PRUNELLA VULGARIS ( SELF-HEAL) - INFORMATION: HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF PRUNELLA VULGARIS

SELF-HEAL, PRUNELLA VULGARIS

Self –Heal is also called All-Heal, Prunella, Brunella, Heart of the Earth and Blue Curls, among other names. It’s native to Europe, Asia and North America, and is used in the Unani (Greek) medicine system in Kashmir. It grows in the Sichuan province of China and has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries. It’s a common plant in Britain, and was much esteemed by both John Gerard and Nicholas Culpeper, the two major British herbalists of the 16^th and 17^th century respectively. Culpeper describes the flowers in this way, “thicke set together like an eare or spiky knap.” You can see for yourself why he described it in this way. The tiny flowers grow from the stem and resemble small orchids. They are usually a blue-violet, but can be pink or white, although these are rare.

  John Gerard describes its use in this way”

   “There is not a better Wound herb in the world than that of Self-Heal…for this very herbe, without the mixture of any other ingredient, being onely bruised and wrought with the point of a knife… will be brought into the form of a salve, which will heal any green wounde…The decoction of Prunell made with wine and water doth join together and make whole and sound all wounds, both inward and outward, even as Bugle doth. To be short, it serveth for the same that the Bugle serveth and in the world there are not two better wound herbs as hath been often proved.”

  Bugle is Ajuga reptans (LINN), while Sanicle mentioned below is Sanicula Europea (LINN). Self-Heal is a member of the mint family, and its leaves are edible and can be used in soups, stews and salads. It’s a Lamiaceae or Labiatae.

  Culpeper explains its name “Self-Heal whereby when you are hurt you may heal yourself.” He agrees with Gerard, that it is as efficacious as Bugle “inwardly or outwardly, for inward wounds and ulcers in the body, for bruises and falls or hurts.” He goes on to recommend its use with both Bugle and Sanicle “to wash and inject into ulcers in the parts outwards.” He also claims that “the juice used with oil of roses to anoint the temples and forehead is very effectual to remove the headache.”

  In Kashmir it has been used as a “brain tonic” for sore throats, colds, headaches, and is used boiled and the steam inhaled for clearing mucous and to reduce a headache. It is also one of a mixture of herbs given to a woman after delivery of a baby to make her strong again.

  You can make a tisane with 1 ounce of the dried herb to 1 pint of boiling water. Pour the water over the chopped herb and leave to steep for 10-15 minutes, before straining and drink to help internal bleeding and piles, also if missed with a little honey it is good for sore throats and mouth ulcers, so can be used as a gargle as well as a tisane. The leaves are wound healers, and if you put the juice from the leaves on a wound, it will heal quickly. A tisane made with the flowers is particularly pleasant to take as a general tonic.

  The plant contains rutin, vitamins C and K, flavonoids, Prunellin, a polysaccharide, phenolic and tannins along with other substances. The rutin combined with the vitamins supports blood vessels and connective tissue in the body, but this little plant has many more health benefits. Because it is so common on three continents, much research has been done into it, and it has been found to be effective against herpes simplex, and is being experimented with as an anti-tumour and cancer treatment as well as an anti-HIV treatment. It has anti-viral and bacterial properties and is effective against the E.coli and Bacillus typhi strains of bacteria. This gives credence to the steam treatment used in Kashmir, where it is also used to lower blood pressure, as an antibiotic, antiseptic, anti-rheumatic, diuretic, vermifuge (to get rid of internal parasites) and for its antibacterial properties.

  It seems that once again, traditional healers know what they are doing with the herbs and other natural ingredients they prescribe.

MALLOW - A SOOTHING HERB: HISTORY, HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF MALLOW: HOW TO MAKE MALLOW TISANE

COMMON MALLOW, MALVA SYLVESTRIS

The Common mallow can grow almost everywhere and its habitat ranges from the UK and Europe through North Africa and the Middle East and into the Indian subcontinent where it is a weed. It has become naturalized in many parts of the world (such as eastern Australia) as it was introduced as an ornamental into many gardens across the globe. In the UK it can be found in hedgerows, on wasteland and on roadsides and most websites seem to have concluded that it has fallen into disuse as a medicinal herb in places where the Marsh Mallow (Althea officinalis) grows. However, that could be because it doesn’t grow in the same habitat as its cousin which likes marshes. The Common Mallow on the other hand must be salt tolerant to some degree as it can be found close to the sea where it grows in abundance in South and West Wales.

  Both my father and grandmother swore by this plant’s efficacy to bring down swellings, and I have had hot poultices put on my ankles and knees many times to reduce bruising and swellings, so I can personally vouch for the fact that it works. (I am a little accident prone.)

  The pretty mauve-pink flowers are edible, like those of borage, lavender and kachnar and look good in salad and for garnishes, with its seeds being edible too and tasting a little like peanuts. The leaves can be used as a thickener for soups or blanched for 2 minutes, rinsed in cold water and used instead of lettuce in salads. They are also fine eaten as a green vegetable.

  Eucalyptus leaves or bark and mallow leaves and flowers are a good tisane to make if you have a cough or other respiratory problems. The flowers and immature fruits can be made into a tisane too which is useful for whooping cough. The leaves are cooling and a tisane can be made and used on the skin to relieve inflammation or to stop the pain of insect bites or stings. If you get stung when you are outside you can use a bruised leaf to take the pain away as the leaves are mucilaginous and soothing.

  A tisane of the leaves is a pleasant diuretic, and also has a mild laxative action, so is much more pleasant to take than senna.

  You should gather the plant (not the roots, just the above ground parts) in June when the flowers appear and bloom, then hang it to dry in a light, airy room until crumbly and pack into a jar and keep for future use, as it can be used for coughs and colds in winter.

  The fruits or seed pods of the common mallow look a bit like little cheeses, as do those of the cheese tree. A dye can be made from them, and the whole plant will produce different dyes of cream, yellow and green. In ancient Greece baskets were woven from the stems of this plant, and it is possible to make cloth from it as was done in the ancient world and in Mediaeval times.

Seed Pods

  Mallow was mentioned by several Roman writers, with Pliny the Younger recommending a tisane made with the seeds for nausea. Earlier, in 700BC or thereabouts, Hesiod wrote that only a fool would not consider a little mallow beneficial in their diet. Later around 30 BC Horace in his Odes 31 verse 15 says “As for me, olives, endives and mallows provide sustenance.” (We believe that Pliny was referring to chicory rather than the Belgian endive which is a relative newcomer on the vegetable scene.)  In those times mallow was planted on graves to provide nourishment for the dead. Clearly it was not only my relatives who thought highly of this plant. It has been used as medicine wherever it grows and is in the French and Swiss Pharmacopoeias.

  Young girls would make garlands of mallow and chaplets for their heads to wear on May Day, in Europe.

   The plant is related to the hibiscus and hollyhock and is in the Malvaceae family of plants. It gets the name mallow from the Old English “malwe”

 The Physicians of Myddfai used mallow with other herbs for the treatment of

 intermittent fevers. “Take the mugwort, dwarf elder, tutsan, amphibious persicaria, pimpernel, butcher's broom, elder bark, and the mallow, and boiling them together as well as possible in a pot, or cauldron. Then take the water and herbs, and add them to the bath.”

While this was a treatment for piles: -

“Take the mallow, and boil it in wheat ale, or in spring water. Then take that which grows in the earth of the elder (bark,) bruise well in a mortar, and mix it, crude as it is, with the above mentioned decoction, and administer it quickly to the patient, so as to act upon his bowels. Let him afterwards be forbidden beef, cheese, leeks, large fish, salmon, eels, ducks, garlic, and all kinds of milk diet, except whey made with warm milk”

  Modern medical research into this plant has found that it may be able to protect the kidneys. The German E Commission has approved its use for oral and external use as it is anti-inflammatory and can soothe mouth ulcers as well as irritated skin. There is some evidence that the mucilage it contains can soothe disorders of the gastrointestinal tract too.

MALLOW TISANE

Ingredients

2-4 tsps dried leaves or flowers (or a mixture of both)

150 ml boiling water

Method

Pour the boiling water over the dried mallow and leave to steep for 10 to 15 minutes.

Strain and drink one cup three times a day for colds etc and other ailments mentioned above, or used it externally on irritated skin.

This has Taste and is a Treat(ment).

INDIAN SARSAPARILLA: MEDICINAL BENEFITS AND USES OF INDIAN SARSAPARILLA

INDIAN SARSAPARILLA, HEMIDESMUS INDICUS

Indian sarsaparilla belongs to the Asclepiadaceae family of plants (milkweed family) which typically are flowering plants of the order Gentianales which boasts more than 280 genuses or genera, and more than 2000 species of tropical herbs and shrubby climbers. They are rarely trees or bushes. They can be recognized by their milky juice, their 5 united petals, and pod-like fruit and generally tufted seeds. The pitcher plant is probably one of the best known of these. It is therefore not related to the American Sarsaparilla which is of the Smilax order and one of the Liliaceae.

   It is native to the Indian subcontinent, Sri Lanka and the Malaccan Islands, and is notably used to cure STDS including syphilis. For this it seems to be more efficacious than the American sarsaparilla. It is also used for a number of other purposes, including as an antidote to snake venom, a use which has been borne out by medical research. An infusion can be made by using 2 ounces of chopped root and pouring 1 pint of boiling water over it and allowing this to steep for 1 hour. Then it should be strained and drunk over a 24 hour period. It is good for skin diseases, and makes a good diuretic, and is used for rheumatism, scrofula and thrush. It is also useful for stomach problems including indigestion and loss of appetite. For these problems it can be used powdered with milk, the dosage being between 1 and 6 grams. It can be ground to a paste with a little water and mixed with black pepper for diarrhoea and stomach ache, and a decoction of the root is used on the subcontinent to promote hair growth. A syrup made from the root is used as a diuretic, and a paste made from the root is given for rheumatism, swellings and boils. The flowers can be made into a decoction by boiling them in water and used to promote sweating in fevers. It is used for kidney complaints too and given to children for sore mouths.

  A refreshing cooling drink is made from the powdered roots, flavoured with the addition of rose petals, or lotus petals, milk and honey. This cools the body down in the heat of summer. Modern medical research suggests that it has antifungal and antibacterial problems, which bears out the traditional use for ringworm and thrush. The ethanolic extract of the root has shown that it can inhibit the growth of cancer cells and it has strong antioxidant properties. It has also been shown to have liver protective actions.

  Once again modern medical research is catching up with ancient healing practices.

SENNA AND INDIAN SENNA - HOW TO USE SAFELY

SENNA, EGYPTIAN SENNA, CASSIA AUGUSTIFOLIA, INDIAN SENNA, CASSIA ACUTIFOLIA-DELL

There are many different species of senna, which has been used for centuries as a purgative, but the best are Egyptian or Alexandrian senna Cassia augustifolia which comes for Sudan and Egypt and the variety which grows in the Indian subcontinent, Cassia acutifolia, also called Tinnevelly senna.

  It was first described in the 9^th century by Arab physicians, and the name, senna has Arabic roots. It is believed that the first Greek to notice the uses of this herb was Achicinus, and it must have been he who popularized its use for constipation in the West. In its action it is rather like the castor bean but more effective and less potent than jamalgota.

  The leaves are the most potent part of the plant, although they can cause stomach cramps, so the pods are preferred for use as they do not. They taste slightly less noxious than the leaves too which can make one nauseous. Basically senna should be taken with aromatic spices or herbs to disguise its taste whether the leaves or pods are used. Ginger, chamomile, cardamom seeds, coriander seeds, cinnamon or cassia bark, cloves, peppermint or anise can be mixed with it and a little honey or sugar if desired. 1-2 tsps of the leaves can be put in a cup along with any of the above and 1 cup of boiling water should be poured over it and then left to steep for 10 minutes, before straining. Only 1 cup should be taken per day, so it’s best not to drink it all at once. Pregnant and lactating women should not take senna.

  Senna pods act on the whole intestine, while the leaves stimulate the colon. The WHO (World Health Organization) has approved senna’s use as a short term treatment for constipation, but the treatment should be discontinued after 1-2 weeks.

  Senna is a member of the Leguminaceae family as are the green bean, Astragalus species or the carob tree, and one of the Caesalpiniaceae species, whose leaves and pods are prescribed for sufferers of piles, anal fissures and for those awaiting surgery on the abdomen, rectum or anus. It is also used to clean the bowel before some ultrasound procedures to improve visibility in the bowel. The anthraquinone glycosides stimulate the colon and work in 3 to 9 hours, softening stools and so alleviating constipation. The leaves can cause cramping so many people prefer to use the pods for treatment.