Dr. Michael Heinrich, Joanne Barnes, Simon Gibbons and Elizabeth M. Williamson
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 Against this background, several herbal safety problems have occurred as a result of the use of herbal preparations of inadequate pharmaceutical quality. The current regulatory regime for the licensing of medicines in the UK is set out by the 1968 Medicines Act and other regulations which have arisen from the implementation of relevant European Commission legislation, namely Directive 65/65/EEC, now revised as Directive 2001/83/EC. |
Andrew Pengelly
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 While some authorities have questioned the credibility of a genuine salicylate anti-inflammatory action in salicin herbs due to the low levels of active constituents found in traditional herbal preparations (Robbers and Tyler 1999), recent clinical investigations in Germany have been based around high-dose willow bark extracts (120-240 mg salicin daily). These trials have demonstrated significant reduction of back pain with few side effects, and include a randomised double-blind study of 210 patients, reported in the American Journal of Medicine (Chrubasik et al. 2000). |
Dr. Michael Heinrich, Joanne Barnes, Simon Gibbons and Elizabeth M. Williamson
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| Herbal products containing St John's wort have been among the top-selling herbal preparations in developed countries in recent years. The dried herb (consisting mainly of the flowering tops, including leaves, unopened buds and flowers) is the part used pharmaceutically.
Constituents
Initially, hypericin (a naphthodianthrone) was considered to be the antidepressant constituent of St John's wort, although experimental and clinical evidence has now emerged that hyperforin (a prenylated phloroglucinol) is a major constituent required for antidepressant activity (Fig. 16.3). |
James A. Duke, Ph.D.
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 In fact, these herbal preparations are gaining in popularity so rapidly that there's a good chance you'll even be able to find many of them at your local drugstore.
Standardized means that the herbal products have been processed a bit to guarantee a known minimum level of one or more of the major active ingredients. These products are the best quality you can purchase. Standardization largely compensates for the natural variability you find in bulk herbs—the kind available in bins or jars and measured out according to weight—and it takes the uncertainty out of herbal preparations. |
C. P. Khare
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 Though used for the treatment of jaundice and calculi of liver and gall-bladder, the drug could not yet enter into compound herbal preparations for hepatic affections. Its principal use is still as a galactagogue.
Active principles and pharmacology
Milk Thistle seed contain 1.5-3 % flavone lignans, collectively referred to as silymarin; 20-30 % fixed oil, of which (approximately) 60 % is linoleic acid, 30 % oleic acid and 90 % palmitic acid; 25-30 % protein; 0.038 % tocopherol; 0.63 % sterols, including cholesterol, campesterol, stigmasterol and sitosterol; and some mucilage. |
Andrew Pengelly
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| Mucilages retain heat due to their hydrophilic properties, a characteristic often utilised in herbal preparations such as warm compresses, as they allow heat to penetrate the tissues progressively. Several herbs, including comfrey, slippery elm bark, marshmallow and linseed, are used in this way.
Gums and mucilages are invaluable aids in the management of irritable digestive disorders, especially where ulceration is a feature. |
C. P. Khare
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| While taking traditional herbal preparations, signs of poisoning can appear even with the administration of therapeutic doses. Better to switch over to homoeopathic preparations.
Araceae
Acorus calamus Linn.
Figure 1 Acorus calamus [CCRAS]
Figure 2 Acorus calamus [CCRAS] Habitat
Growing wild and also cultivated throughout India, ascending to an altitude of 2200 m in the Himalayas. Thrives best in marshy and moist places. Cultivated in Koratagere taluk in Karna-taka.
Three more varieties of Vachaa have been mentioned in Ayurvedic and Unani texts: 1. |
Mark Blumenthal
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 We have taken great care to provide clear differentiation between the specific products that have been the subject of clinical studies, the qualitative and quantitative standards that define them, along with corresponding pharmacopeial standards for herbs and herbal preparations, and correlations that can be made between specific product qualities and the results documented from published clinical trials.
The editors accessed a comprehensive range of authoritative data on the herbs and phytomedicines. |
Dr. Michael Heinrich, Joanne Barnes, Simon Gibbons and Elizabeth M. Williamson
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| HERBAL MEDICINES
In the 1980s, the pharmacist on the high street in the UK, having seen herbal preparations nearly disappear completely from his shelves, found that health-food shops were opening new premises. This trend occurred during a period of economic depression when many high street shops were closing. Health-food shops sold not only foods and food supplements, but also medicinal herbs and a range of food products linked to health claims (nutraceuticals). |
Michael T. Murray, N.D.
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 This widespread use of herbal medicines is not restricted to developing countries, as it has been estimated that 30 to 40 percent of all medical doctors in France and Germany rely on herbal preparations as their primary medicines.2
The rebirth of herbal medicine
Throughout the world, but especially in Europe and Asia, a tremendous renaissance in the use and appreciation of herbal medicine has taken place. In Germany, estimates show that over $4 billion dollars are spent on herbal products each year. In Japan, the figure is thought to be even higher. |
| Most of the herbal preparations recommended here are based on studies published in medical journals. Key references are provided if your physician wants additional information. • Remember Although many herbs are effective on their own they work even better if they are part of a comprehensive natural treatment plan focusing on diet and lifestyle factors.
The safety of herbs
Most herbs in use are extremely safe. In the 1970s, when herbs began their rise in popularity, numerous articles appearing in medical journals and the lay press questioned the safety of herbal products. |
| As a rule, herbal preparations are less toxic than their synthetic counterparts and offer less risk of side effects (obviously, there are exceptions to this rule). In addition, the mechanism of action of an herb is often to correct the underlying cause of ill health. In contrast, a synthetic drug is often designed to alleviate the symptom or effect without addressing the underlying cause. It has also been demonstrated with many plants that the whole plant or crude extract is much more effective than isolated constituents. |
| All of these gains have resulted in tremendous improvements in the quality of herbal preparations now available.
For example, optimal activity and quality collection should be done at a time when the active ingredient is present in the greatest amount. Improvements in analysis have led to more precise harvesting of many herbs.
Methods currently utilized in evaluating herbs and their extracts include the following:
• Organoleptic
• Microscopic
• Physical
• Chemical/physical
• Biological
Organoleptic means the "impression of the organs. |
| Currently, no organization or government body certifies the labeling of herbal preparations.
Without quality control, you can't be sure that the herb contained in the bottle is the same as what is stated on the label. The widespread disregard for quality control in the health food industry has tarnished the reputation of many important medicinal herbs. For example, it has been estimated that because of supplier errors in collection, more than 50 percent of the Echinacea sold in the United States since 1908 and through 1991 was actually Parthenium integrifolium. |
Michael Tierra
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 In addition, this book contains the most detailed instructions yet available for the methods of herbal application, both for the therapeutic techniques and for the production of useful herbal preparations in your home.
It has been very difficult to obtain good information on Chinese herbs despite the fact that their use is becoming very popular. From the thousands of herbs available in Chinatowns, Michael has picked the most widely used and highly valued to introduce to our readers. |
Alan Keith Tillotson, Ph.D., A.H.G., D.Ay.
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 Dried skullcap, commonly found in over-the-counter herbal preparations, is basically inert and therefore useless. The related Chinese herb scute root is more anti-inflammatory and less calming in action.
SCUTE ROOT_
Latin: Scutellaria baicalensis Chinese: Huang qin
WHAT IT DOES: Scute root is bitter in taste and cold in action. It drains heat and inflammation from the liver, lungs, blood, and intestines. It also reduces allergy symptoms.
RATING: Yellow, due to limitations in usage
SAFETY ISSUES: Not to be used as a general tonic. Use for the indications listed below. |
Susun S. Weed
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 Use Drugs (or Drug-Like herbal preparations)
• The most frequently used-and seemingly most successful-alternative treatments available to the woman with invasive breast cancer are usually administered by injection: 714X, carnivora, sundew, and mistletoe. See also shiitake, page 87.
• I'm impressed with the work of Gaston Naessens. His method of diagnosis—examination of living blood—is a radical departure from orthodoxy. His focus on nourishing the cancer, as well as the person, is clearly in the Wise Woman Tradition. |
Alan Keith Tillotson, Ph.D., A.H.G., D.Ay.
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| Natural Poisons Found in Plants
Many plants are poisonous, despite the safety statistics on commercial herbal preparations. In fact, about 5% of all poisonings, or over 10,000 incidents per year, are caused by the ingestion of plants. Most of these poisonings occur when children ingest household or outdoor plants. Parents should learn how to recognize toxic household plants, and children should be trained never to eat a plant unless an adult first teaches them how to identify and use it. Everyone should know how to contact regional poison control centers. |
Michael Tierra, L.Ac, O.M.D.
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 Decoctions and Teas
The most common forms of Chinese herbal preparations are decoctions and teas. Traditionally, these are prepared in a clay pot, but they can also be prepared in glass, unchipped enamel, or high-quality stainless steel containers without interfering with their properties. They should not be prepared in iron, copper, aluminum, or any type of metal containers that can alter the chemistry of the herbs. The herbs should be soaked for 30 to 60 minutes in 4 cups of water before exposing them to heat. |
| Herbal preparations, therapeutics, and formulary are included. This course lays the groundwork for completing the Professional Herbalist Course.
The Professional Herbalist Course is for the herbal professional or those seeking more in-depth knowledge of herbs and the practice of planetary herbology. It includes more advanced studies in the Oriental systems of diagnosis and treatment. Taking the Home-Study Course in Herbal Medicine is a suggested prerequisite. This course follows three stages. The first twelve lessons incorporate the Home-Study Course in Herbal Medicine. |
Michael Tierra
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| Herbs and herbal preparations have the ability to treat cancer both through necrosis and apoptosis.
Internal Herbal Treatment
FORMULA 14 (BLOOD PURIFIER AND ALTERATIVE)
Echinacea root
Goldenseal
Chaparral
Honeysuckle flowers Forsythia blossoms Sarsaparilla root Yellow dock root American ginseng Ginger root Red clover
Cinnamon twigs Licorice
The blood-purifying effects of formula 14 are good for inflammatory conditions, skin eruptions, fevers, toxicity of blood and lymph, boils, sores, and arthritic conditions. It can be used for both bacterial and viral infections. |
| A few are less obviously derived from the rules set down, but they are nonetheless useful recipes and indicators of the range of herbal preparations. Some modifications have been made to allow the formulas to be produced from herbs available in stores or by mail order. If you are able to gather fresh herbs, these can be used and many substitutions can be made, so that local herbs will be generally adequate for the entire formula.
I have also added the chapter titled "Cautionary Notes on Herb Use." It will be important to read this section carefully and observe warnings presented there. |
Dr. Cass Ingram
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 Foods that help
• sardines and salmon
• artichokes and beets
• radishes and turnips (black or Russian radish is best) Things to avoid
• alcohol and all drugs, herbal preparations, etc. containing it
• refined sugar, white flour, white rice
• prescription and non-prescription drugs of all types (except interferon) Herbicide poisoning (see Pesticide/herbicide poisoning) Herpes (see Cold sores, Genital herpes, Shingles)
High blood pressure attack
High blood pressure, known medically as hypertension, is a common disease, but only in Westernized countries. |
Ronald L. Hoffman, M.D.
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 For this reason, it's used in many Chinese herbal preparations designed to fortify kidney energy, or "chi."
Men experience a two-phased decline in normal hormonal vitality as they grow older, through the natural processes of andropause and ad-renopause. Hormonally based fatigue, usually linked to declining testosterone levels, can and does strike men but too often is overlooked by physicians. Men usually don't undergo a decisive, life-altering event like menopause, but their hormones do slowly, insidiously decline. |
Michael Tierra
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| It is most commonly found in various herbal preparations along with saw palmetto berries (Planetary Formula's Saw Palmetto Classic). |
J. E. Williams, O.M.D.
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 Use anti-inflammatory herbs and nutrients: There are a number of natural herbal preparations for managing chronic inflammation, such as the extract of curcumin/turmeric (Curcumin longa). Selenium and lipoic acid also help to reduce inflammation. Take 500 mg of curcumin three times daily, increase your selenium to 400 meg three times daily, and lipoic acid to 300 mg twice daily. Ginger root (Zingiber officinale) is also a very useful natural anti-inflammatory and can be used as a tea made from the fresh or dry powdered root (use 1-4 g per cup). |
Michael T. Murray, N.D.
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| The production of standardized extracts serves as a model for quality control processes for all forms of herbal preparations. In general, it is believed that if the active components of a particular herb are known, the herbal product should be analyzed to ensure that it contains these components at an acceptable/standardized level. More accurate dosages can then be prescribed. Products should also be subjected to bacteriological counts.
Currently, in many countries, numerous standardized extracts fulfill the requirements for marketing as drugs. |
Earl Mindell, R.Ph., Ph.D.
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 Starting at about the age of 20, women typically use herbal preparations to help normalize hormone levels throughout their entire lives, to ease the monthly hormonal fluctuations that can lead to PMS, and ultimately to ease the transition from the reproductive years to menopause. As a result, these women do not experience the abrupt drop in hormones that can cause severe menopausal symptoms.
Growing in popularity by leaps and bounds, numerous Ayurvedic products are being sold in natural food stores today. |
Glenn W. Geelhoed, M.D. and Jean Barilla, M.S.
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 We've added a glossary, a section on herbal preparations, and many, many recipes — for everything from love potions to bug repellents to energy shakes. And though you'll find just about every ingredient mentioned in your own garden or kitchen cabinet, we've included pages and pages of listings to help you find any items that might not be available locally.
As you can see, we've done the work for you. Now all you have to do is take advantage of this world of collective wisdom.
Alternative Healing Methods
Not so long ago, if you had a taste for international cuisine, you were out of luck. |
Kathi Keville
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 Light, heat and air all
(continued on page 24) m Herbal Preparations: Quick Reference
PREPARATIONS TAKEN INTERNALLY
Description
Advantages
Possible Disadvantages
Food
Easy to take.
Small, often diluted doses of medicinal properties; preparation time; limited to foods and herbs that taste good.
Glycerite: Herbs extracted into glycerin. An average dose is about a quarter teaspoon or half a dropperful. Dilute in water, tea or juice or it may irritate the mouth. |
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