WOLFSBANE - ONE OF THE ACONITES: HISTORY AND USES OF NORTHERN WOLFSBANE

(NORTHERN) WOLFSBANE, ACONITUM LYCOCTONUM 

The northern wolfsbane is native to Europe and western Asia and is a member of the buttercup or Ranunculaceae family of plants. As such it is related to the Lesser Celandine, marsh marigolds, black cohosh, wood anemones and goldenseal. Wolfsbane was known to the ancients, and Pliny the Elder has a few suggestions about how it got the name Aconitum. His first suggestion is that it comes from the “port of Aconae, of evil repute for the poison called aconite” but the he says the word might be a reference to the rocky crags on which it grew which were barren. He further says that perhaps it came from the word akone which means whetstone, so-called because it has the same power to cause rapid death as whetstone had to “give an edge to an iron blade.”

  The plant is extremely toxic and its poison can be absorbed through the skin, so it is best avoided. This cautionary tale is told by Nikander, circa 130 BC: he refers to it as the “woman-killer” saying that Calpurnius Bestia was accused of killing women while they slept, by inserting his finger which was smeared with wolfsbane poison into their vagina or onto their vulva while they slept (?). The poison causes respiratory or heart failure resulting in death.

  Dioscorides writing his De Materia Medica in the first century AD describes two different plants, the first used in eye lotions to relieve pain, and to kill wolves, and this is believed to be wolfsbane. The second plant he describes is now called Monkshood, another member of the aconite family, which was also used to kill wolves. Perhaps these plants were the poison used in the “wolf peach” which was used as bait for wolves. Europeans believed that the tomato was the ancient wolf peach when it first arrived in Europe.

  These ancient writings are clearly the reason for the plant’s modern name, wolfsbane. (The bane, death or heavy burden of wolves.)

  This plant has yellow flowers whereas Monkshood, also called wolfsbane, has blue-purple ones. Yellow wolfsbane flowers between July and August, and can grow to over a metre tall. Reportedly the root has been eaten after boiling in Lapland, but even touching this plant is not recommended.

  The root has been used in traditional medicine systems after careful preparation, for a variety of illnesses, including for obstructions of the body’s organs, coughs, as a diuretic, and to promote sweating in fevers, as a sedative and stimulant.

  The key toxins in this plant are the alkaloids aconite and aconitine. You can become unwell simply by smelling the flowers, so don’t be tempted! Because of its distinctive, unpleasant taste there have been few reports of accidental death from ingesting wolfsbane. Richard C. Dart in his book “Medical Toxicology” has this to say of it: “Most poisonings occur when these plants are used in herbal remedies, or mistaken for parsley or the roots of horseradish or celery.” This is a reference to deaths caused by poisoning in Asia where the plant is used in herbal medicine.

ALPINE LADY'S MANTLE WITH SIMILAR PROPERTIES TO LADY'S MANTLE: HISTORY AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF ALPINE LADY'S MANTLE

ALPINE OR MOUNTAIN LADY’S MANTLE, ALCEMILLA ALPINA 

Alpine lady’s mantle is smaller than Achemilla mollis or common Lady’s Mantle, and is around a third of its size, although its medicinal properties are said to be more potent than the more common plant. Its leaves are edged with silver, making it an attractive rockery plant.

It grows near small streams in Scotland and is hardy in more northerly climes. It is a member of the Rosaceae or rose family of plants and as such is related to almonds, loquats, quinces, plums, peaches, apricots, strawberries, apples, blackberries, raspberries and pears.

  The roots have astringent properties as do the leaves as the plant is rich in tannin, making it good externally for cuts and wounds and internally for diarrhoea, among other problems. Both of the Lady’s Mantles were considered to be among the best of the vulnerary (wound-healing) herbs. As the common Lady’s Mantle it is a good herb to use when you have menstrual problems. It ranks with self-heal, marsh woundwort and bugle.

  Nicholas Culpeper writing in the 17^th century has this to say about it:-

“Government and virtues. Venus claims the herb as her own. Ladies' Mantle is very proper for those wounds that have inflammations, and is very effectual to stay bleeding, vomitings, fluxes of all sorts, bruises by falls or otherwise, and helps ruptures; and such women as have large breasts, causing them to grow less and hard, being both drank and outwardly applied; the distilled water drank for 20 days together helps conception, and to retain the birth; if the women do sometimes also sit in a bath made of the decoction of the herb. It is one of the most singular wound herbs that is, and therefore highly prized and praised by the Germans, who use it in all wounds inward and outward, to drink a decoction thereof, and wash the wounds therewith, or dip tents therein, and put them into the wounds, which wonderfully dries up all humidity of the sores, and abates inflammations therein. It quickly heals all green wounds, not suffering any corruption to remain behind, and cures all old sores, though fistulous and hollow.”

  The expressed juice form the plant can be applied directly to wounds and cuts and the herb is good for menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes. If you make a decoction of the whole herb, this will help with excessive vaginal discharge. Presumably this is what Culpeper meant when he mentioned that some women used it in their baths.

BUTTER NUT TREE WITH MAHUA FLOWERS: SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE FOR TRADITIONAL USES - HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF THE BUTTER NUT TREE

BUTTER NUT TREE, MAHUA, MADHUCA LONGIFOLIA 

The butter nut tree is an evergreen or semi-evergreen tree with a dense canopy, which grows in forests in the Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka. It is cultivated in warm climates for its oil-bearing seeds, although traditionally the flowers of the mahua tree have been and are used and gathered for the brewing industry and for use in medicine (see post on Mahua flowers). The tree is a member of the Sapotaceae family and as such is related to the African Shea tree, which is also famous for its shea butter. A synonym which is accepted for this tree is Madhuca indica, although there are others which are not accepted by the world’s experts.

   The “butter” from the butter nut tree comes from its oil-producing seeds, and this is used as an edible oil in some parts of India. The seed cake which remains after extracting the oil is unsuitable for animal feed because of the saponins it contains but can be used to make soap. The tree starts to produce flowers and fruit when it is ten years old and it is estimated that it can produce 90 kilos of flowers per annum. It continues to be productive until it is approximately a hundred years old.

  The flowers are a yellow-white, which when ripe and fallen give place to an oval fruit which is initially green and then yellow when ripe. It ripens between May and September, depending on which part of the subcontinent the trees are in. The flesh is eaten as a vegetable, and the one to four seeds it contains can be pressed to obtain oil. Currently this is being studied for its potential as biodiesel. (Biomass and Bioenergy Vol. 35 (4) April 2011, pp.1539-44, Sangita Yadau et al. “Prospects and potential of Madhuca longifolia (Koenig) J f Macbride for nutritional and industrial purposes”. This concludes that as the seed oil contains palmitic, oleic, linoleic and stearic fatty acids it has both nutritional and industrial possibilities.)

  One study has shown that the ‘butter’ from these seeds has more free radical scavenging power than that of extra-virgin olive oil. There are studies underway which are investigating the cytotoxicity properties of the ethanol extract of the seeds and their oil.

  Apart from the flowers the other aerial parts of this butter nut tree have medicinal properties and have been the subject of some clinical trials which have set out to determine if the traditional medicinal uses of this tree have any basis in scientific fact.

  The powdered outer layer of bark is mixed with ghee and honey is used to enhance male libido, so is thought to be an aphrodisiac. The powdered bark is also mixed with long pepper and other ingredients to use as nasal drops for sinusitis and for epilepsy. The seed saponins have been found to have anti-inflammatory properties, and traditionally it has been massaged into joints to relieve the pain of rheumatism and arthritis. The bark is used in a variety of preparations to relieve itching, swellings, fractures, and for snake bites - externally. Internally it is used to treat diabetes mellitus.

  The heartwood of the tree has been used in traditional medicine systems for seizures. One study published in Pharmacognosy Communicatuions, 2011, Vol.1 (2) pp. 18-22 by Sandip Patel et al “Investigation into the mechanism of Action of Madhuca longifolia for its Anti-epileptic Activity” supported the traditional use of the heartwood in the treatment of epilepsy.

  The leaves are used for diabetes in Indian folk medicine and a study published in Internet Journal of Pharmacology 2009 Vol. 6 (2) by Rumi Ghosh et al “Antihyperglyaemic activity of Madhuca longifolia in alloxan-induced diabetic rats” showed that an ethanolic extract of the leaves demonstrated “significant hypoglycaemic activity” concluding that a long-term study was required to “develop potential antidiabetes drugs.”

  The leaves are said to have expectorant properties and so are used for coughs. They are also used in poultices and applied to eczema. They have been found to have antibacterial properties and are used as cooling agents in cases of fever.

  This is another tree which has immense potential for human health.

MAHUA FLOWERS: THEIR USES AND HEALTH BENEFITS

MAHUA FLOWERS FROM THE BUTTER NUT TREE, MADHUA LONGIFOLIA 

The Butter nut tree is native to the Indian subcontinent and grows in forests where the mahua flowers from it are collected from the ground by tribes’ people. The tree is a member of the Sapotaceae family and as such is related to the African Shea tree which produces the ingredient used in cosmetics, shea butter.

  The tree is an evergreen or semi-evergreen and grows to between 17 and 20 metres high, with a dense, spreading canopy. It is now cultivated in warm climates for its oil-bearing seeds. However in parts of rural India tribal people rely on the flowers of mahua as it is called (mahuva in Urdu) for their family income.

  The flowers do not remain on the tree for long, and some say that they bloom at night and fall to the forest floor at dawn. They bloom between March and May, or at least this is their peak season, and the fruits ripen during the rainy season as do mangoes.

  The flowers are dried after being collected from the forest floor and then sold to the state government in Orissa, for example, so that they can be made into an alcoholic drink. Unfortunately they are paid ridiculously low prices for their efforts and the flowers have been affected by climate change and are falling to the ground before they are mature because of unseasonable rain. They are also infested with red ants and these are not spotted until the flowers have been gathered, thus spoiling them.

  The flowers and trees have religious significance for these people and there is a legend that Shiva gave the trees to people so that they could give the gods wine with their sacrifices of animals. Shiva called a parrot, a tiger and a boar, and turned them into mahua trees; that is why, so it is said, that if you drink a little of the wine made from these flowers you repeat things as a parrot does. If you drink a little more of the wine you start roaring like a tiger, until finally, when you have drunk a lot, you lounge around on the floor like a boar.

leaf buds

  The flowers were used in garlands when a princess chose a bridegroom and they are still part of religious ceremonies today, especially in central India. The branches from the tree are also used in marriage ceremonies and the tree is sacred to some tribes in India.

  In Sanskrit madhu means honey and this is how the tree got its botanical name, as the flowers have a strong aroma which is reportedly musky and heady. Tamils use the flowers as sweeteners when there is no sugar from sugar cane available, although they use this with caution as excessive use of the flowers is believed to prevent people thinking clearly and could lead to complete lunacy.

  In traditional medicine, the flowers are used for a variety of purposes. An extract of the flowers is used for heart disease and to treat excessive vaginal discharge. This is also believed to be good for the eyes, TB, asthma, blood diseases, thirst and burning sensations. The flowers are also believed to be aphrodisiacs and to increase the quantity (but not necessarily the quality) of sperm.

  The distilled juice of the flowers is used to get rid of parasitical internal worms, tonsillitis and bronchial problems. The juice of the flowers is used directly on the skin to treat skin problems, and as nasal drops it is used for sinusitis. A decoction of the flowers quenches thirst, and a general health tonic is made with powdered dried flowers mixed with ghee and honey. The flowers are also used to promote lactation in breast-feeding mothers, and to cure cystitis, while the expressed juice is also used to staunch the bleeding of wounds.

  The flowers are not the only parts of the tree used, but the rest of the tree is dealt with in another post. Click here to read it.