laxative Archives - Herbal Encyclopedia

Olive

December 28, 2010 By Cloverleaf Farm

Botanical Name

Family Oleaceae
Olea europaea

Common Names

Olivier, Lucca

Cautions

None listed.

Description

The olive tree is one of the most documented plants in history and has the distinction of being one of the longest surviving species in the plant kingdom. It is an evergreen, growing to about thirty feet, having a deeply grooved, gray trunk, small leathery leaves, clusters of small greenish white flowers, and a green fruit ripening to black. The trees still grow wild in the Mediterranean region, where they are also cultivated. They are extensively cultivated in similar climates in the Americas, in Iran, and beyond the Caucasus. Gathered throughout the year, the leaves from wild trees are believed to contain a higher concentration of active principles than from cultivated ones.

History

It is thought that the olive tree was first cultivated in Crete about 3500 BCE.

The olive has many symbolic associations, including its branches being linked with peace and its leaves worn as a victorious crown in ancient Olympic games.

Since ancient times, the leaves have been used to clean wounds and the oil used in ritual anointings.

Key Actions

lowers blood pressure
mild diuretic
mild hypoglycemic
nutritive

Key Components

(a) Leaves

oleoropine
oleasterol
leine

(b) Oil

oleic acid (about 75%)

Medicinal Parts

Leaves, extracted oil, flowers

Traditional Uses

Olive oil is nourishing and improves the balance of fats within the blood, lowering blood pressure and helping to improve the function of the circulatory system.

Olives are mildly diuretic and may be used to treat such conditions as cystitis.

The leaves are also used in some forms of diabetes as they possess some ability to lower blood sugar levels.

The oil is traditionally taken by the teaspoonful with lemon juice to treat gallstones. It also has a general protective action on the digestive tract and is good for the skin.

Externally, the oil is often used as a carrier oil for essential oils that require application to the skin for such conditions as burns, scalds, sores, and skin inflammations, including eczemous patches of dry skin.

Used in treatment of bowel diseases, it is an excellent laxative for children, but dosage must be monitored carefully.

The herb will also relieve the pain of intestinal colic, and has been recommended as a vermifuge but needs to be taken over a long period to be successful.

Honey

December 23, 2010 By Cloverleaf Farm

Common Names

Miel (French, Spanish)

Although not an herb, honey is a plant by-product and used medicinally around the world. It is an integral part of herbs and just as healing. However, only wildflower honey should be used as the clover or alfalfa honey, common in grocery stores, comes from heavily sprayed crops and does not have the broad-spectrum healing activities found in the natural honey obtained from multiple-plants that have not been sprayed with various chemicals. In addition, many commercial honey growers supplement their bees’ food with sugar, as well as adding it to the final product, which dilutes the medicinal action of the honey. In good, strong, medicinal type honey, it should slightly burn or sting the back of the throat when taken undiluted.

Cautions

There are three instances where honey can be harmful.

1) Bees occasionally get into poisonous plants. Although very rare, it does happen. Therefore, it is best to obtain honey from a reputable dealer.
2) Occasionally, honey may contain botulism spores that can be dangerous to children under the age of one year. After that age, their digestive systems are more fully formed and are able to rid themselves of the occasional spore that may be present in uncooked honey.
3) In rare instances, people who are allergic to bee stings will also react to honey or other bee products.

Description

Many people are under the impression that “bees make honey”. They actually collect the nectar made by plants and process that nectar into what we know as honey. Plants produce the nectar in glands located in the center of flowers, which pump out liquid sugars made in the leaves. The bees collect the nectar by sucking up the liquid into their stomachs and fly back to the hive to regurgitate the nectar into the empty cells of the honey comb. Other bees then fan the collection to evaporate the water contained in the nectar until it becomes one-quarter of the original size. Still other bees produce wax and seal the cells after the evaporation process. Along with the sugars produced in the leaves, honey contains other ingredients characteristic of individual plant species, making it light or dark with varying flavours, depending on the plant from where the nectar was collected.

History

Prehistoric cave paintings show that honey was used as both a food and a medicine. Pictures from Switzerland and Spain also depict men hanging down cliffs in order to gather honey from beehives. One Spanish picture shows a man with his hand in the hive while out-of-scale bees swarm around him.

The earliest written records, dating from 4000 BCE, indicate that the Egyptians were loading hives on boats and sailing up the Nile to places where flowers were beginning to bloom. Their large numbers of papyrus scrolls and hieroglyphic tablets indicate that the Egyptians were very fond of honey. The bee was their symbol of power and health and was put in on everything from architecture to jewelry. At least one pharaoh had a bee stamp which was placed next to his signature on official documents. Egyptian doctors saw honey as the ultimate healing substance.

Honey found in an excavated tomb of more than 3,000 years ago, showed that it was perfectly usable.

No one knows exactly how or why, but honey is a natural bactericidal. This is one reason that bomb shelters, during WWII, were stocked with honey and wheat germ. People could survive indefinitely on these two items alone, and their food supply would not spoil.

Greek bees still produce some of the best honey in the world collected from wild mountain thyme and oregano.

During the Middle Ages, straw hives were often kept on the walls of fortified cities where bees would come after collecting honey in the surrounding countryside. In cases of attack, the city’s defenders could hurl the hives down on attackers’ heads. They used the excitable black bees of northern Europe. Once inside the helmet of an armor-clad knight, the battle was often decided right then and there.

Key Actions

antibiotic
antiviral
anti-inflammatory
anticarcinogenic
antianemic
antifungal
antiallergenic
cell regenerator
expectorant
immune stimulant
laxative
tonic

Key Components

One pound of average wildflower honey contains more than seventy-five different compounds including the following:

complex assortment of enzymes
organic acids
esters
antibiotic agents
trace minerals (calcium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium, sulfur, chlorine, potassium, iodine, sodium, copper, manganese)
proteins (1.4 grams)
vitamins (A, B, C, D, E, K)
hydrogen peroxide
formic acid
carbohydrates
hormones
antimicrobial compounds
(1,333 calories, as compared with white sugar at 1,748 calories in one pound)

Traditional Uses

Many in Europe attribute their longevity to honey which, to the westerner, seems incredible since it is only “sugar”. However, honey is no ordinary sugar as it also contains the substances from the original plant, making it vastly more healing. Schar describes a trip to northern Spain where he found a honey seller whose shop offered more than twenty different kinds of honey classified according to the various plants from where they were collected; and, beside each, there was a listing of its medicinal uses. For example, the honey collected from sage plants was to be used for bronchial infections, while that collected from thyme was best for bladder infections and weaknesses.

Honey has been used effectively in clinical settings for the treatment of fist-sized, decubitus ulcers extending to the bone, as well as for first, second, and third degree burns. Complete healing has been reported without the need for skin grafts and with no infection or muscle loss. It can be applied full strength to such conditions, covered with a sterile bandage, and changed daily. Poultices can also be used to draw poisons from bites and stings and to clean or infected wounds. A thick layer is needed to draw effectively; but, if it is too thin, it can be thickened with cornstarch. When the wounds are clean, honey acts as a healer. This also is the same procedure for infected wounds, ulcerations, and impetigo. Garlic honey can also be applied directly to infected wounds which will help clean up the area of infection.

As an antiseptic, honey is also a drawing agent for poisons or infected wounds and has outperformed antibiotics when it came to treatments for stomach ulcerations, gangrene, surgical wound infections, surgical incisions, and the protection of skin grafts, corneas, blood vessels, and bones during storage and shipment.

It is exceptionally effective in respiratory ailments. One Bulgarian study of almost 18,000 patients found that it improved chronic bronchitis, asthmatic bronchitis, chronic and allergic rhinitis, and sinusitis.

It is an effective treatment for colds, flu, respiratory infections, and a generally depressed immune system. Whereas sugar shuts down the immune system, a good quality honey will stimulate it into action.

Honey is often added to herbal teas and syrups, not only to make them more palatable, but for added healing power. The sugars in honey are predigested, making them easily available as energy to the weakened body.

Honey used from the immediate vicinity will help cure allergies to plants.

Carob

December 22, 2010 By Cloverleaf Farm

Botanical Name

Family Leguminosae
Ceratonia siliqua

Common Names

St. John’s Bread, Locust Bean, Locust Pods, Sugar Pods

Cautions

None listed

Description

Native to southeastern Europe, western Asia, and North Africa, carob is derived from a evergreen tree, growing to thirty feet, having compound leaves, green flowers, and large violet-brown bean pods. Carob flourishes in poor soil in warm climates; and, it is said, that it “wants the sight of the sea”. It is widely cultivated for its fruits which are the pods.

History

In ancient Egypt, carob pods were combined with porridge, honey, and wax as a remedy for diarrhea. It was also featured in recipes for expelling worms and in the treatment of poor eyesight and eye infections.

In the 1st century CE, Dioscorides wrote that carob acted to relieve stomach pain and settle the digestion.

Carob was also prominent in the rituals of the early Christian Church.

As a flour, the herb has gained more prominence as a substitute for chocolate, although the flavours are not at all similar.

Key Actions

anti-exudative
anticoagulant
antiviral
anti-diarrheal
mildly laxative
nutritive

Key Components

sugars (70%)
mucilages
flavonoids
fats
starch
proteins
vitamins
tannins

Medicinal Parts

Fruit, bark

Traditional Uses

Although it may seem contradictory, carob has both the actions of an anti-diarrheal and a laxative. It is an example of how the body responds to herbal medicines according to need, as well as how the herb is prepared. A decoction of the pulp is used to cleanse gently and relieve irritation within the gut, while the bark, which is strongly astringent, is used to treat diarrhea.

Used as a dietary agent for acute nutritional disorders, diarrhea, dyspepsia, enterocolitis, celiac disease, and sprue as well as for habitual vomiting in babies or for a retching cough.

The seed flour is used in the production of gluten-free starch bread used to combat vomiting during pregnancy, celiac disease, and obesity.

Balsam Fir

December 5, 2010 By Cloverleaf Farm

Botanical Name

Family Pinaceae
Abies balsamea

Common Names

Canadian Balsam, Canada Balsam

Cautions

None listed

Description

Native to North America, the Balsam Fir is a conical evergreen tree growing to 180 feet, producing aromatic needle-like leaves and purple fir cones. In the eastern US, it is used mainly as a “Christmas tree”, and has long been commercially exploited for its timber. It is the source of the liquid resin called Canada balsam, which is tapped from sixty to eighty-year-old trees in the spring.

History

Dr. Wooster Beech (1794-1868), founder of the Eclectic healing movement, regarded balsam fir as a stimulant and laxative when taken internally and as an emollient and coolant when used externally.

It has an extensive history of medicinal use in North America and Europe for congestion and other infections, but not used much today. It was used mainly by Native Americans and early settlers for a wide variety of conditions.

Key Actions

antiseptic
coolant
decongestant
emollient
laxative
stimulant

Key Components

liquid oleo-resin

Medicinal Parts

Needles, resin, roots, branches, bark

Traditional Uses

The resin was used in a variety of ways by Native Americans. The Penobscots put it on burns, cuts, and sores. Ointments and plasters were also applied to the chest and back for colds and chest problems. It not only makes an effective treatment, but also is a protective coating, especially for cuts and burns.

Many tribes including the Algonquin, Woodlands Cree, Iroquois, Menominee, Micmac, Ojibwa, and Potawatomi treated colds with a tea made from the sap or bark.

The Pillagers and Ojibwa used the aromatic needles in their sweat lodges, inhaling the smoke from burning leaves to cure such respiratory problems as bronchitis.

The Chippewa inhaled steam created by melting the gum to relieve headaches.

The Iroquois used the steam created from a decoction of the branches to relieve rheumatism and as an aid in childbirth.

Infusions of the leaves were used to treat urinary tract infections including cystitis.

It is still commonly used in potpourri.

Aloe

November 21, 2010 By Cloverleaf Farm

Botanical Names

Family Liliaceae
Aloe vera, A. barbadensis, A. capensis, A. vulgaris, A. mexicana and other Aloe species

Common Names

Aloe, Aloe Vera, Barbados Aloe, Zanzibar Aloe, Curacao Aloe
Spanish: Sábila, Zábila

Cautions

It is not to be confused with Agave americana, sometimes known as American Aloe.
It can cause gastrointestinal cramping or contractions, so is contraindicated during pregnancy.
It should not be used internally by those suffering from intestinal obstructions, kidney disease, colitis, and intestinal inflammations.
In rare cases, heart arrythmias, kidney abnormalities, edema, and accelerated bone deterioration may occur.
Do not use the bitters on the skin.
Use as a laxative for only ten days at a time as long-term use can cause a loss of electrolytes, particularly potassium. Note that many “aloe” laxatives also contain senna, which is harder on the system and often, the real cause of the effectiveness of the laxative. Read the labels carefully. If aloe is not listed as the main ingredient, it is best to avoid that product.
Care must be taken when using many commercially prepared products that contain “aloe” as usually there is not enough included to be of much value medicinally.

Description

Native to eastern and southern Africa, aloes are now commonly cultivated worldwide, especially as houseplants. There are about 350 species of these perennials that also grow in the tropics, including Central and South America, India, and the Middle East. Aloes generally have prickly, gray-green succulent leaves that can reach a length of two feet and producing spikes of yellow or orange flowers. The leaves contain two different fluids — the inner portion is filled with a clear gel and the thick aloe skin contains a bitter yellow juice or latex.

History

Aloe has been used medicinally for more than 3500 years. Egyptian texts, dating to about 1500 BCE, describe its healing properties.

Alexander the Great used it to treat wounds.

Greece, Rome, China, India, West Indies all used it as a wound healer, laxative, and purgative.

Cleopatra is said to have attributed her beauty to it.

About the 6th century CE, Persian traders carried aloe throughout Asia. Marco Polo witnessed healers in the Orient using it.

A beautiful violet dye is produced from aloe plants (A. perryi) native to the island of Socotra in the Indian Ocean. A desire for the plant is said to have motivated Alexander the Great to conquer the island in the 4th century BCE. 1400 years later, Muslim traders reported the island was still the only source of the herb, although it is now grown in Africa, China, India, and Central America.

The Spanish called the plant sábila after the Arabic word, saber, which means patience. The implication is unclear.

Even before the conquest of Mexico, aloe was heavily cultivated on the island of Barbados, leading to the naming of one botanical variety, Aloe barbadensis.

Similar to the maguey, aloe is often confused for that plant. Even Columbus assumed that he had “discovered” aloe, a plant he was familiar with in Spain; but it was actually a maguey which he took back with him.

Related species are used as an antidote for poison arrow wounds.

Key Actions

antibacterial
antibiotic
antifungal
anti-inflammatory
antimicrobial
antiulcer
antiviral
emollient
healing
laxative
purgative
stimulates bile secretions

Key Components

amino acids
anthraquinone glycosides (aloin, aloe-emodin)
aloectin B
enzymes
flavonoids
minerals
polysaccharides
resins
salicylic acid
steroid hormones
tannins
vitamins

Medicinal Parts

Clear gel (in the leaves), yellow sap from the base (bitter aloes)
The anthraquinone glycosides (aloin and aloe-emodin) are strongly laxative and can cause uterine contractions. This is the reason that aloes are contraindicated internally during pregnancy. These substances are not found in high levels in potted plants.
Aloectin B stimulates immune system.
The gel is made up of some seventy-five complex substances known to date. Many are made up of bioactive ingredients.
Aloin is a stimulant for peristalsis. However, in high doses, aloin will act as a powerful purgative with the effects lasting up to twelve hours.
It has been proven effective against Stapylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Herpes simplex 1 and 2.

Remedies

fresh gel — to heal wounds and burns, treat fungal infections and insect bites
dried bitters — as a short-term laxative
commercial juice from gel — for peptic ulcers
tinctures — to stimulate the appetite
ointment — made by boiling a large quantity of gel until a thick paste, then using like fresh leaves
inhalation of gel in a steam — to relieve bronchial congestion
powder in capsules — to relieve constipation and to stimulate bile flow

Traditional Uses

In general, the gel is used externally. The latex is dried and used in oral drugs, mostly laxatives. There is also a standardized aloe extract, derived from freeze-dried aloe gel that can be taken internally. Some form is commonly found in all manner of beauty treatments: lotions, shampoos, creams, suntan lotions.

When needed, fresh leaves are generally snipped off, opened up, and the gel applied to the affected area on the skin for minor burns, scalds, or sunburns. This gel also helps speed the healing of cuts and other minor wounds; helps prevent scarring; reduces tissue damage from frostbite; relieves skin irritation and inflammation from stings or bites, treats external hemorrhoids; and moisturizes and softens dry, itchy, or rough skin.

Internally, the aloe latex juice is used to treat constipation, but care must be taken as too much can result in it being a purgative. See cautions above.

Research is indicating that its use internally has an antifertility aspect inhibiting ovulation in rabbits and rats.

Although numerous tests have indicated that when aloe is used externally, it helps wounds heal, decreases inflammation, and relieves pain, it can also delay deep wound healing including that of surgery.

The powdered gel extract is taken internally to treat ulcers and other intestinal problems including diverticulitis and inflammatory bowel disease as well as to bolster immunity.

The latex contains bitter substances that increase bowel motility and loosens the stool. These actions are derived from compounds in the resin which stimulate bowel contractions and helps increase the amount of intestinal fluid resulting in a more watery stool that is propelled rapidly through the colon. For this reason, aloe should not be used on a regular basis as this rapid propulsion dramatically affects the time needed to absorb valuable nutrients into the system.

Chinese medicine uses aloe to treat fungal diseases.

Ayurvedic medicine uses it for stomach tumors, constipation, colic, skin disorders, amenorrhea, worm infestation, and infections

South Africa uses it for eye inflammations and syphillis.

Aloe and honey are two of the more powerful substances that can be applied externally to speed wound healing and prevent infections in burn victims. One especially important aspect is that both are liquid. This allows them to keep the burn tissue moist, soothe the damaged tissues, and restore lost body fluids directly through the skin, which is generally a problem for burn victims. At the same time, they are potent anti-inflammatories and antibacterials and it is nearly impossible for a staph infection to get started with these two substances present.

Agave

November 21, 2010 By Cloverleaf Farm

Botanical Name

Family Agavaceae
Agave americana

Common Names

Century Plant
Spanish: Maguey, Lechuguilla, Mescal
Nahuatl: Metl, Tlacametl, Teometl

Cautions

Do not use during pregnancy.
Do not exceed prescribed dose as it may cause digestive irritation and lead to eventual liver damage.
External use can cause irritation in those with sensitive skin.

Description

Native to the deserts of Central America, agave is a succulent perennial with large rosettes of thirty to sixty fleshy, sharply-toothed leaves that reach a height of six feet. It produces clusters of yellow flowers, growing to three inches across and bloom on a polelike stem after ten years or more. It is also grown as an ornamental plant in tropical and subtropical areas around the world.

History

Plentiful in the arid areas of Mexico, agave is considered to be one of the most useful plants on earth. For as long as man has travelled the deserts of Mesoamerica, the plant has provided food, drink, and medicine. It is most famous as the source of tequila, pulque, and mescal. Long fibers from the leaves of some species are the source of sisal hemp woven into hammocks, fishing nets, and baskets. The heads, with the leaves trimmed off, are roasted and eaten. The tall stalks are chopped into pieces and chewed like sugar cane and some species are used to make soap.

According to legend, the plant lives for hundreds of years before it flowers, which is why it acquired the name of “Century Plant”. In reality, the plants live no more than thirty years, but the fatal flowering can be spectacular. In some species, a shoot two stories high, will produce an enormous cluster of white or yellow flowers.

Unlike the Europeans at the time the Spanish conquest of the New World, the Aztecs and Maya were very skilled in wound healing. They used the agave sap, often with egg white, to bind powders and gums in pastes and poultices to be applied to wounds.

The Bandianus Manuscript of 1552 was the first herbal to list the plants of the New World, describing an Aztec treatment for diarrhea and dysentery. In it, agave juice, combined with freshly-ground corn and extract of bladderwort was given as an enema, using a syringe made from the bladder of a small animal and a hollow bone or reed.

The 18th century Spanish botanist, Luis Née, was so impressed with the usefulness of the plant that, in his report to the crown, declared that Spain should not be without it. The plant was soon taken there, where it can still be found growing.

The juice was often applied to cuts and knife wounds to ease the pain, but another unusal use was recorded. It was stated that a cowardly (or clever) man was about to be whipped for some crime and had coated his back with the juice in order to lessen the pain of the whip.

Key Actions

antiseptic
anti-inflammatory
demulcent
diuretic
laxative
resorative

Key Components

estrogen-like isoflavonoids
alkaloids
coumarins
vitamins pro-A, B, C, D, and K

Medicinal Parts

Remedies

poultices to treat skin infections and inflammations
infusions for internal healing
juice applied to cuts, sores, and wounds

Traditional Uses

It is used to treat many digestive ailments, including ulcers and other inflammatory conditions of the intestines, stomach, and mouth. Its soothing properties protect the mucous membranes and encourage healing. It is also used for eye inflammations, bronchitis, arthritis, menstrual problems, as well as for cuts and wounds.

In the past, being a fairly close relative of Aloe Vera and with its rosette of sharply barbed spears, the two are often substituted for each other, depending on availability.

Another species, A. sisalana, is cultivated in subtropical America and Kenya as a source of hecogenin, the substance that is the starting point in the production of corticosteroids. Its fiber is also used to make rope and hammocks.

Mixed with a yellow chili and gourd seeds, the mixture was a tonic for those suffering relapses after illnesses.

A beverage made with the juice, called aguamiel, which literally means “water honey,” is prepared by roasting one of the spears until it begins to turn brown. The liquid is then squeezed from it and simmered over a low flame, sometimes with the addition of a cinnamon stick for flavour.

Agar

November 21, 2010 By Cloverleaf Farm

Botanical Name

Family Gelidaceae
Gelidium amansii, G. corneum

Common Names

Agar-Agar, Agar Weed, Japanese/Chinese Isinglass, Red Algae

Cautions

None listed

Description

This perennial seaweed grows up to three feet long, comprising of reddish-brown, translucent, multibranched ribbons and fronds, called thalli (singular thallus), that sprout from a permanent base every year. The thallus is cylindrical or flattened, subdivided, and tough. The plant produces spherical fruit late in the autumn or early winter. Indigenous to the Pacific coasts of Japan and China, Sri Lanka, it also grows along the South African coasts to a depth of 100 feet below sea level.

Commercial harvesters rake the plants from the banks and rocks. The refining of it is a complex process. After cleaning, it is boiled with sulphuric acid, which yields agar, a thick gummy liquid. This is set to form a jelly, which is colorless and tasteless and capable of absorbing 200 times its volume of water. The final product is cut into thin strips, dried, and stored in a cool place to prevent the growth of mold. The strips are then ground into a fine powder. About 6,500 tons of agar are processed each year.

History

Agar is a common food thickening agent, but it is used mostly in scientific research as a culture medium for growing micro-organisms in petri dishes.

The Japanese name kanten means “cold weather,” referring to the fact that the seaweed is harvested in the winter months. Freezing and thawing are necessary for the manufacturing process.

Key Actions

nutritive
bulk laxative

Key Components

polysaccharides (mainly agarose and agaropectine [up to 90%])

Medicinal Parts

The gelatinous extract, known as Agar
The polysaccharides are very mucilaginous, making it a good bulk laxative.

Traditional Uses

Like most seaweeds and their derivatives, agar is nutritious, containing large amounts of mucilage which absorbs water in the intestines and swells. This stimulates bowel activity, without purging, causing the subsequent elimination of feces.

The powder is used to make a jelly that is given to the sick and infirm for its highly digestible protein.

Although G. amansii is the main agar-producing species, there are other closely related species found around the world used as alternative sources. One is G. cartilagineum, found on the Pacific coast of North America.