The Twelve Categories Of Herbs Flashcards
Pungent Herbs
have a spicy or hot taste and typically have a very sharp aroma. Used to add spiciness to dishes (cayenne, ginger, mustard, and onions).
The pungent flavor of these herbs is due to the presence of resins, alkamides, allyl sulfides, or monoterpene essential oils.
Warming and drying. They move blood and energy upward and outward, helping to dispel stagnation, induce perspiration, and stimulate blood circulation. They stimulate production of digestive secretions, which enhances appetite, expels gas, and increases intestinal peristalsis.
Overuse depletes the body’s energy reserves and cools the body.
Contraindicated for people who tend to be hot, flushed, and irritable and who have a reddish complexion.
Aromatic Herbs
contain volatile oils (essential oils).
They evaporate when exposed to heat and light.
Many are used as seasonings (dill, peppermint, and lemon balm).
Normally warming and drying, but milder action than pungent herbs.
Strong effects on the CNS, either calming or stimulating.
Many EO’s are antimicrobial, which makes aromatic herbs helpful in fighting infections.
They can induce perspiration when taken as hot tea, and they stimulate blood circulation and expel intestinal gas.
Simple (Nonalkaloidal) Bitters
herbs that are bitter due to diterpenes and various glycosides (bitter principals).
Anthraquinone glycosides are responsible for the action of stimulant laxatives, which are a subcategory of simple bitters.
Simple bitters include artichoke leaf, gentian, wild lettuce, kale, and hops.
Stimulant laxatives include cascara sagrada, Turkey rhubarb, buckthorn, butternut bark, and aloe leaf (not the gel).
Most are cooling and drying. A few contain aromatic compounds that make them warming and drying, including dong quai and turmeric.
Bitters cause energy to move downward (toward the eliminative organs) and inward (toward the digestive organs).
Tend to be detoxifying. Some have sedative or calming effects and a few are anodynes, which means they help to relieve pain.
One of their primary uses is to stimulate the production of hydrochloric acid, bile, and pancreatic enzymes. This happens only when the bitters are tasted.
Cooling bitters can deplete digestion over time. Traditional digestive tonics include warming bitters, aromatic, or pungent herbs to modulate the depleting effects of cooling bitters.
Contraindicated for thin, weak, emaciated, and dry people.
Alkaloidal Bitters
taste bitter due to the presence of alkaloids. These compounds have names ending in -ine, such as caffeine, nicotine, and berberine.
Coffee and chocolate are alkaloidal bitters.
Herbs that contain alkaloids include goldenseal, Oregon grape, and California poppy.
They tend to be cooling and drying. Many are detoxifying and used to stimulate the digestive system and liver.
Alkaloidal bitters that contain berberine (eg: goldenseal and Oregon grape) are used to fight infections.
Alkaloids have very specific effects on the nervous and glandular systems and can mimic hormones and neurotransmitters, stimulating or sedating specific body processes.
Contraindicated for people who are thin, weak, emaciated, and dry.
Can be drying and depleting when excessively used.
Fragrant Bitters
are a cross between simple bitters and aromatics. Their primary constituents are sesquiterpene lactones and triterpenes.
Ex include: elecampane, black walnut hulls, wormwood, tansy, and wormseed.
Warming and drying.
Used in small amounts to stimulate appetite and digestion. Many are used to expel parasites.
Most are contraindicated in pregnancy, and many are not suitable for long-term use.
Same general contraindications as the other two classes of bitters.
Acrid Herbs
are characterized by a bitter, nasty, burning taste that is much like the taste of throwing up bile. Best examples of this taste are lobelia and kava-kava, and to a lesser degree in black cohosh, skunk cabbage, and blue vervain.
These herbs contain resins (like pungent herbs) and alkaloids (like alkaloidal bitters).
Tend to be relaxing, which means they are diffusive, opening up the flow of blood, lymph, and energy.
They may also be cooling and drying.
Their primary action tends to be antispasmodic, which means they relax cramps. Used to relieve what are known as wind disorders in some traditional systems of medicine. These are disorders that involve alternating symptoms Ike fever and chills or diarrhea and constipation, as well as pains that migrate from one part of the body to another.
Will often induce vomiting in large doses, and large doses or long-term use may adversely affect the nerves.
Astringent Herbs
are herbs that contain tannins. Tannic acid gives plants a slightly bitter taste and produces a drying, slightly puckering sensation in the mouth. Eg: Green tea, white oak bark, uva ursi, and sage.
Astringent herbs constrict and dry tissues. They are used to arrest excessive secretions, tighten loose tissue, reduce swelling, and help blood coagulate.
They are antivenomous when applied topically to bites and stings. Internally they slow intestinal peristalsis (counteracting loose, watery stool) and tone up intestinal membranes.
Best taken between meals because they tend to inhibit digestive secretions and may interfere with mineral absorption.
Large doses can cause constipation, and long-term use can be irritating to the skin and mucous membranes.
Sour Herbs
Many berries and fruits have a sour taste due to the presence of various fruit acids (citric, malic, and ascorbic acid), which are accompanied by flavanoids. Flavanoids are antioxidant and fever reducing.
Cooling and nourishing. They may be balancing, slightly moistening, or slightly drying.
Used to reduce tissue inflammation and irritation and reduce free radical damage (thought to cause aging and degenerative disease). They can strengthen capillary integrity and tone weak tissues. Considered good for the liver and eyes, two organs that use more antioxidants than any other organs.
No contraindications.
Salty Herbs
Unlike table salt, the salty taste in plants is a more subtle flavor that is sort of a grassy or green taste. Think celery or spinach.
The subtle salty flavor in these food is due to the presence of mineral salts: Magnesium, potassium, sodium, and calcium. Salty herbs are green herbs like alfalfa, mullein, and seaweeds.
Balancing and nourishing. They can moisten dry tissues and can dry damp tissues.
They are nutritive because they supply minerals that help to tone and heal tissues. They clear the lymphatics, promote lymph flow, loosen mucus, and soften swollen lymph nodes.
Many salty herbs are nonirritating diuretics that nourish and support kidney function.
Generally mild in action and have no contraindications.
Sweet Herbs
aren’t sweet in the same way as sugar or honey, more like a bar of dark chocolate.
This sweetness is due to the presence of polysaccharides or saponins. Eg: licorice and stevia, and many tonic and adaptogenic remedies such as American or Korean ginseng, codonopsis, and astragalus.
Tend to be moistening and neutral, but they may be slightly warming or cooling.
Used to build up weakend conditions, counteract wasting, strengthen glands, and replenish energy reserves.
They counteract dryness and aging in tissues and often act as immune tonics to either stimulate or balance immune functions.
Most are very benign and suitable for long-term use in small doses. Larger doses can overstimulate the body and are abused in the same way as stimulants like coffee, especially when used by younger people.
Often work better as part of a formula.
Mucilant Herbs
Aka mucilaginous or demulcent herbs.
They have a bland or slightly sweet taste, but their most important distinguishing feature is their texture. When moistened, they have a slippery, slimy texture. This is due to water-loving polysaccharides or mucopolysaccharides, such as gums, mucilage, or pectin. They may also contain glycosaminoglycans.
Okra is a mucilant. Herbal examples: aloe vera, slippery elm, and kelp.
Moistening, cooling, and nourishing. They are used to soothe tissues that are hot, red, dry, and irritated. Taken internally they add water-soluble fiber to the stool; they are bulk laxatives when they are taken with plenty of water. They can help to arrest diarrhea, too.
They feed and support friendly gut bacteria and promote general intestinal health. They absorb bile from the gallbladder and liver to help reduce cholesterol and remove toxins from the body. Mucilants protect mucous membranes and are applied topically as poultices to soothe irritated or damaged skin and promote healing.
They should be taken apart from other nutrients and medications because they are absorbent.
Excessive use can slow down and cool gastrointestinal function, but this can easily be counteracted by adding a small amount of an aromatic or pungent herb.
Must be taken with plenty of water in order to work properly.
Oily Herbs
Oily herbs, mostly seeds, have an oily taste and texture due to the presence of fatty acids. Includes: flaxseed, evening primrose seed, and coconut.
Nourishing and cooling.
They provide the body with fatty acids that are used for energy production and immune, nerve and glandular function.
Moisten dry tissues and promote tissue flexibility.
Some are mild laxatives, lubricating the stool for easier elimination.
No real contraindications.
