HOMEHerb List
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BALM OF GILEAD
Populua candicans
Also called balsam or mecca balsam
The buds are used in a tea as a stimulating expectorant and for all problems relating to the respiratory system. The buds are simmered in oil and used as a salve for burns, skin irritations, sunburn and rheumatic pains. Steep the buds in rum and use topically to aid the healing of cuts and scratches. Balm of Gilead, a resin from the Middle East used for incense, is also sometimes referred to as Mecca balsam.
BALSAM
Balsam is a fragrant, resinous substance derived from evergreen plants and used for medicinal purposes, as a flavoring, in varnishes and lacquers, and in incense and perfume. Balsams with commercial applications include the Central American balsam of Peru. Oleoresins (oil-bearing resins) that are sometimes called balsams are Canada balsam, or Canada TURPENTINE, from the bark of the North American BALSAM FIR, used in optical work, copaiba balsam, from Brazil and Venezuela, used in varnishes and lacquers, and storax, from southwestern Asia, used medicinally and in incense.
BAMBOO
Bamboos are plants of great economic importance in several regions of the world. The name is applied in general to members of the tribe Bambuseae in the GRASS family. Some 76 genera and over 1,000 species have been described. Most are tropical or subtropical, but a few reach the temperate zones or grow at high altitudes. Some common bamboos, such as Bambusa vulgaris and Arundinaria amabilis, have been in cultivation so long that their origins are uncertain. Bamboos are perennial plants. Their woody stems are hollow and segmented, with partitions between the segments. The leaves, usually long and narrow, rise from the nodes of the stems. Some species are only shrublike, but others grow to heights of 30 m (100 ft) or more, with stem diameters of 20-30 cm (8-12 in). Bamboo stems are light, strong, durable, flexible, and easily split lengthwise. Depending on size, they are used in making houses, furniture, piping, a wide range of domestic goods, baskets, and musical instruments. They are also pulverized for paper pulp. Bamboo hay is a protein-rich food for livestock, and the fresh sprouts of some species are widely used in cookery. In the United States bamboo is grown mainly as an ornamental. One striking characteristic of bamboo is that most species produce seeds only once in their lifetime, which may range to more than 100 years. (They can also reproduce asexually by producing seedless clones, or rhizomes.) Researchers in 1990 announced development of a promising technique for making bamboos flower more rapidly, which would be of major importance to bamboo cultivators.
BANANA
The banana family consists of large plants that flourish in moist areas throughout the tropics. The edible fruit is rich in carbohydrates and is a source of vitamins A and C and the minerals potassium and phosphorus. The most familiar banana is the yellow-skinned, sweet, pulpy fruit of international trade. Of the many varieties, only a few are widely grown and only two are exported. Wild banana plants tend to spring up where tropical forest has been felled or burned. Bananas are a significant food crop in the tropics. From 80 to 85 percent of the world's banana crop is grown locally on what agriculturalists call a "backyard scale" for domestic consumption. Consumers in the tropics not only eat the raw, ripe fruit but also cook bananas as a starchy vegetable food similar to the potato. Some are fermented to make beer, and others are dried. In upland East Africa, especially in the Buganda province of Uganda, bananas even attain the status of a staple foodstuff. Bananas originated primarily in Malaysia and the neighboring archipelago probably about 4,000 years ago. Diversity developed over a much wider area, from India to the Philippines and New Guinea. About 2,000 years ago, travelers carried bananas eastward through the Pacific and westward across the Indian Ocean to tropical Africa. Shortly after the discovery of America, Europeans took banana plants from Africa or the Canary Islands to Hispaniola (modern Haiti and the Dominican Republic). The banana family, Musaceae, contains only two genera, Ensete and Musa. They range in height from 1 m (3 ft) to more than 9 m (30 ft) and are actually gigantic herbs. What looks like the trunk of a banana plant is neither woody nor a true stem. The true stem is underground, and the above-ground portion is called a pseudostem. Even when as large as 60 cm (2 ft) across, the pseudostem is made solely of overlapping, concentric leaf sheaths wrapped tightly. A slender flowering stalk several centimeters across grows up through the center of the pseudostem and bears a terminal cluster of flowers. The flowers emerge from a purple bract and are tubular, with yellow petals. When plants are in the wild state, bees and bats pollinate the female flowers, each of which Produces a banana. Wild banana fruit is seedy and inedible, the edible, cultivated types are seedless because they are set without POLLINATION and have evolved sterility. A Southeast Asian species, Musa textilis, supplies the Philippine Islands with a principal export--Manila HEMP, or abaca. In parts of Ethiopia the 6-m (20-ft) leaves of E. Ventricosum provide building material, fiber, and a starchy food. Several of the smaller species of Musa are grown as ornamentals. The world crop of bananas (including plantains, which are never reliably distinguished in statistics) is not accurately recorded, estimates vary from about 35 million to more than 40 million metric tons. Many countries, including those in Africa, consume most of what they grow. Banana exporters, who supply the North American and European markets, are led by Brazil, which is by far the world's largest producer. India follows, growing somewhat less than half of Brazil's crop. The Philippines, Ecuador, Colombia, and Honduras are also important producers. In the United States only Hawaii grows significant amounts. The United States is the world's leading banana importer. Banana shipments are transported in special refrigerator units. From small beginnings in the early years of the 19th century, the trade became important toward the end of the century, aided by the development of fast refrigerated sea transport, improved local transport in the producing countries (such as Central American railways), and vertical integration of production from plantation to point of retail. The United Fruit Company, formed in 1899, became the first big international name in the export business, in 1970 it was merged into United Brands. Standard Fruit and Steamship Company was established in 1923 as a competitor, since 1968 it has been a subsidiary of Castle and Cook. Del Monte Corporation entered the banana trade in 1968 by purchasing the West Indies Fruit Company. Large landholdings and one-crop economies made the multinational companies important influences in some Latin American countries, particularly in the early days of the banana industry. The export trades have always been based on only two basic varieties: Gros Michel (or Martinique) and several mutants (called "sports") of the Cavendish banana. Dwarf or semi-dwarf mutants of the latter have been especially important because they can be planted densely and are less susceptible to damage by wind than are tall bananas. In the early days, fruit bunches, especially of Gros Michel, were mostly shipped unwrapped, parceling, or wrapping of bunches, was also practiced by some trades, but today most fruit is cut and boxed for transport. Fruit is always cut and carried green and ripened just before delivery to retail stores by the use of ethylene gas in special chambers. Export production has been bedeviled by epidemic diseases promoted by large-scale monoculture. Panama disease, or banana wilt, caused by a soil-borne fungus, Sigatoka disease, or leaf-spot, caused by an airborne fungus, bacterial wilt, banana nematode, and bunchy-top, caused by a virus, have contributed substantially to the fluctuations in the banana trade's economic fortunes. Efforts are being made to breed new, disease-resistant varieties. The banana plant is among the largest herbaceous plants. Its trunk is formed by the bases of closely overlapping leaves. A banana plant flowers and fruits only once in its life span and then dies.
BANEBERRY
The baneberry is any plant of the genus Actaea in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae. They are perennial herbs with terminal clusters of small, white flowers. The baneberry is found in rich, shady woods in temperate North America and northern Eurasia. The white berries on the white baneberry, or snakeroot, and the red berries on the red baneberry, or cohosh, are poisonous.
BARBERRY
Berberis vulgaris
Time of administration: morning and all day.
Helps the liver produce bile, laxative, lowers blood pressure, good mouthwash. Barberry rootbark contains berberine, berbamine, oxyacanthine, tannin, fat and resin. Most alkaloids like this, which occur naturally in plants as either crystalline substances (salts) or as N-oxides, are generally without any color. But there are several with distinct colors to them and these are extreme rarities to the prevailing rule governing nearly all alkaloids. One is berberine, which is yellow, and another is sanguinarine (from Bloodroot), which manifests a copper-red. In addition to the usual elements of carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen, most plant alkaloids contain oxygen. But there will always be exceptions since very little ever is absolute! Conine (from hemlock) and nicotine (from tobacco) are oxygen-free and liquids besides.
BARLEY GRASS
General tonic action assists in boosting oxygenation of the blood and building metabolic enzyme systems. Related to energy and immune activity. Key nutrients. Magnesium chlorophyll. Barley is probably the world's oldest domesticated GRAIN crop, having been cultivated in Egypt as early as 6000 BC. It is a grass of the family Gramineae, generally classified in three types, six-row, two-row, and hull-less. The two- and six-row types--referring to the arrangement of the grains in the head--commercially are the most important. Barley can be grown under a greater variety of climatic conditions than any other grain, and--although it produces less abundantly then in regions where it can grow for at least three months--is planted even where the growing season is extremely short, as in Lapland or the Himalayas or where heat and lack of moisture prevent the growth of other cereals. The normal height of the plant is 76 cm (30 in), with grain heads forming at the tops of the stems. Like most cereal grains, it is composed of 8-10% protein, 62-65% starch, 1-3% fat, and 2-3% mineral matter. It can be harvested by a combine, or cut and windrowed in swaths to dry. The kernels require careful threshing to avoid the skinning or breaking that will harm germination, if they are to be used for seed. Barley is the fourth most important cereal crop, after wheat, rice, and corn. Total annual world production in the mid-1980s was 185 million metric tons (204 U.S. tons), with the USSR producing by far the largest crop--almost four times as much as Canada and the United States, the next most important producers. North Dakota, Montana, and Idaho are the main barley-growing areas in the United States. Approximately 60% of all barley produced is ground or rolled and mixed with other ingredients to produce formulated animal feeds. The ground meal is often pelleted. The major food use of barley is in the production of MALT for the brewing of BEER. The grain is eaten in soups and porridge, and is used in making flour for flat breads. Pearled barley is produced by subjecting the kernel to abrasion to remove the hull and outer bran. Two types of barley, Hordeum vulgare, are two-row barley, a European and Australian crop, and six-row barley, grown in the United States, the Middle East and India. The number designations indicate how the grains are arranged.
BARLEY, PEARL
Helps stabilize blood sugar levels to help prevent hypoglycemia.
BASIL
Ocimum basilicum (sweet basil), Ocimum minimum (bush basil), Ocimum crispum (Italian basil), Ocimum purpureum (opal basil)
Time of administration: afternoon.
Enhances immune system. Make a tea for indigestion, fevers, colds, flu, kidney and bladder troubles, headaches, cramps, nausea, vomiting, constipation and nervous conditions. A tea of one ounce of basil and one pint of water, simmer 20 min, drink 4 oz every 15 min. Basil is an annual herb, Ocimum basilicum, belonging to the MINT family and cultivated for its fragrant leaves. Native to tropical Asia and Africa, it is widely grown in several varieties: common or sweet basil, a plant that grows about 30 cm (1 ft) high, a dwarf variety, a lemon-scented variety, and a purple-leaved variety. Crushed leaves are used to flavor tomato products, meats, fish and egg dishes, and salads. Basil is an essential ingredient of fines herbes, a mixture of chopped fresh herbs widely used in French cooking. Its ESSENTIAL OIL is used in perfumes, and it is one of the herbs used in chartreuse liqueur. Common, or sweet, basil, O. Basilicum, is an annual herb that produces shiny, green leaves that have a spicy fragrance. Its small, white flowers bloom in August and can be pinched off to promote more leaf growth. Leaves of basil are commonly used to flavor tomato dishes and are an ingredient of fines herbes, an herbal mixture used in French cooking.
BAY
Laurus nobilis
Also called sweet bay, nobel laurel or roman laurel.
Oil of bay, made by heating the leaves in a little olive oil, can be applied locally for rheumatic and arthritic aches and pains as well as swellings and sprains or in the ears for earache. The tea helps relieve cramps, settles upset stomach. Too much may cause abortion.
BAYBERRY
Myrica pensylvanica, cerifera
Time of administration: evening.
Reduces sinus congestion antiseptic for soar throats, diarrhea, fevers, hemorrhaging, liver. Key nutrients. C, iron chromium selenium. When bayberry is combined with an invigorating herb like ginger, it will produce that kind of action in the body which generates heat and causes perspiration to follow. The plant has a certain waxy alkaloid which has strong germicidal qualities and, in fact, is used in the manufacture of soap in parts of Europe. In some of the Scandinavian countries parts of the herb have been boiled in water to yield a scum of beeswax-like substance, which is utilized to make candles. It is said that these candles, when burned, give the air an antiseptic quality much as strong incense would. In order to fully appreciate just how strong the rootbark is, consider this: the Swedes and Welsh use it to tan calfskins with. In addition the Swedes make a strong decoction to kill insects, vermin, and to cure the itch. In India the powdered rootbark of bayberry has been combined with ginger to combat the deadly effects of cholera quite successfully. Ginger has various terpenes that are chemically similar to those in camphor and turpentine. Bayberry has the strong glycoside myricitrin. They interact positively with each other to provide strong chemical antagonism against different kinds of disease viruses.
BEAN, AZUKI, ORGANIC
BEAN, BLACK EYE
BEAN, GREAT NORTHERN
BEAN, LIMA
BEAN, MUNG
BEAN, NAVY
BEAN, PINTO
BEAN, TURTLE BLACK
BEARBERRY
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
BEDSTRAW
Galium verum
BEEBALM
Manarda didyma
BEE POLLEN
Complete in vitamins minerals amino acids and food source enzymes. Controls protein craving. Key nutrients. Amino acids A, C, chromium potassium and iron.
BELLADONNA
Atropa belladonna
Time of administration: evening.
Use for rabies, epilepsy, hysteria, nervous breakdown, incredible pain.
Also called deadly nightshade, death's herb or banewort. This poisonous plant thrives in waste ground and woods. The berries are used as a cosmetic by women to dilate the eyes. Belladonna is collected when it is two to four years old. It is sedative, narcotic, anodyne, and like all medicines that work through the nervous system, small doses stimulate and large doses paralyze. One teaspoon of dried leaf is steeped in one pint of boiling water, allowed to cool, and used one to two teaspoons at a time to relieve ulcers. Symptoms of poisoning show within fifteen minutes of ingestion by dryness of mouth, burning throat, dilated pupils, intense thirst, double vision, giddiness, burning in the stomach, nausea, hallucinations, rambling talk, and a feeble rapid pulse. To counteract poisoning give emetics or use a stomach pump, give a cleansing enema, empty the bladder, give tannic acid by mouth, stimulants, caffeine, artificial resuscitation, cold to the head, warm to the feet. Notes: This is a powerful drug. Must be used with medical skill and supervision.
BENZOIC ACID
Found in cranberries prunes and natural resins. The organic chemical is an important food preservative. It prevent the growth of molds, yeast, retards rancidity, it is odorless, tasteless and nontoxic. It is diuretic, antipyretic and a very strong antiseptic.
BENZOIN GUM
Styrax benzoin
Also called benjamin. This is a balsamic resin obtained from trees o
f the genus STYRAX. It has a fragrant odor and is used in the treatment of fungus irritations of the skin, as a stimulating expectorant (makes spit and therefore clears the lungs), as a fixative in sachets and incense and as an aromatic odor in fumigants. It is an antiseptic, antipyretic, diuretic and stimulant. Good for the kidneys and urinary tract, helps prevent incontinence of the urine.
BERGAMOT
Citrus aurantiun var. Bergamia
Bergamot is a small tree that resembles the lemon or orange trees. Its flowers have a flavorful odor and the fruit is a pale lemon color. Grown primarily in Italy and France, the rind yields an oil that is used in aromatic inhalers to help induce sleep. The oil is greenish-yellow, faintly acid with a charismatic odor and an aromatic bitter taste. If added to almond or coconut oil it greatly increases the sensitivity of the skin to sunburn. Used in aromatherapy and flavoring foods.
BETONY
Stachys officinalis, stachys betonica, betony officinalis
Also called wood betony. The plant grows wild in shady places. The root will induce vomiting. It is usually regarded as an aromatic herb, useful for it's astringent properties and as an alterative. Tincture of betony is used in the treatment of allergic rhinitis and fay fever. Water betony, also called brownwort or bishops leaves is a different plant, scrophidaria aquatica or betonica aquatica.
BIRCH
Use leaf tea for urinary problems and to expel intestinal worms, also used for rheumatism.
BISTORT
Polygonum bistorta
Time of Administration: unknown.
Diarrhea, mouth problems (cankers), internal, external hemorrhaging. Bistort root is one of the most powerful agents for contracting body tissue, thereby reducing secretions or discharges of any kind. This root also is one of the most remarkable plants around for contracting the blood vessels so as to stop all forms of bleeding whatsoever. Bistort root contains about 20% tannic acid and a larger amount of starch. It has not been fully analyzed in this country yet, but elsewhere behind the Iron Curtain (especially in East Germany) it has been studied with a certain peculiar intensity. Pharmacologists have found that it resembles shepherd's purse in some of its chemical characteristics. For one thing it has a good share of bursanic acid which shepherd's purse has. In addition, its volatile oil contains a high amount of sulphur, much as the other herb and mustard would. Bistort has proven itself to be one of the finest remedies around for canker sores, gum inflammation, and other irritations of the mouth in generai. "Bistort is considered valuable for diabetes," reports Mrs. Grieve in her excellent book. Its pharmacological behavior in this aspect has not yet been fully determined. Perhaps a Czechoslovakian discovery that some of its active constituents seem to concentrate their strength in the spleen, may have something to do with its folklorical claims for success in diabetes. Bistort is recognized as a fine antidote for poisons and considered by some clinicians to have great value in ruptured tissues, because of its powerful contracting ability.
BITTERROOT
Especially useful for dissolving gallstones, excellent to relieve poor digestion, good for liver kidneys and bowels, relieves rheumatism, removes impurities from the joints and the system in general
BITTERSWEET
Excellent for all skin troubles, very soothing to the body, has a good effect on the liver, pancreas and spleen.
BLACK CATECHU
Acacia catechu
BLACK COHOSH
Cimicifuga racemosa
Time of administration: afternoon.
Use for hysteria; female problems; spasms (whooping cough); rheumatism.
Regulates menstrual flow and reduces cramps. Contains a natural estrogen for relief of menopause discomfort. Helps relieve childbirth pain. Key nutrients. A, potassium iron chromium. Black cohosh is a natural antidote to poisons within the system. If it has the remarkable ability to neutralize effects of rattlesnake bites or scorpion stings, think what it can do to uric acid and other toxic wastes in the bloodstream. In fact, this herb helps equalize blood circulation, and in severe cases of arthritis where this might be a problem, the plant will prove to be a blessing instead. Undoubtedly its most significant function in this particular combination is the effective pressure it chemically exerts on the kidneys and the bladder, which help to remove buildups of uric poisoning. Black Cohosh has a sedative effect on the nervous system because of certain alkaloid properties in the plant oil. Black cohosh encourages muscle contractions in the uterus, thereby increasing menstrual flow. Valuable in childbirth, controls hemorrhaging, nervousness, and delivery afterpains. Black cohosh is an important expectorant to use whenever there is an accumulation of mucuous and phlegm, especially in respiratory system of the body. Because of its slightly narcotic properties, it is of recognized value for treating spasmodic coughs and deep chest afflictions. For heavy smokers, this would be a good remedy to use.
BLACK FALSE HELLBORE
CAUTION, DO NOT USE WITH GINSENG OF ANY VARIETY
BLACK PEPPER
Piper nigerum
Time of administration: morning to afternoon (afternoon-peak chemical activity).
BLACK PEPPER IS NOT GOOD TO USE ON FOOD! IT CAN BE HARMFUL TO HEALTH IF USED IN QUANTITY! When taken in small amounts, preferably as a tea, it is an ideal medicine for stimulating the production of hydrochloric acid in those not able to produce their own. Grind 7-8 peppercorns, 1/8th tsp., Mix with honey, useful to overcome cold mucous diseases and soar throats. Use 3-4 times a day for acute disease. A chemist from the University of Kentucky has determined that black pepper can cause stomach cancer, particularly "malignant lesions and benign tumors" if used excessively. Dr. Jose Concon reported, "I'd put black pepper between cigarette smoking and safrole, in a moderate category of carcinogens." His announced findings caused quite an uproar at the joint congress of the American Chemical Society and the Chemical Society of Japan, held in Hawaii in the Spring of 1979, where his paper was read before several thousand delegates. ("Pepper Issue Spices Controversy on Food Cancer", New Scientist, p. 360, May 3,1979). And to make matters even more excruciating for those who love to season their food with this unhealthy spice, consider the fact that laboratory research has proven black pepper to be an excellent natural insecticide capable of destroying boll weevils in cotton fields. ("Black Pepper Kills Bugs", Agricultural Research USDA, p. 15, May 1978).
BLACK WALNUT HULLS
Juglans nigra
Time of Administration: morning (external) and evening (internal).
Expels parasites and tapeworms, infection; tonsillitis; external antiseptic. Rebuilds nerve and brain tissue. Relieves many skin problems. The ellagic acid in black walnuts affords an ideal protective antidote to electric shock, accidental electrocution, and lightning mishaps. It has been proposed by some American scientists that this might be worthy of further investigation, since there are so few drugs for treatment of these hazards. (U.C. Bhargava, B.A. Westfall, and D.J. Sichr, "Preliminary Pharmacology of Ellagic Acid from Juglans nigra (Black Walnut)"; Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 57:1731, Oct. 1968). Key nutrients, iron, iodine, calcium, silica. The hulls of black walnut contain strong amounts of organic iodine that act with speedy, antiseptic efficiency within the body, especially on muscle tissues and vital glands. Black Walnut hulls consist of Resinoid juglandin, juglone, juglandic acid, fixed and volatile oils, and considerable tannin. The hulls are an antiseptic laxative in the lower bowels. Juglone, one of the main alkaloid principles here, has been clinically recognized for its antihemorrhagic activity. This makes the hulls especially good for bleeding hemorrhoids or bloody stools.
BLACKBERRY
Rubus villosus
BLADDERWRACK
Best for obesity.
BLESSED THISTLE
Cnicus benedictus
Time of administration: morning to evening (afternoon-peak strength)
Excellent stimulant tonic for the stomach, liver and heart, aids circulation and helps resolve liver problems, gallstones, constipation, headache; fever, takes oxygen to the brain and strengthens memory. Blessed thistle is ideal for painful menstruation and headaches due to some kind of hidden female problems. The herb will also promote the natural flow of breast milk in a nursing mother. Blessed thistle stimulates the mammary glands in much the same way that marshmallow does. Blessed thistle is considered a good herb for stopping internal hemorrhaging, especially bleeding in the lungs. It is useful in fevers and mucous congestion. As a general rule, its distinctive properties promptly reduce migraine headaches. The herb contains a volatile oil properties. Salicin comes from the bark of the willow tree and is one of the principle ingredients in today's common aspirin. From the above list of things it can possibly treat, we are now able to see that its strong chemical properties prevail in this combination, making the entire formula BETTER than aspirin!
BLOND PLANTAIN
Plantago ovata
The powdered seeds helps relieve bowel cramps and pain, relieves constipation.
BLOODFLOWER MILKWEED
Asclepia currasavica
Tonic to the heart. Active ingredient, asclepin.
BLOODROOT
Sanguinaria canaddesis
BLUE COHOSH
Caulophyllum thalictroides
Time of administration: evening.
Used to regulate menstrual flow and suppressed menstruation, aids labor and childbirth, cramps. High in minerals.
BLUE FLAG
Iris versicolor
Blood purifier.
BLUE VERVAIN
Verbinia hastata
Time of administration: morning.
Carmative for the nerves. Nervous disorders, fevers, lung congestion, insomnia and worms.
BLUE VIOLET
Viola odorata
Time of Administration: unknown.
Respiratory problems, constipation, cough, insomnia and nerves. Relieves severe headaches and congestion in the head. Cleans out mucus in the system. Very effective in healing and giving prompt relief of internal ulcers.
BOGBEAN
Menyanthes trifoliata
BONESET
Eupatorium perfoliatum
Time of administration: morning to evening.
Laxative, influenza, fevers, tonic. Helps to relieve cold and flu symptoms.
Its chemical constituents (ingredients) are these: eupatorin, volatile oil, resin, tannin, sugar, inulin, wax. Eupatorin, its most active principle has been used clinically to induce vomiting in cases of poisoning, instead of the usual gastric lavage treatment. (Merck index, N.J., 1968, p. 446).
BORAGE
Borago officinalis
Reduces fever relieves irritation of skin and mucus membranes aids lung problems
BOXWOOD
Buxus
BRIGHAM TEA
Ephedra species
Time of administration: morning to evening.
Also called desert tea and Mormon tea. Kidneys, gall bladder, venereal disease, hayfever, asthma. The pharmaceutical agent, ephedrine, which is often prescribed by doctors for some of the above problems, is entirely derived from the Ephedra species (Chinese mahuang and the American desert or Mormon or Brigham tea). If ephedrine in its full, isolated strength, is taken with either of the above herbs, it most likely will cause an abnormally large amount of the drug to be present in the system. This can lead to nervousness, restlessness, headache, heart palpitation, sweating, nausea, and vomiting in moderate overdoses, and anxiety, confusion, delirium, muscular tremors, rapid and irregular pulse in larger overdoses.
BUCHU
Agathosma betulina, barosma betulina
Time of administration: afternoon.
Urinary difficulties, gallstones yeast infections, stimulant. Diuretic used to help relieve pain while urinating, for acute and chronic bladder and kidney disorders. The essential oil found in the leaves of this plant have a flavor similar to that of black currents. Usually the most active ingredient in this oil is pulegone. Menthone, limonene, and isomenthone are also other active constituents as well. Barosma betulina has 43% isomenthone with scarcely a 3% puegone content, while Barosma crenulato has 50% pulegone and only 22% isomenthone. Both of these constituents give buchu leaves a strong antiseptic quality where infection is concerned. Buchu leaves contain volatile oil, diosmin, mucilage, resin, and calcium oxalate. Among other components, the oil contains diosphenol or buchu camphor which is a phenolic ketone. The characteristic odor of the oil has been ascribed to the high sulphur compounds. Buchu works marvelously well on the kidneys and has been employed clinically in some South African hospitals in the past to encourage the flow of urine and to serve as a urinary antiseptic. The leaves of this herb contain 1-2% volatile oil. The diosphenol which the oil contains, gives the plant its camphorlike qualities. Diosphenol is the most active constituent of the oil and in the body acts as a mild antiseptic, cardiac (heart), circulatory stimulant (blood), carminative (getting rid of intestinal gas), expectorant (removing mucous from the lungs), antidiarrheal (stops diarrhea), and for hysteria. The huge pharmaceutical conglomerate in Detroit, Michigan-Parke, Davis Laboratories-still purchases large quantities of buchu leaves from South Africa, for a fluid extract which is still prescribed for urinary difficulties. Buchu leaves will also absorb excess uric acid, thereby reducing bladder irritation and the painful effects of "scalding" urine. An herbalist in Great Britain successfully treated a lady patient of his who was suffering from painful urination and bladder inflammation, by giving her a combination of buchu and uva ursi leaves together. The thick, strong-smelling qualities of her urine soon disappeared within a week by taking these two herbs.
BUCKTHORN BARK
Rhamnus frangula
Time of administration: evening.
Constipation, liver, gallstones, hemorrhoids, lead poisoning. Keeps the bowels regular but is not habit forming, non-irritating, effective remedy for appendicitis, expels worms.
BUGELWEED
Lycopus virginicus
Time of Administration: unknown.
Coughs, colds, fevers, nervousness, pain. Bugleweed contracts body tissue to a more firm and solid state, and reduces mucous discharges. The herb works as a mild narcotic sedative on painful areas of the system, bringing some measure of relief where needed. Its general constituents are a volatile oil, resin, tannin, and glucoside.
BURDOCK
Arctium lappa
Time of administration: morning and afternoon.
Use for blood purifier; toxic poisons; tetany; liver; sores; rash.
Helps clean toxins from the blood by balancing blood sugar. Good for severe skin problems, helps relieve advance cases of arthritis. Diuretic and soothing to kidneys. Key nutrients. A, zinc, magnesium, chromium. Helps thinning hair when tea is applied to scalp. Burdock root has long been recognized as an important blood cleanser. The root manifests certain valuable agents which separate thick formations of impure substances often found in the bloodstream through an improper diet. Such "lumps" of waste are broken up by the chemical strength within the root, and dispersed in smaller particles to the kidneys and bladder for eventual elirnination. This unique action is why burdock root holds a major role in the treatment of arthritis and calcification of the joints. Burdock root has a sweet, mucilaginous taste, which soon turns bitter once exposed to air molecules. The root contains inulin (not to be confused with insulin), mucilage, sugar, a bitter, crystalline glucoside (lappin), a little resin, fixed and volatile oils, and some tannic acid. It has great clinical significance in the treatment of dermatitis and other severe skin diseases such as this. Apparently it was an import from Northern Asia many centuries ago and has become naturalized in the United States and most of Canada. The root is rich in vitamin C or ascorbic acid, the same as sarsaparilla and yellow dock root are. However, it surpasses the other two in this vitamin strength a little. For infectious disease, like venereal and cancerous kinds (i.e., Blood, tissue, skin), it remains unparalleled in its marvelously active properties for these things. Internally, it is also useful for cankers, boils, abscesses, etc. The leaves impart their own kind of peculiar virtues for the nerves in calming hysterical disorders. Dr. Fred Kartchner, a practicing obstetrician in Provo, Utah, was informed by a pharmacoutical salesman some years ago of a most interesting formula which made use of the inner part of the burdock burr itself for curing deadly forms of asthma. The salesman, in turn, had obtained it from a local druggist in Cedar City or St. George, Utah (communities further south). The salesman tried to manufacture it himself and market the product, but the FDA wouldn't permit it until some particular constituents had been chemically analyzed. Of course, the man had neither the financial resources nor the available technology at his disposal for this, so his marketing project had to be abandoned. Dr. Kartchner, however, did obtain some of this medicine from the fellow and used it on a relative or friend of his 2 or 3 times and as a result, was able to save this individual's life. (This episode was related to me by Kristine Hughes in the summer of 1977.)
BURNET
Poterium sanguisorba
Sanguisorba minor
Excellent for cleaning the chest lungs and stomach, useful in expelling stones from the bladder
BUTTERNUT BARK
Strengthens the intestines, relieves constipation sluggish liver fever and colds.
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