BUR MARIGOLD OR WATER AGRIMONY - SMALL PLANT WITH POTENTIAL: HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF BUR MARIGOLDS

BUR MARIGOLD, WATER AGRIMONY, BIDENS TRIPARTITA  

In the 17^th century, when Culpeper was writing his great Herbal this plant was known as water agrimony, but it is now more frequently called the bur marigold or beggarticks, this is because of the burs which are the fruit of the plant and which stick to things very easily. Culpeper says that in some countries it was called “water-hemp, bastard hemp, and bastard-agrimony; also eupatorium and hepatorium, because it strengthens the liver.” He says that the flowers have a substance in their middles which smells “like rosin, or cedar when it is burnt.”                                             

  The bur marigold is native to Europe including the British Isles, and also West Asia. It is a member of the Asteraceae or Compositae family which is the daisy family of plants and so it is related to the ox-eye daisy, costmary, tansy, feverfew, chamomile, elecampane, purple and yellow goat’s beard, black salsify, Mouse Ear Hawkweed, pellitory, Holy thistle, marigolds, sunflowers, yarrow, groundsel, fleabane and horseweed to name but a few of its many relatives. It has leaves which are edible when cooked like spinach.

  The bur marigold flowers in August- September and then the bur-fruit appear. The flower heads yield a pale yellow dye, and other parts of the plant a black one. In China it has been used in traditional medicine for centuries for chronic dysentery and it is called longbacao, which means ‘wolf’s grasp weed’.

Nicholas Culpeper has this to say about its medicinal benefits:-

“Government and virtues. It is a plant of Jupiter, as well as the other agrimony; only this belongs to the celestial sign Cancer. It healeth and dryeth, cutteth and cleanseth, thick and tough tumours of the breast; and for this I hold it inferior to but few herbs that grow. It helps the cachexia, or evil disposition of the body; also the dropsy and yellow jaundice. It opens obstructions of the liver, mollifies the hardness of the spleen; being applied outwardly, it breaks imposthumes; taken inwardly, it is an excellent remedy for the third-day ague; it provokes urine and the terms; it kills worms, and cleanseth the body of sharp humours, which are the cause of itch, scabs &e. The smoke of the herb, being burnt, drives away flies, wasps, &c. It strengthens the lungs exceedingly. Country people give it to their cattle when they are troubled with the cough, or brokenwinded.”                                                    

  It was used as a styptic, which contracts blood vessels and so was used to stop bleeding both externally and internally and was thought to be excellent for dispersing stones and gravel in the internal organs. It was effective for uterine haemorrhages and was said to be effective for stomach problems such as ulcerative colitis and peptic ulcers. It was sometimes combined with ginger root in a tisane for digestive problems.

  The whole plant has been used to increase the milk flow in breast-feeding mothers, as a narcotic, an astringent, antiseptic and to reduce fevers. It is harvested as the plant comes into flower.

  The flowers have strong antioxidant properties and these may be used in the “pharmaceutical or food industry” according to one study by Wolniach, M. et al. “Antioxidant activity of extracts and flavonoids from Bidens tripartita” (2007). Having potent antioxidant properties mean that they have anti-cancer potential as antioxidants fight the scavenging free-radicals which cause damage to healthy cells.                                                                                                         

   “The oil exhibited a strong antifungal activity” according to another study: “Composition of the Essential Oil of Bidens tripartita L. Roots and its Antibacterial and Antifungal Activities.” Monika Tomczykowa et al. in the Journal of Medicinal Food Vol14 March 2011.

  Bur marigolds have been used for centuries in traditional Polish medicine as diuretics, anti-inflammatory agents and to boost the immune system.

  Other studies have shown that the methylene chloride extract inhibits the growth of cancer cell lines and there is evidence for its antimicrobial and antibacterial use in skin diseases and other Polish studies have also shown that extracts of this plant have anti-inflammatory actions.

        This is another small plant which is clearly of value to us for the health benefits it can give.

MARLBERRY, ARDISIA JAPONICA; TRADITIONAL USES AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF MARLBERRY

MARLBERRY, ARDISIA JAPONICA

Marlberry, is a native of East Asia and is a plant indigenous to parts of China and Japan. It is a member of the Myrsinaceae family and is used by gardeners as an evergreen ground cover, for which it is ideally suited. It can grow to around 40 centimetres tall so can make a low hedge, and has white to pale pink flowers which give way to a small fruit which turns dark-purple to black when ripe in early winter. It looks a little like Butcher’s Broom, to which it is not related.

  It has the distinction of being one of the Fifty Fundamental Herbs in Chinese traditional medicine and is used in a decoction either alone or with other herbs as an expectorant. This decoction, made only with marlberry is also used to relieve the stomach cramps associated with menstruation, and those of rheumatoid arthritis, as well as to reduce painful swellings. It is also used as a diuretic, for jaundice and to cleanse the blood.                                                               

  In one research study it was shown to have “moderate in vitro anti-HIV activity” which is believed to have been brought about by bergenin and norbergenin. In another study it was shown to have only weak activity against the HIV virus.

   Bergenin is known to be effective against coughs.

   It is particularly used for bronchitis, and also reduces flatulence. The leaves of the shrub have been used against cancer, and a decoction of the leaves and stem is used for coughs and uterine bleeding. The root is a diuretic and an antidote to poison. Saponins generally have some anti-cancer actions and this plant contains them. A paper from the 2011 Conference on Biomedical Engineering Technology by Myat Myat Monetal et al. “Qualitative Determination of Free Radical Scavenging, anti-tumor and Antimicrobial Activities of some Myanmar Herbal Plants” concluded “Ardisia japonica can be used as anti-malarial drug or antioxidant diet or as food preservative” This was published in the Journal of the 2011 International Conference on Biomedical Engineering Technology IPCBET Vol 11.

  It is clear that marlberry has been used in Chinese traditional medicine for centuries so perhaps further studies will bring to light further benefits of this plant.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

LONGJACK, MALAYSIAN GINSENG: NOT JUST AN APHRODISIAC FOR MEN: HEALTH BENEFITS OF LONGJACK

LONGJACK, TANGKAT ALI, MALAYSIAN GINSENG, EURYCOMA LONGIFOLIA

Longjack is an accepted name for this evergreen tree which is native to Southeast Asia and which is known by a number of names throughout the region. The ones above are the most common. It is a member of the Simaroubaceae family. It gets the “jack” part of its name as William Jack (1795-1872), a surgeon with the British East India Company, was one of the first westerners to try to catalogue the plants of the Malaysian peninsular. The “long” part of the name presumably refers to the plants aphrodisiac properties. Tongkat Ali means “Ali’s staff ” and is a phallic reference worthy of D.H. Lawrence, who wrote “Aaron’s Rod” among other works of fiction and poetry.                                           

 A lot of research has been done on this plant focusing on the enhancing of the libido and semen volume in male rats and their testosterone levels. It seems that the quassinoids found in the plant may be responsible for their effects on men who have a reduced testosterone level, although it doesn’t seem to increase testosterone levels in men who have normal levels. Researchers at the Massachusetts institute of Technology (M.I.T) and the Malaysian research institutes have taken out a patent on one of the peptides isolated from this plant, 4.3kDa which is a potent phytoandrogen capable of boosting male testosterone levels, although this has caused some controversy in the scientific world as the peptide is a naturally occurring one.

  The root, bark, leaves and fruits of this tree are all used in traditional medicine systems, with the fruit of the tree ripening to a dark red, resembling a jujube or ber fruit. The different parts of the tree have been used for malaria, urinary tract infections, cancer, indigestion, itching and high blood pressure among other ailments.

  The aphrodisiac is made by boiling a few pieces of root bark in water and then drinking it. This decoction is also used as a general invigorating tonic, to relieve pains in the joints, and reduce fever. A decoction of the levels is applied externally to stop itching, for example during prickly heat attacks. The bark is applied externally to heal wounds and sores and to relieve headaches. In Indonesia a decoction of the roots is drunk to reduce fever, diarrhoea and swellings caused by a knock or fall. An infusion of the roots is given in coughs as an expectorant and is used for chronic bronchitis.

 The infusion of the roots is used as a gargle and a diuretic as well as an antidote to poison. It is called the “bitter antidote” referring to its taste.

  In some studies such as “Antimalarial activity of selected Malaysian medicinal plants” Rusliza Basir et al. (2012) Vol.1 (1) pp.82-92, the use of the plant to treat malaria has been substantiated. However, other traditional uses (apart from its effects on male erectile dysfunctions) have not been conclusively substantiated.

  In one study it was found to have antimicrobial and antifungal effects while another negated the findings, although it seems that it may have some effect on cancerous cell lines, more research is needed.

AUTUMN CROCUS OR MEADOW SAFFRON: A POISONOUS PLANT: HISTORY OF USES

AUTUMN CROCUS, MEADOW SAFFRON, COLCHIUM AUTUMNALE 

The Autumn Crocus is not a relation to Crocus sativa from which we get saffron, which is in the Iridaceae family of plants. This one was formerly in the Liliaceae (lily) family but has recently been moved to the Colchiaceae family. It has light purple or white flowers and as its name suggests, flowers between September and October during early autumn and grows in meadows.
 It is native to Europe and North Africa, but is restricted in range now in Britain to an area around the Bristol Channel.                                         

  All parts of the plant are poisonous to cattle and the corm or bulb from which the plant grows contains the alkaloid colchinine which is highly toxic. A woman was convicted of poisoning in 1862 using the drug Colchium. This was considered virtually a specific treatment for gout in the 18^th century, and was used extensively with imported corms being used in Britain. The corms used were cultivated for medicinal purposes in France and Germany.

  Autumn Crocus has a long history of use, although writing in his Des Materia Medica in the first century AD, Dioscorides records that it is a poison. Despite this knowledge, it was used in the Byzantine Empire for joint problems such as rheumatism and arthritis. It was the Arabs who first realized that it could be used to treat gout effectively.

 The plant is a drastic purgative and can be fatal to humans as it is to cattle which inadvertently graze on the leaves. However topically it can be applied to neuralgia and itching to bring relief – although so can other herbs which are safer to use. It should never be used during pregnancy or when lactating, and neither should it be used by people who suffer from kidney problems.                                                                                       

  It is also not a good idea to harvest it as some cases of poisoning have occurred when people have mistaken it for ramsons or wild garlic, Allium ursinum, also called bear’s garlic and cooked the leaves or corms.

    In the Language of Flowers the Autumn Crocus or Meadow Saffron stands for “my best days are gone; I am growing old.”

  The genus gets its name from the ancient district of Colchis which was situated on the eastern shore of the Black Sea and which seems to have been the original source of this medicinal herb.

  Nicholas Culpeper, the 17^th century English herbalist, had this to say about Meadow Saffron:

"Government and virtues. It is under Saturn. Indirectly used, this root is poisonous; two drachms of it killed a large dog, after putting him to great torment for twelve or fourteen hours; it operated violently by vomit, stool and urine. A single grain only being swallowed by a person in health, by way of experiment, produced heat in the stomach, and soon after flushing heats in various parts of the body, with frequent shiverings, which were followed by coliky pains, after which an itching in the loins and urinary passages was perceived, and presently after came on a continual inclination to make water, with a tremour, pain in the head, great thirst, a very quick pulse, and other disagreeable symptoms.                                                             

Notwithstanding these effects, it is, when properly prepared, a safe, but powerful medicine; the best way of doing this is to make it into a kind of syrup, by digesting an ounce of the fresh roots, sliced thin, in a pin of white-wine vinegar, over a gentle fire, for the space of forty-eight hours, and then mixing two pounds of honey with the strained liquor, and letting it boil gently afterwards till it comes to a proper consistence.
The syrup is agreeable acid, gently vellicates or bites the tongue, is moderately stringent, and excellent for cleansing the tongue from mucus. In an increased dose it vomits, and sometimes purges, but its most common operation is by urine, for which it is a remarkable powerful medicine. The dose at first should be but small, half a tea-spoonful twice or three times a day is enough to begin with, and the quantity may afterwards be gradually increased, as the stomach will bear it, or the case may require. It has been given with the most astonishing success in dropsies and tertian agues; and it frequently succeeds as an expctorant, when all other means fail."

SEA WORMWOOD - MENTIONED IN THE QURAN: HISTORICAL HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF SEA WORMWOOD

SEA WORMOOD, ARTEMISIA MARITIMA 

Sea wormwood likes salty ground, so can be found in coastal areas and in salt marshes along with marsh samphire. It is a close relation of wormwood, Artemisia absinthum, sweet wormwood, Artemisia annua, mugwort, Artemisia vulgaris, tarragon, Artemisia dracunculus, southernwood, Artemisia abrotanum, field southernwood, Artemisia campestris and Artemisia cina known as the producer of Levant wormseed among others. It is a member of the daisy Asteraceae or Compositae family.

  It is sometimes referred to in Britain as Old Woman, with southernwood being it counterpart, the Old Man. This is because the plants resemble each other.

Sea wormwood is a hairy plant with fine cottony hairs growing all over it. It is native to Europe including the British Isles, and parts of Asia including Pakistan. It flowers between August and September growing to heights of around two feet tall. A synonym for the genus is Seriphidium maritimum.                                                                            

  As it is closely related to wormwood, which is poisonous in large amounts, it is likely that the same applies to this plant.  Some people are affected just by the smell of the plant and suffer from headaches and nervous agitation. However the leaves are edible and have been used as a flavouring agent.                 

   The medicinal uses of sea wormwood are similar to those of wormwood, although it is said not to be as potent. It is mainly used as a tonic for the digestive system, intermittent fevers and as a vermifuge (to get rid of intestinal worms), although it is said not to be effective against tapeworms. The same is true of Artemisia cina or Levant wormseed.

   The leaves and flowering tops are used for worms and also as an antiseptic for external use, and to relax muscles cramps and to stop spasms. They have also been used to calm nervous irritation, reduce flatulence, promote the menstrual flow, to aid digestion and for fevers.

   Traditionally the plant has been harvested when it comes into flower and dried for later use. The flowers which are closed and newly opened contain the vermicide, santonin.           

 The growing shoots of the plant are said to repel insects and mice and other rodents, and were once used as a strewing herb. An infusion of the shoots and aerial parts of the plant can be used to discourage garden pests such as insects and slugs.

  In Arabic Sea wormwood is called Afsanteen and is used as a deobstructant and is used for stomach problems including worms, and flatulence and for jaundice. Externally it is applied as an antiseptic to wounds. In the Quran it is described as being used to fumigate houses along with frankincense, or with myrrh and thyme for the same purpose.

   In traditional Arabic medicine the leaves are said to have cooling properties and the powdered plant is administered for worms. The plant’s twigs are also used as a broom.

The chloroform extract of the root has been shown to have anti-malarial properties, and it has been traditionally used for this in the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtoonkwha (formerly the North West Frontier Province).                                                            

  Some people use the plant to relieve pain, and smoke it although they have reported having vivid dreams under its influence and have found it “stimulating.”

  Writing in the 17^th century, the English herbalist, Nicholas Culpeper has this to say about it. (The annotations are mine.)

“Government and virtues. This is an herb of Mars. It is a very noble bitter, and succeeds in procuring an appetite, better than the common Wormwood which is best to assist digestion. The flowery tops, and the young leaves and shoots, posses the virtues; the older leaves, and the stalks, should be thrown away as useless. Boiling water poured upon it produces an excellent stomachic infusion; but the best way is, taking it in a tincture made with brandy. For lighter complaints, the conserve, such as directed to be made of field southernwood, agreeably answers the purpose. The apothecaries usually put three times as much sugar as of the ingredients in their conserves; but the virtue is lost in the sweetness: those will not keep so well that have less sugar, but it is easy to make them fresh as they are wanted. The power and efficacy of Wormwoods in general are scarce to be credited in the vast extent of cases to which they may be applied. Hysteric complaints have been completely cured by the constant use of this tincture. In the scurvy, and in the hypochondriacal disorders of studious sedentary men, few things have greater effect; for these it is best in strong infusions; and great good has risen from common Wormwood, given in jaundice and dropsies. The whole blood, and all the juices of the body, are affected by taking Wormwood. Women using it whilst suckling, their milk turns bitter. The shops make use of this instead of the *Roman Wormwood, and have done so for more than a hundred years; †Parkinson complaining in his time that the physicians and apothecaries made use of it instead of the former, though it fell short of it in virtue.”

*Roman wormwood referred to by Culpeper is Artemisia pontica.

†John Parkinson (1567-1650) apothecary to Charles I of England and also a herbalist.

HIMALAYAN ARNEBIA, KHANG - ENDANGERED IN INDIA: HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF ARNEBIA BENTHAMII

HIMALAYAN ARNEBIA, KHANG, ARNEBIA BENTHAMII  

This plant is known as Himalayan Arnebia, although there are at least four plants which could be called by this name. Like kuru it doesn’t really have an English name because it is indigenous to the Himalayas, so is found in Pakistan, India and Nepal. It is a member of the borage, Boraginaceae family, making it a relative of viper’s bugloss, lungwort, the alkanets, comfrey and fragrant manjack and its fruit, lasora among others.

  In India it is threatened because of its value in traditional medicine, so it is illegal to harvest it. Conservation efforts are underway to save this medicinal plant from extinction. It is used in a medicine Gule Kahzaban which is for heart diseases and is expensive. It is also used in other herbal preparations for cardiac troubles.

  The plant has antiseptic, antibacterial, antifungal and anti-inflammatory properties, as well as wound healing ones. In traditional medicine systems it is used as a stimulant, diuretic and expectorant as well as for throat and tongue problems.                                                                   

  The flowering shoots are harvested and made into a conserve or in the preparation of sharbat (syrup) and used for the throat, tongue and heart.

  As you can see from the pictures on this post, the flowers are in purple spikes with shaggy leaves which remind me of small Ents from Lord of the Rings. The roots have a very distinct red bark and this is soaked in oil which is then used as a hair dye - what a waste of an endangered plant!

  Clearly this plant needs protecting and one hopes that the conservation efforts are successful, but until people of the subcontinent can find jobs which pay a living wage, they will still harvest plants illegally for the extra cash they bring in (which is nowhere near the actual value of the plant of course).

KURU - ASIAN MEDICINAL PLANT: HEALTH BENEFITS OF KURU, PICRORHIZA KURROA

KURU, KUSUMB, KITAKI, PICRORHIZA KURROA 

Kuru is the English name for this plant which is native to the Indian subcontinent and the Himalayan area. It doesn’t grow in English-speaking countries, so there is no other name for it that this which takes the species name of the genus. It is a member of the Scrophulariaceae family, making it a distant relative of the snapdragon, toadflax, figwort, water figwort, brahmi or water hyssop, mullein, foxgloves and eyebright.

  It has spikes of flowers which are either purple or white, which flower between June and August. The rhizome is the part most often used in medicine and this is collected between the months of October and December. It is sold at markets, dried.

  Unfortunately in the state of Himchal Pradesh in India, the plant is threatened and in danger of extinction because of over-harvesting of the root for medicinal purposes.                     

  The root has traditionally been used for its liver protective actions and for the relief of joint pains and fevers. Some research has been done on it but the studies have not been replicated. Much more research needs to be done on this plant before it can be said absolutely that it can cure a particular disease.

  However, that being said some studies have found that extracts of the root have anti-tumour activities perhaps due to the curcubitacin the root contains. Extracts of the rhizome have also been found to stimulate the immune system and to lower blood cholesterol levels. Others have shown that is an anti-periodic, which means that it can combat recurring diseases such as malaria, which is one of its traditional uses.

  It has antibacterial properties and extracts of the rhizome are said to have a specific action against a tropical disease, leishmaniasis which is caused by a parasite. Traditionally it has also been used as an antidote to snake bites and scorpion stings.                                                             

  In both Chinese traditional medicine and Ayurveda it is used to protect the liver and used against jaundice and other liver diseases. In these systems, the rhizome, stems and leaves are used.

 One study published in the BMC Journal of Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Banerjee, D. et al 2008 vol. 8 (3) “Healing potential of Picrorhiza kurroa (Scrophulariaceae) rhizomes against indomethacin-induced gastric ulceration: a mechanistic exploration”  showed that it could heal stomach ulcers in vivo.

  Extracts of the root have anti-inflammatory properties as well as those mentioned above, plus anti-allergy properties, and have antioxidant ones as well. Apocynin can be extracted from the plant and this reduces platelet aggregation and is a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent as well as being protective of the liver (hepaprotective).

  Androsin, also presenting the plant is considered responsible for its anti-asthma (and allergy) actions.

 More research is clearly needed into this plant, although it has been used safely for centuries without reports of damage to health.