvacrol, methylchavicol, cineol, borneol, and others)
bitter principle
saponins
triterpenes
flavonoids (apigenin, luteolin)
tannins
resins

(b) Wild Thyme

volatile oil (thymol, carvacrol, linalool)
flavonoids
caffeic acid
tannins
resin

Medicinal Parts

Aerial parts, essential oil (garden thyme only), flowering tops (wild thyme)

Thymol has antiseptic properties effective against many organisms.

Thymol, carvacrol, and the saponins act as expectorants to loosen and thin phlegm thus relieving upper respiratory and sinus congestion.

Thymol and carvacrol help relax smooth muscles, thereby helping to relieve menstrual cramps or indigestion.

The tannins have astringent properties that relieve mild diarrhea.

When applied to the skin, thymol causes blood to rush to the site, creating a sense of warmth and relief from the pain and inflammation of arthritis, sprains, muscle aches, and possibly tension headaches.

Researchers have also demonstrated that the essential oils are effective in killing E. coli and certain other bacteria responsible for food poisoning.

Remedies

Infusions are used for chest infections, stomach chills, or irritable bowel.

A tincture is used for diarrhea or as an expectorant in chest infections.

A gargle from the infusion or diluted tincture is mused for sore throats.

A douche is made from the infusions to treat vaginal yeast infections.

A syrup is made from infusion for coughs and lung infections.

A chest rub from the essential oil is used for chest infections.

Essential oil is applied to insect bites, including scabies, and infected wounds or added to the bathwater for weakness and arthritic conditions.

Massage oil from the essential oil and combined with lavender oil makes an effective treatment for rheumatic pains or strained muscles.

Traditional Uses

The wild thyme is similar in action to the garden thyme, but slightly more stimulating and effective in preventing spasms.

Its antiseptic, antibacterial, and antifungal properties are used to treat all manner of infections including coughs, colds, sore throats, tonsillitis, flu, chest infections, and gastroenteritis. It also enhances immunity and helps the body fight against infection.

Its expectorant action, combined with its antispasmodic effect, is excellent for moving phlegm out of the chest easing tight, irritating, and hacking coughs.

Its antispasmodic effect is also helpful in releasing tension during irritable bowel syndrome and spastic colon.

Its astringent action, along with its antiseptic powers, makes it worth using to treat diarrhea and bowel infections and to re-establish a normal flora in the bowel, especially after antibiotics.

Thyme is a particularly good remedy for those suffering from poor circulation, and when used externally, makes a good liniment for arthritis or muscle pain. It can also be applied to cuts, abrasions, and infections.

The volatile oils and the flavonoids are known to relieve muscle spasms, as well as having a marked effect on aging by supporting the body’s normal funtion and countering its ageing effects.

Thyme is prescribed with other herbs for asthma, especially in children, and may also be helpful with hay fever.

In Costa Rica, it is used to expel intestinal worms, to treat warts, diarrhea, toothache, whooping cough, scabies, and flatulence. It is also considered as a powerful lung strengthener.

Used in aromatherapy, thyme is a remedy for PMS, stress, fatigue, and mild depression.

Thistle

December 30, 2010 By Cloverleaf Farm

Botanical and Common Names

Family Asteraceae (formerly Compositae)
Cnicus benedictus (St. Benedict Thistle, Blessed Thistle, Holy Thistle, Spotted Thistle, Cardin)
Cirsium undulatum (Wavy-leafed Thistle)

Cautions

Excessive doses may cause vomiting.

Description

Native to the Mediterranean, this erect, red-stemmed annual grows to a little over two feet, producing spiny leathery leaves, a spiny stem, and yellow flowers in summer and autumn. The fruit has a tuft of hair. It flourishes on dry, stony ground and in open areas. The leaves and flowering tops are collected in summer. The wavy-leafed thistle has erect, white, woolly stems, reaching three feet in height producing lobed and wavy, basal leaves. The lobes are tipped with yellowish spines. The tubular, bell-shaped flower heads are at the top of the stems and are usually a pale purple. The plant can be found growing in prairies, pastures, and disturbed areas of North America.

History

Its name is thought to have come as a result of a legend from the days of Charlemagne. During one of his plundering excursions, his troops were taken ill with the plague. Supposedly an angel appeared to him in his sleep and told him that if he were to shoot an arrow into the air, the arrow would land on the plant that would cure his men. The arrow fell on a big patch of this herb, and Charlemagne promptly fed it to his men and saved their lives. Its powers are mentioned in virtually all the writings issued during times of epidemic infectious diseases.

During the Renaissance, the herb was used to stimulate milk flow and to deworm children and pets.

Nicholas Turner wrote in his 1568 herbal that the plant was good for canker sores, as well as "old rotten and festering sores".

The Zunis of North America prepared a tea from the root to drink three times a day as a remedy for diabetes. It was also employed as a contraceptive and as a preintercourse drink to ensure a female child.

The 19th century Shakers in the US, used the plant and its roots as a tonic, sweat inducer, and diuretic and found that triple-strength tea would cause a total evacuation of the intestinal tract.

Key Actions

antibiotic
antimicrobial
antitumor
bitter tonic
cytotoxic
mild expectorant

Key Components

lignans
sesquiterpene lactones (including cnicin)
volatile oil
polyacetylenes
flavonoids
triterpenes
phytosterols
tannins

Medicinal Parts

Leaves, flowering tops

Traditional Uses

A good digestive tonic, it is used for mild digestive complaints, stimulating the secretions in the stomach, intestines, and gallbladder. It does have a nasty flavour, though, and needs to be helped with a good dose of honey.

A mild expectorant and antibiotic, it has been used to treat intermittent fevers and makes a good healing balm for wounds and sores.

Herbalists used the herb to cure, not only the plague, but also agues and jaundice. The roots were soaked in wine and used as a medicine. When young and tender, it was also eaten as a vegetable, providing a good blood purifier. It has since proven its ability to remove wastes speedily from the body.

Some European herbalists used the herb to strengthen and purify the mind, a feature that is much needed today.

Some herbalists use the herb to treat infectious diseases, as well as liver and mucous congestion, loss of appetite, dyspepsia, jaundice, and hepatitis. It also resolves blood clots and stops bleeding.

Tea Tree

December 30, 2010 By Cloverleaf Farm

Botanical and Common Names

Family Myrtaceae
Melaleuca alternifolia (Tea Tree Oil)
Other species that provide valuable oil:
Melaleuca leucadendron (Cajuput, White Tea Tree, Swamp Tea Tree, Paperbark Tree, White Wood)
Melaleucea viridiflora (Niauli is a broad-leafed paperbark tree.)
Melaleucea linariifolia has an essential oil that is very similar to tea tree.

Cautions

None listed.

Description

Native to Australia and Tazmania, tea tree is now widely used in Europe, Australia, and North America. The evergreen shrub is related to the myrtle tree, reaching over twenty feet in height and having a papery bark, pointed needle-like leaves, and heads of yellow or purplish flowers that when open, resemble a puffy, feathery mass. The tree flourishes wild in swampy areas in northern New South Wales and Queensland, but is now extensively cultivated, especially on plantations in Asia and other parts of the world. The Tea Tree produces an essential oil that has unique infection-fighting properties. The leaves and small branches are picked throughout the year and distilled to produce the essential oil.

History

Native Australians have used tea tree oil for centuries, but it was unknown to the rest of the world until the late 1700s when Captain James Cook led an expedition there and began experimenting with the leaves. The crew brewed a lemon-flavoured tea from the leaves and added it to a beer they had concocted. They also gave it its name as a result. On later voyages, a botanist who travelled with Captain Cook observed how the aborgines used the shrub to heal infected wounds. But this information did not make an impact on the rest of the world until the 1920s when a Syndey research chemist, A. R. Penfold, studied the oil and discovered its antiseptic properties. By 1925, Penfold determined that the oil was twelve times as potent as phenol, the standard by which all antiseptics were measured at the time.

Australian pharmacists and doctors then began dispensing tea tree as a front-line antiseptic. Bushmen and adventurers would not enter the wilderness without it. It was standard issue for first aid kits for British and Australian soldiers stationed in the tropics during WWII, and proved to be so valuable that workers who processed it were exempt from military duty. As with all things, demand soon quickly outstripped supply and interest waned after the advent of penicillin. Tea tree oil was almost forgotten; but, with the growing problems of antibiotic-resistant organisms, it has, once again, made a revival. Demand for the oil has increased from about ten tons in the early 1990s to more than two hundred tons today.

Extensive research in the 1960s showed that tea tree was very effective in treating a broad range of infectious conditions, especially fungal skin conditions, as well as warts, acne, and vaginal yeast infections.

Key Actions

strongly antimicrobial
antiseptic
immune stimulant

Key Components

volatile oil (percentages are variable, but basically -– terpinen-4-ol [40%], gamma-terpinene [24%], alpha-terpinene [10%], and cineol [5%])

Medicinal Parts

Leaves, essential oil

Scientists have identified eighty of the estimated one hundred compounds in tea tree oil, and a few are unique to the plant. Some of these compounds are active against viruses, bacteria, and fungi.

Most of these compounds are chemicals classified as either terpene hydrocarbons (pinene) or oxygenated terpenes (mostly 60% terpinen-4-ol plus cineole). Terpinen-4-ol is a powerful germacide, fungicide, and significantly antiseptic but well tolerated by the skin. Cineole, on the other hand, can irritate the skin of some people, but has expectorant and antiseptic properties. Cineole is also found in eucalyptus. It is these antiseptic properties that make it especially valuable in treating various skin infections.

It is especially useful as a hospital disinfectant as it kills antibiotic resistant strains of Staphylococcus.

Testing has found it effective against many other organisms as well, including all strains of candida except Epidermophyton floccosum, all sixty-four strains of Malassezia furfur, and eighty other types of disease-causing fungi. The following is a list of organisms that tea tree oil has proven its effectiveness against: aspergillus, bacteroides, Clostridium, Cryptosporidium, Diptheroids, E. coli, Enterobacter, Fusobacterium, Gonococcus, Hemophilus, Herpes viruses, Meningococcus, Microsporium, Peptococcus, Proteus, Pseudomonas, Spirochetes, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Trichinosis, Trichophyton.

Remedies

Crushed leaves have long been used in hot water as an inhalent to relieve sinus congestion.

Infusions made from crushed fresh leaves are used to treat coughs, colds, and skin infections. They are used internally to treat glandular fever and postviral fatigue syndrome (ME). They can also be used in household cleaning wash water, as well as in the laundry or diaper soaking water.

Oil or cream can be applied to athlete’s foot and ringworm, as well as to corns, warts, acne, boils, nail fungi, infected skin sores, burns, scrapes, wounds, insect stings, and many other skin conditions.

Mouthwash is used for oral infections and gum disease, as well as a gargle for sore throats.

Suppositories are used to treat vaginal infections.

Lotions, creams, or compresses ease the pain and itchiness of skin irritations.

Commercially prepared products available are as follows: pure oil, creams and ointments, mouthwashes, toothpicks, germicides, shampoos and conditioners, hand creams, bar soaps, pet shampoos, suppositories, lozenges, dental floss, massage oil, and deoderant.

Traditional Uses

Conditions where tea tree oil has proven useful and listed according to body region:

Head and Neck: dandruff, seborrhea, psoriasis, eczema, ringworm, furunculosis, razor cuts, mastoiditis, head lice, cradle cap, acne, and blackheads. Note: Nizoral has long been used to treat psoriasis of the scalp, but long term cures do not take place. In addition, it carries risk of systemic toxicity especially that of the liver. Tea tree does not cause this concern. It also produces fewer side effects than benzoyl peroxide, used to treat acne.
Face: razor cuts, acne
Mouth, Throat, Ears: controls oral bacteria when a few drops are added to a gargle and helps heal canker sores, cold sores, pyorrhea, cavities, toothaches, ear infections (outer and middle ear), sore throats, colds, thrush, halitosis; promotes the healing of gum disease, canker sores, and herpes sores
Hands: paronychia, fingernail fungus
Joints: arthritis, gout
Respiratory system: bronchitis, sinusitis, croup, tonsillitis
Urinary tract: cystitis
Rectum: shrinking hemorrhoids and reducing pain, including that of rectal fissures
Genitals: herpes and warts, vaginitis (including trichomonas), penile discharge, excessive odour, jock itch, chronic candidiasis
Feet: bromhidrosis, toenail fungus, ingrown toenails, calluses, corns, athelete’s foot.
Skin: kills microbes associated with skin infections, including bacteria or viruses in wounds; such fungal infections as ringworm or athlete’s foot, nail fungus, thrush, and jock itch ; and eczema, psoriasis, ringworm, boils, cuts, abrasions, scrapes, puncture wounds, bed sores, varicose ulcers, surgical lesions, burns, itchy or chapped skin, scabies, pilonidal cysts, impetigo, dermatitis, allergy rashes (including poison ivy, oak, and sumac), chicken pox and shingles, and animal bites (including those by dogs, cats, snakes, insects, and humans)
Joints: eases muscle and joint pain and inflammation

Also see our Surivon products which use tea tree essential oil to help symptoms of cold sores, shingles, herpes, and other antiviral skin care needs.