WATER AVENS ( INDIAN CHOCOLATE) - AN ANCIENT HERB: HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF WATER AVENS HERB

WATER AVENS, INDIAN CHOCOLATE, GEUM RIVALE

Water Avens is native to northern Europe, including the UK, Siberia and North America. It’s a member of the rose family of plants and is also known as Indian Chocolate in the States as the Native Americans used to make a chocolate type drink out of it, which was adopted by colonists as a substitute for chocolate. They also used the powdered root to treat malaria and the colonists also adopted this use, mixing it with either water or brandy. The roots were also used to cure a sore throat, giving rise to another of its names, Throat Root. This was the Physicians of Myddfai’s remedy for a sore throat:

  “For hoarseness. Take the water avens, and St. John's wort, boil in pure milk, mixing butter therewith when boiling. Boil a portion thereof briskly every morning and drink.”

 You can make a cold infusion of this by soaking the powdered root in cold water for 24 hours, and drinking ½ a cupful. For a tisane, take 1 tsp of the chopped root and pour a cup of boiling water over it. Let it steep for 30 minutes and take half a cup at night, or a tablespoon 3 times a day.  An infusion of the whole plant can be made by chopping it and pouring boiling water over it, and then allowing it to steep for 30 minutes. This is said to be good for respiratory complaints and to stop feelings of nausea. However you should not take more than ½ a cupful at a time, as it may have some bad side effects.

   In the past water avens was used to treat diarrhoea, and this probably worked as it has tannins which have astringent properties. It was also used during fevers and given for intestinal problems.

   The physicians of Myddfai used it in remedies for patients recovering from the worst effects of pneumonia,

 

  “Afterwards let a medicine be prepared, by digesting the following herbs in wheat ale or red wine: madder, sharp dock, anise, agrimony, daisy, round birthwort, meadow sweet, yellow goat's beard, heath, water avens, woodruff, crake berry, the corn cockle, caraway, and such other herbs as will seem good to the physician. Thus is the blessed confection prepared.”

  They also used it to cure profuse menstruation when it was used with the herb “stinking goose foot”; the physicians did not use a decaying goose’s foot. This was their remedy:

 “A woman who is subject to profuse menstruation, should take the reddish bastard balm, small burdock, orpine, stinking goose foot, pimpernel, water avens, with the ashes of a hart's horns, that has been killed with his antlers on, boiling them, as well as possible in red wine, straining the liquor carefully, and drinking it daily, till it is finished, abstaining (the while) from stimulating food. Being restrained by the above means, the blood will be habitually diverted to the thighs and ankles.”

Water avens and Seeds

   The seeds of the plant are like burrs and stick on the fur or wool of passing animals, and are thus dispersed. They prefer to live in moist places, and inhabit woodland, ditches and canal banks. The avens and water avens have much the same properties, although in 2002 a new compound was found in the water avens. The Latin name Geum means giving off a fragrance and this is thought to refer to the smell of the freshly dug up root which is like cloves. Geum urbanum is the avens, and there are other varieties too. Water avens has been found to have antimicrobial and antifungal properties in vitro, but more research is needed into its properties. It also contains Eugenol in its volatile oil and gein or humin is one of its phenolic glycosides. Eugenol is also found in cloves, allspice and bay oil.

 Water avens is said to have been used against the plague in the Middle Ages, and it is also believed to be put into casks of Augsburg Ale to give it its distinctive flavour.

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MEADOWSWEET PLANT OF WELSH LEGENDS: MEDICINAL BENEFITS AND USES OF MEADOWSWEET HERB

MEADOWSWEET, FILIPENDULA ULMARIA

Meadowsweet has been used for centuries in the UK and is mentioned in the Welsh Mabinogion. Remains of the flowers have been found in burial mounds or cairns of cremated human remains dating from the Bronze Age in Fan Foel, Carmarthenshire in West Wales and in beakers from Fife in Scotland, so the flowers may have been in mead the honey-based drink that meadowsweet was often put into to give it an almond flavour. They may also have been planted on graves for their fragrance. In the Mabinogion, Math and Gwydion made a woman out of oak blossom, broom and meadowsweet and called her Blodeuwedd (Flower Face). The Druids held meadowsweet in high regards as it was one of their three most sacred herbs along with vervain and water-mint.

  It is a member of the rose family and native to Europe, where it prefers to grow in moist places. It has red-purple stems and fern-like leaves with cream-white flowers blooming between June and the beginning of September. The whole plant is best harvested in July when in flower, and dried for future use either in cooking or for medicinal purposes. The dried flowers can be put into pot pourri or used to make a tisane. The leaves smell good too and the whole upper parts of the plant were strewn on floors in Mediaeval times to give rooms a pleasant smell. Gerard writing in his Herball in the 16^th century says “the smell thereof maketh the heart merrie and joyful and delighteth the senses.” In this way it seems to be rather like borage, which was also put in drinks and was also one of the ingredients of the drink “Save” along with meadowsweet and 48 others mentioned by Geoffrey Chaucer in his 14^th century “Canterbury Tales” in “The Knight’s Tale”. It is believed that Queen Elizabeth I had meadowsweet strewn in her chambers, and country people used to put the flowers in cupboards and wardrobes to make them smell good. Meadowsweet has been an additive to wine and beers for centuries in Europe and it’s worth trying white or red wine with a meadowsweet leaf in it.

  The plant was called Bridewort because it was strewn in churches for weddings and in bridal chambers. Other names for it are Queen or Lady of the Meadows, because it is a beautiful, fragrant plant which can grow up to 4 feet tall so is easily seen above other meadow plants. It used to be called Spiraea ulmaria, ulmaria meaning elm-like and it has been suggested that this is either because the upper side of its leaves look a little like those of the elm tree, as they are wrinkled, or because the plant has similar properties to Slippery Elm Bark, i.e. salicylic acid. This is the basis for aspirin and it is thought that Bayer who began selling aspirin in 1899 made the name from the botanical name of the meadowsweet. The Italian, Rafaele Piria had first extracted this acid from the meadowsweet and willow bark (Salix alba) earlier in the 19^th century. The tisane made from the flowers will cure headaches, it is said. Its newer Latin name, Filipendula means hanging from a thread.

  The English herbalists John Gerard (16^th century) and Nicholas Culpeper (17^th century) believed that the distilled water from the flowers was good to relieve the eyes from burning and itching sensations and that it clears the sight.

   Throughout the centuries the herb has been employed as a remedy for numerous ailments, and is used in Germany for colds- it contains vitamin C and flu. With lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) it is good for stomach problems. It contains tannins, flavonoids including the flavonoid glycosides rutin, hyperin and spiracoside, found in the flowers, and phenolic glycosides which include spiraein, monotropin and gaultherin. It has been used to treat diarrhoea and contains tannins, to purify the blood, to help promote sweat in fevers, as an infusion of the fresh flowering tops is a diaphoretic. (Take a handful of flowers and pour a cup of boiling water over them and steep for 15 minutes then strain and drink.) You can also boil an ounce of the fresh chopped root in white wine to reduce the symptoms of fever. You can make a tisane with 1 ounce of the dried herb to 1 pint of boiling water and steep for 15 minutes before straining. This can also be used externally for skin problems. This is supposedly good for peptic ulcers, acid indigestion, joint problems, respiratory problems such as wheezing and coughs, and for diarrhoea. However, if you are allergic to aspirin, or salicylate or sulphate or are pregnant or breast-feeding then you should not take meadowsweet. A decoction of the roots is preferred for respiratory problems and diarrhoea, use boiling water instead of the white wine in the remedy above. In mice it has been found that extracts of meadowsweet can decrease cervix and vaginal cancers and act as a sedative. Meadowsweet has a narcotic effect on animals in the lab it would seem. The recommended daily dose for meadowsweet is 2½ - 3½ gr. of the dried flower and 4-5 gr of the whole herb. The tisane of flowers only is a mild diuretic.

  It has recognized anti-inflammatory properties and has been used for aches and arthritis. In the Middle Ages women used to collect rainwater and mix it with the meadowsweet flowers to use as a skin cleanser and toner. You can use the fresh leaves in sorbets and fruit salads and in other desserts as sweeteners. The flowers can be added to jams and compotes for a subtle almond flavour.

 The following medicinal preparations were used by the Welsh Physicians of Myddfai:-

To dispel stones form the internal organs-

If the disease be gravel, make a medicine of the following herbs, mascerated in strong clear wheat ale, viz. water pimpernel, tutsan, meadow sweet, St. John's wort, ground ivy, agrimony, milfoil, birch, common burnet, columbine, motherwort, laurel, gromwel, betony, borage, dandelion, little field madder, amphibious persicaria, liverwort.

To restrain an active haemorrhage: take meadowsweet, digest in cold water, and drink thereof, and this will stop it by the help of God.

For lung diseases:-

Let (the patient) take, for three successive days, of the following herbs; hemlock, agrimony, herb Robert, and asarabacca, then let him undergo a three day's course of aperients. When the disease is thus removed from the bronchial tubes, an emetic should be given him (daily) to the end of nine days. Afterwards let a medicine be prepared, by digesting the following herbs in wheat ale or red wine: madder, sharp dock, anise, agrimony, daisy, round birthwort, meadow sweet, yellow goat's beard, heath, water avens, woodruff, crake berry, the corn cockle, caraway, and such other herbs as will seem good to the physician.

BUTCHER'S BROOM - HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES: HOW TO MAKE BUTCHER'S BROOM TISANE

BUTCHER’S BROOM, BOX HOLLY, RUSCUS ACULEATUS

Butcher’s Broom gets this name because butchers would tie the twigs together and clean their chopping boards with it. It was also used for cleaning chimneys and for repelling rats and mice especially from meat which was hanging to preserve it according to John Parkinson a British botanist (1567-1650). The names Box Holly and Knee Holly come probably from the facts that it grows to a man’s knee height and it has red berries which grow from the centre of its leaves like those of Ruscus hypophyllum and these resemble holly berries, although they can grow to the size of cherries. The flowers that precede the berries are green–white and small. It is a dioecious shrub, as are holly and European Mistletoe, meaning that the stamens and pistils are on different plants. It has prickly leaves like holly too, so you should be careful when handling it. It is a pretty room decoration and is often used in flower arrangements. Despite the name it is not related to either broom (Cytisus scoparius), or Spanish broom (Spartum junceus) as Butcher’s Broom is a member of the Liliaceae family.

  It grows wild in the UK and Europe and spreads from the Mediterranean to Iran. In the 17^th century in Britain, people dug it up from its natural habitat to plant in ornamental gardens, and it has remained a popular plant in these until now. The young shoots of this plant are edible and look a little like asparagus. However the plant has been employed for its medicinal properties for more than 2,000 years. It is an aperient or mild laxative, and has diuretic properties so has been traditionally used for edema (swelling of the legs due to water retention) and was a treatment for piles as it was considered good for the veins. In the 1950s researchers found that it might indeed be useful for the veins as it constricts them and is a blood thinner, so it improves blood circulation and heightens low blood pressure. (If you have high blood pressure then you shouldn’t use it.)

  It contains some coumarins which appear to act as anti-coagulants (blood thinners) and also the saponins ruscogenin and neoruscogenin and has been approved for oral internal use by Germany’s Commission E for chronic venous insufficiency and haemorrhoids. Studies are still underway on Butcher’s Broom and its extracts, but it is thought that it might be helpful for orthostatic hypertension and as a cytotoxic agent.

  Sparteine is also one of the constituents of Butcher’s Broom and this is an effective anti-arrhythmic substance and one which appears to contract the smooth uterine muscle. In other words it expands the heart’s cavities so they fill up with blood and so increases the diastolic blood pressure. Ruscogenin release noradrenalin in the blood vessel walls and improves the tone of both the venous and lymphatic walls so having an anti-edema effect. Ruscin is a ruscoside (steroidal saponins) in the plant which promotes sweating (a diaphoretic) and has a mildly laxative effect. It has also been found to have anti-inflammatory properties. The bioflavonoids give it antioxidant properties too, so it is a very beneficial herb.

   Combined with Witch Hazel it is used to relieve the pain of piles and with black or green tea is used to relieve asthma as it is believed to improve respiration. Researchers think that sparteine may inhibit the toxicity of some snake venoms, and it is also thought to be beneficial for jaundice and to remove kidney stones.

   The parts of the plant used in medicine are the whole plant including the roots. Nicholas Culpeper writing in the 17^th century, wrote the Butcher’s Broom has a

  “gallant cleansing and opening quality. The decoction of the root drank, and a poultice made of the berries and leaves applied, are effectual in knitting and consolidating broken bones or parts out of joint.”

  He said that the root was commonly boiled with fennel and parsley and “smallage” and boiled in white wine, then drunk but he recommended grass roots to be added to this decoction. Interestingly glycolic acid is found in parsley, juniper berries and Butcher’s Broom.

  Dioscorides writing in 1 AD and other ancient physicians believed that this plant was good as a diuretic, laxative, the urinary tract and for the kidneys. Later the Welsh physicians of Myddfai used it in their medications, along with scarlet pimpernel and other herbs for intermittent fevers, and in this remedy for summer fevers:-

  “The mugwort, madder, meadow sweet, milfoil, hemp, red cabbage, and the tutsan, all these seven herbs enter into the composition of the medicine required. Whosoever obtains them all, will not languish long from a wounded lung, or need fear for his life. Any of the following herbs may be added thereto, butcher's broom, agrimony, tutsan, dwarf elder, amphibious persicaria, centaury, round birth wort, field scabious, pepper mint, daisy, knap weed, roots of the red nettle, crake berry, St. John's wort, privet, wood betony, the roots of the yellow goat's beard, heath, water avens, woodruff, leaves of the earth nut, agrimony, wormwood, the bastard balm, small burdock, and the orpine.”

  The tisane below is for veins, blood circulation and other ailments mentioned above, though not for the ones mentioned by the old physicians. It’s a pleasant drink mixed with honey.

BUTCHER’S BROOM TISANE

Ingredients

1 pint boiling water

1 oz twigs and leaves of Butcher’s Broom

OR

½ oz bruised fresh root

Method

Pour the boiling water over the twigs or root and leave to steep for 15 minutes. Alternatively boil all together for 15 minutes.

Strain and drink up to 4 cups a day.

With honey it is good for respiratory problems including as an expectorant.

This has Taste and is a Treat(ment).

SCARLET PIMPERNEL ( ANAGALLIS ARVENSIS) - USEFUL HERBAL PLANT: INFORMATION, USES AND BENEFITS OF SCARLET PIMPERNEL HERB

SCARLET PIMPERNEL, ANAGALLIS ARVENSIS

The Scarlet Pimpernel is a common weed in Britain, the rest of Europe and temperate zones around the world. It is a member of the Primulaceae family of plants so is related to the primrose and the cowslip. Like the Tickle Me plant it closes at night, or actually in this case its flowers open around 8 or 9 am and close by 3 pm, and sooner than that if rain threatens. It is more shrinking in this respect than the violet. When the flowers close they are not visible amongst the leaves as they are only red-orange on the upper side of the petals. Because it closes when rain threatens it is called the Shepherd’s Barometer or the Poor Man’s Weatherglass. In Old English it was known as Bipinella. Perhaps because of its ability to blend in unnoticed with the leaves when closed, the Scarlet Pimpernel was the name given to Charles Dickens’ hero who rescued members of the French aristocracy from the guillotine in “A Tale of Two Cities.”

  Its leaves are toxic and dangerous to animals, although birds love the seeds. These are produced after the flowers have died and the stem, which was erect during flowering time, bends backwards when the seed pods form. The flowers do not contain honey but attract insects for pollination purposes with the violet hairs on the stamens.

  The little flower has been used for centuries as a cure-all with Pliny writing that it was good for liver complaints and Dioscorides (1AD) called it anagallis, from the Greek, anagelao meaning to laugh, as it dispelled the depression that followed liver complaints. The Greeks used its juice to cure eye problems including cataracts, and Gerard and Culpeper agreed that it was good for the eyes mixed with honey and dropped into them. There is an old rhyme which says,

   “No heart can think, no tongue can tell,

    The virtues of the pimpernel.”

It was thought that it could get rid of melancholia and make people happy. Culpeper believed that it would cure the bites from poisonous creatures and rabid dogs, and Gerard used it as one of the ingredients in a preparation called “Diacorallion” as a treatment for gout. Interestingly it is used to treat gout in parts of India in traditional medicine today. Gerard thought that the scarlet Pimpernel was the male flower with the rarer blue variety being the female flower. (Of course they are different genuses.) In his British Herbal of 1756 John Hill wrote that the whole plant could cure epilepsy and elsewhere there is written assertions that the flowers alone could cure this disease. Culpeper writing in the 17^th century said that it was useful as a strong infusion to promote sweating during fevers, and the Physicians of Myddfai used it as an ingredient for bath water during intermittent fevers. Their remedy was to “Take the mugwort, dwarf elder, tutsan, amphibious persicaria, pimpernel, butcher’s broom, elder bark and the mallow, and boiling them as well as possible in a pot or cauldron. Then take the water and the herbs and add them to the bath.”

  They used it in other preparations including one which included Common Speedwell for abdominal pains, and this rather bizarre cure for infertility. It is included for its curiosity value only!

  “A sterile woman may have a potion prepared for her by means of the following herbs, viz:- St John’s Wort, yew, agrimony, amphibious persicaria, creeping cinque foil, mountain club moss, orpine and pimpernel, taking an emetic in addition.”

Another rather strange one is for profuse menstruation, and it shows how little these old physicians knew about the workings of the body. The prescribed ingredients were

 “the reddish bastard balm, small burdock, orpine, stinking goose foot, pimpernel, water avens, with the ashes of a hart’s horns that has been killed with his antlers on, boiling them as well as possible in red wine, straining the liquor carefully and drinking it daily till it is finished, abstaining (the while) from stimulating food. Being restrained by the above means, the blood will be habitually diverted to the thighs and ancles.”

   The whole plant can be gathered in June when the leaves are in peak condition, and dried, although it is believed that the fresh plant is more effective. Apart from its uses in medicine, it has been used to deflect evil charms including he evil eye. It is said that the leaves of the plant were eaten as salad in Europe, but as they are toxic, this is doubtful. It has however been used for rheumatism in the USA in the early 20^th century, and the expressed juice is allegedly good for the liver and spleen.

  Clinical trials have shown that this plant has antioxidant and antifungal and antiviral (against herpes simplex) properties. It is also thought to be good for gastro-intestinal complaints, acne, eczema and wounds, for the liver and kidneys and the respiratory tract. However, much more research needs to be done on this shy little plant.