Herbal Medicine I Flashcards
Where is the first archaeological evidence of herbal medicine?
- Neanderthal graves in Iraq
- Dating back 40,000 years
- Herbs that still in use today
Where is the first recorded evidence of herbal medicine?
- Egyptian hieroglyphics
- Parchments from the Indus Valley
- > 4,000 years
Who was “The Father of Medicine”?
Hippocrates of Kos
(460 BC–375 BC approx.)
Established the importance of:
* careful observation
* examination
* documentation of cases and treatments
Who wrote De Materia Medica in the first century AD?
Dioscorides
(30–90 AD approx.)
- Greek physician during the Roman Empire
- De Materia medica remained a key text in medical schools for the next 1,600 years!
Who was surgeon to the gladiators in the 2nd century AD?
Galen
(131–200 AD)
* Gladiators’ injuries allowed him to view the inner workings of the body
* Developed humoral medicine, (blood, phlegm, bile, black bile)
* Basis of Western medical thinking until the 18th century.
Who was “The mother of German botany” in the 12thC AD?
Hildegard of Bingen
Saint Hildegard (1098–1179)
- German Benedictine abbess, healer, writer, composer and philosopher
- Herbs formed an integral part of her healing work
- Authored Physica and Causae et curae
Who created the Quack’s charter in the 15thC AD?
King Henry VIII
(1491–1547)
* Keen amateur herbalist.
* He brought legislation to protect herbalists
* Known as the ‘Quack’s charter’
* Gives the legal basis to practise herbal medicine freely to this day!
* ‘Quack’ is still used as a derogatory term to describe conventional medics
Who published The English Physician in the 17thC AD?
Nicholas Culpepper
(1616–1654):
* Served the poor of East London
* The English physician (1653), written in English (not Latin)
* Still in print today
* How herbs were understood and applied in Tudor England
Why are doseage levels in Western herbalism comparitively lower than other traditions?
Naturopaths such as Goethe and Steiner, developed therapies based on ‘nature cure’:
* They taught that healing is intrinsic to the body and that successful herbal therapy is based on mobilising the ‘Vital Force’.
* This required lower doses of herbs (higher doses suppress Vital Force).
* For this reason, dosage levels in Western herbal medicine are generally lower than in traditional Indian medicine (Ayurveda) and TCM.
Why are doseage levels in Western herbalism comparitively lower than other traditions?
Naturopaths such as Goethe and Steiner taught ‘nature cure’:
* healing is intrinsic to the body
* successful herbal therapy is based on mobilising the ‘Vital Force’
* this requires lower doses of herbs (higher doses suppress Vital Force - Arnaud-Schultz Law)
What are the four forms of traditional medicine
- Ayurveda (South Asia: India)
- Chinese medicine (East Asia: China)
- Galenic medicine (Ancient Greece and Rome)
- Unani Tibb (Arabic world)
What do the Four forms of traditional medicine share?
- Broadly identical ‘energetic’ approaches to classify and treat diseases
- Maintenance of good health using herbs, foods and lifestyle
What are Energetic Qualities?
- Hot
- Cold
- Dry
- Wet (Damp)
- A balance of all qualities is important for good health
- Imbalance leads to excesses and characteristic patterns of disease (physical and mental)
- ‘Energetics’ fell out of favour in the West and was replaced by biomedicine
- By contrast, in India, China and the Middle East, it is still very much alive
What are the signs of excess heat?
- inflammation
- redness
- infections
- burning sensations
- high blood pressure
- loose stool
- stress
- irritability
- anger
What can cause excess heat?
- Hot climates and seasons
- Very hot food and drinks
- Hot ‘pungent’ herbs (chilli, dry ginger, garlic)
- Oily foods
- Chemical food additives
- Refined sugars
- Stimulants (coffee, alcohol)
What are the signs of excess cold?
- Chills
- Poor circulation
- Muscle spasm
- Fatigue
- Low mood
- Weak digestion
- Hypometabolic conditions (low thyroid function)
What can cause excess cold?
- Cold climates and seasons
- Cold, refrigerated, frozen foods
- Iced drinks
- Too much raw food, salad, bitter leaves e.g. chicory
- Too much green smoothies
- Too much ‘Bitter’ (detoxifying) herbs such as golden seal
What are the signs of excess dryness?
- Weakness
- Emaciation
- Stiff joints
- Dry skin and mucous membranes
- Constipation, gas and bloating
- Anxiety
What can cause excess dryness?
- Dry, windy climates and seasons
- Too much dry food e.g. popcorn
- Low fluid intake
- Gas-forming legumes
- Drying ‘astringent’ herbs e.g. green tea
- Excess hot spices and diuretic herbs
What are the signs of excess moisture?
- Weight gain
- Fluid retention
- Lethargy
- Mucus, watery discharges
- Cysts
- Lymphatic congestion
- Over-emotional
What can cause excess moisture?
- Wet climates and seasons
- Too much dairy, gluten, sweet foods
- High water-content fruit and veg. e.g. melon, cucumber
- Slimy ‘mucilaginous’ foods and herbs such as okra and linseeds
Where should the Energetic Balance lean?
Slightly towards warmth and moisture
The opposite is cold and dry (dead!)
What is Organoleptic?
The traditional name for evaluating herbs using the senses
Organoleptic = ‘to stimulate a sense organ’.
What are the tastes used in Herb testing?
- Astringent
- Pungent
- Bitter
- Sweet
- Aromatic
- Demulcent
What are responsible for the Astringent effect?
- Phytochemicals known as tannins
- On contact with mucous membranes tannins crosslink proteins
- This binds the mucosa more tightly (decreases permeability) and reduces secretions
What are the effects of Astringents?
- Increases protection from microbes and noxious irritants
- Decreases watery discharges (e.g. diarrhoea, runny nose)
- Tones and heals skin and mucous membranes
What are the energetics of Astringent?
- Drying
Astringent: Kitchen examples
- Green tea
- Cinnamon
Astringents
Agrimony leaf
- Traditional remedy for diarrhoea, especially in children.
- Protective layer formed by tannins on the gut mucosa
- Decreases peristalsis by reducing stimulation of nerve endings by noxious agents
Astringents
Meadowsweet leaf
- Forms a protective barrier
- Heals the stomach lining in GORD, gastritis and stomach ulcers
Astringents
Witch-hazel leaf
- A topical treatment for healing wounds
- If wounds are bleeding, tannins have a styptic effect*
*Localised vasoconstriction to stem blood loss
What are responsible for the Bitter taste?
Wide range of chemicals known collectively ‘Bitter principles’
Usually secondary metabolities (defensive/protective functions)
Primary metabolites = growth, reproduction
What are the effects of the Bitter taste?
- Stimulate taste bud receptors
- Increase vagal activity
- Promotes gastric acid and pepsin secretion
- Prime the pancreas and gallbladder
- Small amounts increase digestive juices and digestive power (take a few drops before meals)
- Larger amounts stimulate liver detoxification, bowel elimination, kill microbes (anti-microbial)
