Rosemary

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) is a woody, perennial herb with fragrant evergreen needle-like leaves. It is native to the Mediterranean region. It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae, which also includes many other herbs.(Wikipedia.org)

Native to Portugal and the Mediterranean area, rosemary is widely cultivated in several parts of the world, especially Morocco, Spain, Tunisia, and France. Rosemary takes it name fromros marinus, a Latin term which means "sea dew." Well known to the ancients, this plant was touted as a remedy for improving memory.

Rosemary today is used more frequently as a household spice and a food flavoring than a medicinal agent. However, it has traditionally been employed as a diuretic, emmenagogue, and antispasmodic remedy. The oil is a skin irritant in humans, and when administered externally, it increases blood supply. During the 19th century, rosemary leaf and its essential oil were used as a tonic for hypotension and other circulatory ailments. However, the evidence for the effectiveness of rosemary given orally in treating chronic circulatory weakness is controversial.

Rosemary oil is often unsafe for internal consumption since a large amount of it is required for therapeutic benefits. Ingesting excessive quantities of rosemary can irritate the stomach, intestines, and kidneys

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Medicinal Uses :

Traditional internal uses: dyspepsia (gastrointestinal ailments), headache, spasmolytic, sedative, diuretic, antimicrobial, diaphoretic (perspiration-promoting), emmenagogues (menstrual-flow stimulating), abortifacients

Traditional external uses: poultice for wound healing, eczema; topically for myalgia, sciatica, intercostal neuralgia, rubefacient, mild analgesic, parasiticidal; balneotherapy; supportive therapy (adjuvant) for circulatory disorders, rheumatic conditions

Conditions: digestive (dyspepsia), circulatory, pain, neuralgia, spasm nervousness, diuretic, wounds, eczema, myalgia, sciatica, rheumatism, parasites

Clinical applications: loss of appetite, blood pressure problems, liver and gallbladder complaints, rheumatism

Another Name :

Rosemary (English)

Rosmarinus officinalis (Botanical)

Lamiaceae (Plant Family)

Rosmarini (Pharmacopeial)

Asian Gingseng

The scientific name given to ginseng by Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1753 uses the Greek words pan (all) and ax (akos; cure) to mean the root that cures all ills. More recently, ginseng is classified as an adaptogen and antioxidant. Adaptogens are substances that increase physiological resistance to stressors. Antioxidants function similarly, decreasing circulating free radicals and reducing their negative effects on the body. Modern research shows that ginseng increases the body's ability to fight against bacterial, viral, emotional, cognitive, muscular, metabolic, and cardiovascular stressors.

Ginseng is recommended to help the body recover from disease, and to improve mental and physical performance. Benefits attributed to it from over 2,000 years of use have been discussed in numerous studies. In Asian countries, ginseng is regarded as the king of herbs and is added to many every day items, including beverages. The Chinese have associated ginseng with longevity, virility, strength, and wisdom since at least 1 A.D., according to written accounts.

Elderly persons take ginseng to induce a feeling of well-being, increase stamina, and combat the negative physical and mental effects of recent or chronic age-related degenerative conditions. Younger persons take it to increase athletic strength and sexual virility and to improve intellectual performance. Ongoing studies are looking into the effects of ginseng as adjunctive therapy for cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, non–AIDS related immune system disorders, male and female infertility, aging, menopause, and depression.

American and Asian ginsengs are indicated in stress, fatigue, convalescence and diabetes, and Siberian ginseng in stress, fatigue, atherosclerosis, and impaired kidney function. Confusion regarding which ginseng to use for stress, fatigue, and convalescence (American, Asian, or Siberian) stems from the suggestion that active components in one type are superior to those in another type, e.g., ginsenosides versus eleutherosides. Such superiority has not been demonstrated. Early Russian studies indicated that Siberian ginseng's positive effects exceed those of Asian ginseng's. These results are supported by empirical reports, but are challenged by investigators who question the validity of the studies and the quality of the Siberian ginseng preparation. At this time, all three ginsengs are regarded as adaptogens, all three share contraindication and side effect profiles, and despite qualitative differences, each is used for similar indications. Cost, standardization, and the reputation of the manufacturer may be the deciding points in determining which product to use.

Medicinal Uses :

Traditional: adaptogen, tonic, restorative, alterative, anodyne, appetite-stimulant, aphrodisiac, antidepressant, cardiotonic, carminative, expectorant, hormone restorative, nervine, sedative, sialogogue, stimulant, stomachic.

Clinical applications: rehabilitation; to increase stamina and well-being, particularly in the elderly. German Commission E monograph describes ginseng as a "tonic to counteract weakness and fatigue, as a restorative for declining stamina and impaired concentration, and as an aid to convalescence." Also used to treat diabetes, ulcer, edema, cancer, hypercholesterolemia, infertility, fatigue, frequent colds or viral illness, menopause, and red blood cell depletion.

Another Name :

Asian Ginseng (English)

Panax ginseng (Botanical)

Araliaceae (Plant Family)

Ginseng radix (Pharmacopeial)

Ginger

As a culinary spice, ginger was known for centuries to reduce flatulence, bloating, and indigestion, and to stimulate the appetite. It was highly sought after by Europeans, who traded with China and India during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and used it fresh, powdered, or crystallized in cooking. In 1884, England is said to have imported more than 5 million pounds of ginger.

Ginger root relieves nausea and emesis and may prevent or reduce the symptoms of motion sickness and seasickness. While nausea is currently the main indication for use, inhibition of cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase inflammatory pathways and related prostaglandin synthetase and platelet aggregation support the use of ginger in colds, sore throats, flus, headaches, and some types of arthritis and muscular pain.

Ginger can be grown at home by planting rhizomes in soils of mixed loam, sand, peat moss, and compost in bright sun with plenty of water. Within a year, gnarled, branched rhizome spread throughout the soil, bearing numerous tubers.

Medicinal Uses :

Traditional herbal actions: carminative, diaphoretic, antispasmodic, antiemetic, cholagogue, circulatory stimulant, peripheral vasodilator, expectorant, antiseptic, topical rubifacient

Conditions: intestinal colic, flatulence, indigestion, headache, sore throat, arthritis, common cold, flu, delayed menstruation, pelvic congestion, menstrual cramps

Clinical applications: motion sickness, nausea, vomiting, indigestion, flatulence, common cold, flu, dysmenorrhea; also used topically for arthritis, sore joints, and muscle sprains.

Another Name :

Ginger Root (English)Zingiber officinale (Botanical)
Zingiberaceae (Plant Family)
Zingiberis rhizoma (Pharmacopeial)

Garlic

Known for their pungent odor, garlic bulbs have been revered as both a food and medicine in many cultures for millennia. Construction workers who built the Egyptian pyramids were supposedly given huge rations of garlic to sustain their resistance against fevers. Legend has it that gravediggers in early eighteenth-century France drank a concoction of macerated garlic in wine to protect themselves against a plague. And during the two world wars, military physicians gave garlic to their patients as a preventive against gangrene.

The primary active compound in garlic is alliin, an odorless substance derived from the sulfur-containing amino acid, cysteine. However, alliin is found only within the intact cells of garlic. When garlic bulbs are crushed, the cell walls are broken, and an enzyme, allinase, converts alliin into a degradation product called allicin (diallyldisulfide-S-oxide). Allicin is an unstable compound that gives garlic its characteristic odor. Allicin is more active than alliin, and it readily forms other odorous sulfur-containing active constituents.

Medicinal Uses

Historical uses: all infections both internally and as a poultice. Used as a warming herb and as preventive for colds and flu, menstrual pain, mouthwash, and as a douche. Anthelmintic (expels worms).

Traditional actions: antihypertensive, anticholesterolemic, antilipidemic, reduces platelet aggregration, vasodilator, expectorant, antihistaminic, antimicrobial

Clinical applications: treatment and prevention of atherosclerosis, elevated blood lipids, and thrombosis. Also used to stabilize blood sugar level, and for gastrointestinal infections by positively affecting intestinal flora.

Numerous in vitro and in vivo investigations show that garlic has broad spectrum antimicrobial activity against bacteria, viruses, fungi, and intestinal parasites (helminths). Garlic also has immune-enhancing, antioxidant, and vasodilating activity. In both in vitro and in vivo studies, garlic produces anti-inflammatory, blood-sugar lowering (antidiabetic), and anticancer effects.

Research on garlic shows unequivocally that it can help prevent atherosclerosis through its effects on elevated lipids and blood pressure. Studies on both animals and humans indicate that garlic favorably shifted the high-density lipoprotein:low-density lipoprotein ratio toward lowered LDL and higher HDL values. It also lowered plasma viscosity and improved both blood fluidity and capillary blood flow. Garlic increased fibrinolytic activity, prolonged bleeding and clotting time, and inhibited platelet aggregations. Garlic consumption reduced blood pressure in hypertensive patients.

Allicin probably accounts for antibiotic and antiplatelet activity. Allicin also lowers cholesterol levels by blocking lipid synthesis and by increasing the excretion of neutral and acidic sterols. Ajoene prevents blood clots by inhibiting platelet aggregation in vitro and in vivo in a dose-dependent and reversible manner. By inhibiting platelet aggregation, ajeone has a protective effect against atherosclerosis, coronary thrombosis, and stroke.

Another Name

Garlic (English)

Allium sativum (Botanical)

Alliaceae (Plant Family)

Allii sativi bulbus (Pharmacopeial)

Aloe Verra

Aloe vera has been used as a medicinal plant for a long time, according to the literature it has been used since 1750 BC. The plant has a wide variety of uses because different parts of the plant have different medicinal properties.

The mucilaginous gel that is most widely associated with aloe vera comes from the inner part of the leaf. It is separated from the pericyclic tubules, specialized cells that are under the epidermis of the leaf. Those cells have a bitter yellow latex or juice that is dried to form a pharmaceutical product called aloe latex.

Aloe gel is used for wound healing, both internally and externally. It has agreat ability to heal many kind of skin injuries, including ulcerations, burns, frostbite, and abrasions. Aloe latex is a powerful cathartic and is used for constipation. Because it can cause painful cramping, it is not used as often as gentler herbal laxatives. Lower doses of aloe latex can be effective in preventing kidney stone formation or reducing their size. Lower doses can also be effective as a stool softener, which is particularly helpful in the case of hemorrhoids.

Aloe gel is now found in many commercial skin-care products, shampoos, and conditioners. But some studies have shown that it does not retain its healing ability when stored. There is now a stabilized form of the gel that may be able to be stored and still retain the healing action, but fresh aloe gel from the leaves is still the best option.

Aloe gel may also be taken internally, often in a liquid form called aloe juice. In this form, aloe can help heal peptic ulcers by inhibiting stomach acids that irritate ulcers. Aloe juice also improves digestion by destroying many bacteria that cause infection.

Another name :

Aloe (English)

Aloe vera/Aloe barbadensis/Aloe ferox (Botanical)

Liliaceae (Plant Family)

Aloe barbadensis/capensis (Pharmacopeial)

Medicinal Uses

·      Aloe was historically used to treat burns.

·     Traditional herbal actions: antibacterial, antifungal, anesthetic, antipyretic, antipruritic, moisturizer, vasodilator, anti-inflammatory, anthelmintic, cathartic, stomachic, demulcent, emmenagogue, laxative combined with carminative, vulnerary

·      Clinical applications: burns (due to radiation, sunburn, and other causes), headaches, dry skin, rashes (due to dermatitis, poison ivy, or insect bites), kidney stones, hemorrhoids, hives, constipation, wound healing, peptic ulcers, immune system enhancement, diabetes, asthma.