Herbal Encyclopedia

Common Medicinal Herbs For Natural Health

Marshmallow

By

Marshmallow RootBotanical Name

  • Family Malvaceae
  • Althaea officinalis

Common Names

  • Moorish Mallow, Cheeses, White Maoow, Althea, Mortification Root, Sweet Weed, Wymote, Mallards, Schloss, Schloss Tea, Malvavisco, Kitmi, Bismalva

Cautions

  • The absorption of other drugs may be delayed because of the mucilages in the herb.
  • If using the tincture for digestive or urinary disorders, use the hot-water method to reduce the alcohol.

Description

Indigenous to Asia, marshmallow is now found in temperate zones worldwide, preferring salty marshes, fields, and tidal zones. Related to the hollyhock and common mallow, marshmallow is a downy perennial, growing to about seven feet, producing thick, white roots, heart-shaped leaves, and pink flowers. The aerial parts are gathered in summer as the plants begin to flower, while the root is harvested in autumn.

History

Theophrastus (c. 372-286 BCE) reported that the root was used in sweet wine to treat coughs.

The plant’s sweet, mucilaginous properties were once used to make a type of candy of the same name. The modern marshmallow derives its name from this early sweet, despite no longer containing any of the plant.

It is one of 95 genera in the Malvaceae family, of which all contain a healing mucilage.

Its genus name is derived from the Greek althe, which means “to cure.”

Marshmallow was eaten by the Egyptians and Syrians and mentioned by Pythagoras, Plato, and Virgil.

The ancient Romans used it in barley soup, considering it a delicacy. The plant is credited with sustaining some populations during famines.

It has long been used as a laxative.

Its common names relating to cheese came as a result of the appearance of the seeds. They are a light brown, disc-shaped, and slotted upright in a ring known as “cheese.”

Key Actions

  • alleviates local irritation
  • anti-inflammatory
  • decreases blood sugar (hypoglycemic)
  • diuretic
  • demulcent (soothes)
  • expectorant
  • heals wounds
  • stimulates phagocytosis (boosts the immune system)

Key Components

  • mucilages (11% in roots less in leaves and flowers)
  • pectins (11% in roots)
  • starches (37% in roots)
  • flavonoids
  • salicylic and other phenolic acids
  • sucrose
  • asparagine
  • coumarins
  • tannins

Medicinal Parts

  • Flowers, leaves, roots

Remedies

Gargles are used for sore throats and gum inflammations.

Ointment from the root is used for boils and abscesses or burns.

Infusions from the leaves are used to treat coughs, diarrhea, cystitis, and frequent urination, or used externally as an eye compress.

The fresh, crushed flowers (or in an infusion) are applied warm to soothe inflamed skin.

The powder is used as a binding agent in the manufacture of pills.

Syrups are made from infusions to treat coughs.

Decoctions, tinctures, and poultices can be used for all manner of inflammations.

Traditional Uses

The root counters excess stomach acid and soothes and protects mucous membranes.

It is commonly used to treat peptic ulcers and gastritis, as well as a variety of other intestinal problems, including regional ileitis, colitis, diverticulitis, and irritable bowel syndrome.

It has long been used to treat inflammations of the bladder, urethra, and ureters. Although not a powerful antibiotic, it does relax the muscular wall of the bladder significantly, causing the release of bacteria that may have been pocketed in the bladder. Recently, it has been recommended as a possible treatment for IC (interstitial cystitis), a new bladder disorder baffling physicians.

Its demulcent qualities bring relief to dry coughs, bronchial asthma and congestion, and pleurisy.

The peeled root has been used as a chew-stick for teething babies; and, in Persia, it is used in the manner to reduce inflammation in teething babies.

After steeping, the mucilage from the leaves and roots is used as a soothing product for dry hands, sunburn, dry hair, in lotions, or in facial masks to treat such skin conditions as psoriasis.

A soothing eye compress can be used to soften the skin around the eyes.

Although marshmallow flowers are rarely available commercially, garden hollyhock flowers can be used as an alternative to make expectorant syrups for coughs.

View items on our site that contain marshmallow.

Chickweed

By

Chickweed growing at Cloverleaf FarmBotanical Name

  • Family Caryophyllaceae
  • Stellaria media

Common Names

  • Adder’s Mouth, Passerina, Satin Flower, Starweed, Star Chickweed, Starwort, Stitchwort, Tongue-grass, Winterweed

Cautions

  • Do not use if there is any kidney disease present.
  • Do not exceed dosage as an excessive dose can have an adverse effect on the kidneys; and, in rare cases, may cause heart failure.

Description

Native to Europe and Asia, chickweed is now found in virtually all of the world. It grows easily in open areas and is generally regarded as a troublesome weed. It seems to thrive in areas where cultivation is common and in unattended gardens, but dwindles and becomes sparce where farming is abandoned.

It is a sprawling perennial, growing to about six inches high and producing hairy stems, oval leaves, and star-like white flowers. It is harvested throughout the growing season as a food and a medicine.

History

In Gerard’s day (late 1500s), chickweed was given as a tonic to caged birds.

A chronic weed to some, it has long been a valuable vegetable, as well as being used medicinally.

In the 1st century CE, Dioscorides, a Greek physician, wrote that chickweed could be used with cornmeal for eye inflammation and that the juice could be introduced into the ear for an earache.

It was given as a tonic to malnourished children, reflecting its use in poor European rural areas as a “free food” in hard times.

Key Actions

  • astringent
  • antirheumatic
  • demulcent
  • heals wounds

Key Components

  • coumarins
  • carbolic acids
  • flavonoids (including rutin)
  • fatty acids
  • mucilage
  • minerals
  • silica
  • triterpenoid saponins
  • vitamins A, B, C

Medicinal Parts

  • Aerial parts
  • In China, the root of S. dichotoma (yin chai hu)

Remedies

Decoctions of the fresh herb are used as a cleansing tonic, to relieve tiredness and debility, and for urinary tract infections.

Tinctures are added to remedies for rheumatism.

Poultices made from the fresh plant are applied to boils and abscesses and to painful rheumatic joints.

Compresses are soaked in hot decoctions or in diluted tinctures and applied to painful joints.

Creams are used for eczema and other skin irritations, including burns and scalds and to draw out insect stingers or splinters.

Infused oil is made by the hot infusion method and applied as an alternative to creams for skin rashes, or added to a bathwater for eczema.

Juice from the fresh plant is used either internally or externally to heal skin problems.

Decoctions from the root are used for fevers related to weakness in chronic illness.

Traditional Uses

Chickweed has long been used to heal wounds and in poultices for drawing boils.

In China, the root is used as a cooling herb for fevers and to stop nosebleeds and heavy menstrual bleeding.

The expressed liquid is used for soothing sores, and scaly or itchy patches of skin. It is said that two or three pounds of the fresh herb in a hot bath will tone and invigorate the skin.

Because of its diuretic properties, chickweed is also good for certain kidney disorders; but caution is advised and should be done only under the guidance of a professional.

Alder

By

Botanical Name

  • Family Betulaceae
  • Alnus glutinosa and other Alnus species

Common Names:

  • Black Alder, Common Alder, Owler, Tag Alder

Cautions

  • Not to be confused with another plant called Black Alder (Rhamnus frangula syn.Frangula alnus Family Rhamnaceae) which is closely related to Cascara.

Description

Indigenous to the damp regions of Europe, Asia, and North America, alder is a small tree with fissured, orangey bark, growing as high as seventy feet and producing notched, oval leaves which can be very sticky when young. The male flowers are arranged in stemmed catkins, while the female flowers form ovoid fruits which turn woody and remain on the tree the entire year. Thriving in damp places along riverbanks, it now grows in much of the Northern Hemisphere. It is almost identical in appearance to the oak. The bark and the leaves are gathered in spring or fall and best used fresh or from recent collections.

History

Water resistant, the tree was used in the construction of Venice. Wooster Beech (1794-1868), founder of the Eclectic healing movement, used a decoction of the bark to purify the blood.

Key Actions

  • antimicrobial
  • astringent
  • heals wounds
  • stops bleeding

Key Components

  • anthraquinone (emodin)
  • flavonoids (including hypericin)
  • glycosides
  • lignans
  • tannin (10-20%)

Medicinal Parts

  • Bark, leaves

Remedies

  • Decoctions are used as a tonic and to treat intestinal bleeding.
  • Gargles from the decoctions are used to treat streptococcal throat infections.
  • Compresses soaked in decoction are used to stauch wound bleeding and to help heal them.
  • Washes are used for scabies.
  • Poultices from the leaves are used to help reduce breast engorgement of nursing mothers.

Traditional Uses

Alder is most often used as a mouthwash and gargle for tooth, gum, and throat problems. Its drying action helps to contract the mucous membranes and reduce inflammation.

Since the bark is high in tannin, it can be used in all situations where astringency is needed, including diarrhea, gum inflammations, and sore throats.

For external use, it is good as a wash for cuts, hives, poison ivy, swellings, wounds, and sprains.

In Spain, the leaves are smoothed and placed on the soles of the feet to relieve aching.

The PDR for Herbal Medicines mentions an ophthalmic powder, but gives no further information.

For educational purposes only.
This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.