Herbal remedies for the male

No 12 Stinging nettles. Urtica dioica/ Urtica repens Urticaceae family

These plants are so well known by everyone on this island that they practically need no description. However, it should be pointed out that the two species are markedly distinct, as one (Urtica repens) is an annual with smaller leaves and generally grows much smaller with a more delicate stature, only reaching about 40cm in height, whereas the more common Urtica dioica is perennial from a creeping underground rootstock and can attain heights of 8 ft or more given reasonable growing conditions.

Introduced by the Romans according to legend, it was used by the soldiers as a flogging aid to warm them during long cold nights and as an aid for sore, stiff bones and joints. This practice is known as ‘urtication’ and is regaining popularity especially on the continent in places such as Germany where

a lot of the most recent and valued research into herbal remedies has been carried out.

This is possibly the uber herb for males of a certain disposition and age. The reason is due to its ability to arrest prostate complaints.

Parts used

Nettle tops….as a spinach and spring detoxifying herb

Root……….. inhibits prostate tissue enlargement

Harvest

Leaves when required, although as a vegetable they are better before the height of summer.

Roots are dug at their best in Autumn but can be dug and used at any time should circumstances dictate.

Active constituents

Leaves contain iron, vit c, minerals, especially calcium, potassium and sillic acid as well as phenolic acids and flavonoids. Formic acid in stings. Histamine, volatile and resinous substances. Glucoquinone

The roots are rich in polysaccharides, lecithin, several phenolic compounds and plant sterols.

Actions

Nutrative, haemostatic, astringent, circulatory stimulant, galactagogue, hypoglycaemic, diuretic(excreting uric acid) Anti prostatic.

Indications

The leaves are so high in iron and minerals that it is recommended for cases of anaemia and other deficiency conditions. Nettles increase excretion of uric acid. The tannins present exhibit astringency whilst the presence of glucoquinone helps account for the perceived hypoglycaemic action. Extract of nettle leaf has been found to slow the heart of lab animals as well as helping to dilate and constrict the blood vessels alternately under different conditions.

The root is the organ that contains the magic as far as the men are concerned. Rich in plant sterols, sugars and other funky medicinal compounds, it has been shown by much research to arrest the enlargement of the prostate gland.

Recently, the esteemed German ’commision E’

(an authoritive body researching and advising doctors of the therapeutic use of plants in Germany as well as the E.U during the conversion and redrafting of legislation concerning the use of traditional herbal medicinal products in 2004.) signified the use of nettle root for benign prostatic hypoplasia.(BPH)

Although more research is being carried out, many successful treatments in Germany with nettles are testament to its efficacy. It seems that the nettle root extract inhibits the enzyme aromatase which normally converts testosterone into other compounds such as estradiol. This then allows the testosterone to locate and attach to its receptor site, thus keeping the libido up and preventing any abnormality with the prostate gland. The action of inhibition is a different one to another reported remedy for prostate problems, Saw palmetto.

The fat soluble extract is pharmacologically active in fat tissues where androgens such as testosterone are aromatised, whilst the more water soluble methanol extract exhibits the greatest B.P.H arrest, with resultant high levels of inhibition of prostate growth.

Other Applications

Treatment of arthritis and gout. As an alterative both for skin and joints it can aid the clearance of acne and other skin complaints as well as reportedly helping counteract the overproduction of dandruff. Nicholas Culpeper rated it an herb that was hot and dry in the 2^nd degree. It is locally astringent and a valuable wound staunching herb for the nose. Nettles can help reduce blood sugar levels, making it useful in the treatment of ‘type-2’ or late onset diabetes mellitus. It is also esteemed as a flogging herb to assist with skeletal stiffness and pains.

Herbal medicine for men. Why?

This publication is intended for the weaker sex. It is not, however, exclusively for boys. If you are reading this and you are lucky enough to be a girl then you are advised to read it and immediately pass it on to the most needy or deserving male you know or can find!

So, now you know I’m working on a presumption that you’re a male in western society during the dying days of capitalism. Hi, welcome aboard! How does your body feel?

This booklet has been brought to you for a number of reasons…

1. The lack of free and informed herbal medical advice for men circulating generally is one.
2. The sorry state of mainstream medicine, both preventative and curative, providing misinformation and unnecessary expensive drugs to the majority of patients allowing the profiteering motives of big pharmaceutical companies to literally ruin peoples lives whilst proclaiming to heal them!
3. The 2004 E.U law on traditional herbal medicines which has restricted herbal medicinal practice for the first time in the UK since the ‘quacks’ charter (which allowed any man “to use cunning and herbs for the preparation of simples”) was signed onto the statute book by Henry the eighth in the mid 1550’s.

As with any civilisation which has passed it’s sell by date, there are a lot of excesses to cope with in daily life. The excesses of noise and pollution encountered en route to the excesses of wage slavery are built up during working life which usually brings forth, sooner or later, the excessive strains and stresses from within our delicate bodies. This will often lead to (as I found many times proceeding a tumultuous event in my life) any one of a myriad legal or illegal ways to alleviate the symptoms.

For many this will mean binge-drinking, binge-eating and binge-drugging alongside other forms of titillating consumption from which the body and mind will have to contend with whilst attempting to protect you from numerous pathogenic organisms. It is a fact of life that many life forms are here on you now, waiting to get a foothold in any system in your body when it becomes depleted.

‘Let food be your medicine and let medicine be your food’…

This age old saying still rings true today, nearly two thousand years since the Greeks were aware of the connection between what we eat and how healthy we feel. Yet somewhat ironically, the food we are sold today in many retailers now resembles poison more than medicine. For evidence of this, check out the processed food isles at you local shop and have a quick look at the ingredients list. It makes for scary reading.

The regular use of ‘novel’ foods including GMO alongside strange and potentially carcinogenic food additives such as nitrates and nitrites are testament to a food chain gone badly wrong….

It’s not beyond the realms of possibilities that the lack of state regulations concerning Frankenstein ingredients is a direct policy of culling as any wrought upon the human race. We only have to look at the exponential rise in obesity and other dietary conditions in this century alone to see that the ‘laissez-faire’ approach to market forces controlling our food chain has gone horribly, horribly wrong. Meanwhile, the government, supporting and supported by multi national food retailers allow the health time bomb to tick away…

Reclaim your health, reclaim your life. Read Herbs for Men!

No 11 in a series of 36…Herbs for the boys waking with self inflicted injuries on a Sunday…

Elder. Sambucus nigra. Caprifoliaceae family

This exceptionally well known plant has a vast treasure trove of folklore as well as much scientific evidence to back up traditional claims for its prolonged medicinal use.

Elder is a deciduous woodland edge and hedgerow species. This plant is native to northern Europe and North America and can happily grow on most types of soil. It is one of the many interesting shrubby/tree species (like hawthorn) which can grow in either form, with the site and climactic factors determining this a lot of the time. Elder can often grow into the stature of a small tree, reaching 25 foot or more, although commonly 15 foot or so, given limiting environmental factors. Ideally the plant likes a rich and damp soil in a sunny position

Classic identifying features are the numerous air holes (lenticils on the stem which allow for gaseous exchange, especially during the winter months. This is followed as the plant gets older with light-ish brown, sometimes deeply pronounced fissures on the mature bark, which, to the peripheral vision or unexperienced eye can look very similar to the exotic anarchistic butterfly plant, Buddleja.

The similarity ends there however, for the Elder leaves are different, being compound comprising seven leaflets, each being about 3-4 inches in length. The leaflets are situated in three opposite pairs with one terminal leaflet as well as being a much lighter green colour. The leaves are also slightly serrated.

The previous years growth carry the flowers, being much like the horse-chestnut in as much as they are already formed upon breaking bud in late winter / early spring, yet need a time of growth to reach maturity and pickability in late spring. These flowering corymbs are on terminal stems, and comprise numerous, small, five-petalled flowers of a creamy white colour. Within each flower are many stamens which are firstly yellow white in colour, turning brown when past their best. It is at the yellow stage when they are good for picking for pleasure, leisure or medicine. The flowers have a small amount of natural yeasts on them which assists fermentation as will be testified by any who make the amazing thirst quenching drink, elderflower champagne!

The flowers give rise to clusters of the familiar and distinct dark purple / almost black berries, which are no bigger than 10 ml in diameter. These are ripe in September and therefore allows the cultivator/hedgerow harvester the opportunity to make a second batch of drinks of the season. For this, I have much respect for this plant!

The smell of elder is distinct and repels many who come across it, being oft described as akin to cats piss. This smell emits from leaves and to a lesser degree, the ‘gone over’ flowers. The ripe flowers have a delicious sweet lemony aroma which to me is surpassed only by meadowsweet.

Parts used

Flowers, berries and inner bark.

The flowers are picked when in full bloom. The berries are picked when ripe in the autumn and the fresh inner bark is also used although harvested less often and is secured after peeling off the blackish outer coating.

Active constituents

Tannins, potassium, mucilage, phenols and flavonoids. The bark contains sambucine, an alkaloid-like substance. The berries, due to their pigmentation, are rich in anthocyanins, folic acid and vitamins A and C. They also contain flavonoids and cyanidin glucosides, which are poisonous in large doses.

Pharmacology and applications

Elderflowers and berries are expectorant and diaphoretic, thus help to reduce to fevers and to rid the body of toxins. Elderflowers are also anti viral and are useful in combating herpes simplex type 1 virus ( responsible for cold sores and influenza types A and B) Elderberry extract has been proven to inhibit various strains of flu, especially if taken early enough. Elder can significantly reduce recovery times from influenza.

It is a staple of a classic UK plant influenza recipe of Yarrow, Comfrey, Peppermint and Elder which will blitz your flu in around 24 hours. I know through experience following my friend dosing me up on it the last time I had flu back in 1999. All the other plants are described in this series.

Elderflower is also mildly diuretic and the berries mildly laxative. It is for this reason that many books say do not eat them! I feel it is wiser to say they are safe to eat but don’t eat too many. Grazing is good!

The plant has much folklore from thousands of years of use.

Elder is revered by druids and is one of the sacred seven herbs used by the magicians. Superstition still says do not cut them down or burn them. Many people in the UK had a tradition of tipping their hat whenever they were walking by an elderflower tree whilst the plant was immortalised by Judas of Iscariot who famously hung himself on an Elder tree following his grassing up of Jesus to the Romans for thirty pieces of silver.

The Greek physician Hippocrates reportedly declared this plant as one of his favourite medicines. It certainly is for one of the 20^th century’s most respected herbal practitioners and writers, Juliette de B. Levy. She notably calls it one of the greatest of all herbs, used by many peoples across the globe as a powerful yet gentle remedy for all.

… Meadowsweet Filipendula ulmaria (formerly Spirea ulmaria) Rosaceae family. AKA ‘Queen of the meadow’

This is another of the ancient sacred druid herbs. Meadowsweet can still easily be found freely populating damp meadows as well as alongside the banks of streams, rivers and canals.

It is a perennial member of the rose family, returning each year via it’s fibrous root crown. It displays typical family characteristics through the leaf veins as well as serrated leaf edges, This alongside the typical composition of a rose flower which commonly have five petals.

The leaves are almost fern-like upon initial springtime arousal from winter slumber, being easily identified as compound, in this instance comprising a number of opposite leaflets which are generally 2-3 inches in length, rising up the usually dark brown/red leaf ‘mid-rib’ or central stem. These end in a terminal leaflet usually made of three/five co-joined leaflets. The foliage is not unlike the leaves of a raspberry of blackberry, both in colour as well as in a similar, if modified form.

Flowering spikes will appear from late spring onwards. These can reach over 1.5 metres in height although around a metre or so is more common. The flowers themselves are individually unremarkable, but collectively appear as a frothy mass of creamy -white flowering sprays, which emit a very sweet scent when in prime condition. Apparently, the virgin queen Elizabeth was so fond of this herb that she insisted on it being strewn around the floors of her palace apartments. The plant is another with a history of being added to beer for flavour.

Parts used

Stems,leaves and flowers

Harvest. spring, summer. (Some authorities say the flowers have the largest concentrations of active constituents, whereas others make no mention of any disparity between the aerial parts.)

Active constituents

Bitter, Tannins, Flavonoids, essential oil largely made up of salicylates, phenolic glycosides, quercetin.

Actions

Anti-inflammatory, Diuretic, astringent,

Indications

Atonic and acid dyspepsia, gastritis, peptic ulceration

Dose

1:1 liquid extract in 25%alcohol…. 2-6ml per day

Dried herb……………………………2-6 gram per day

As with any dose of ground dried herb, the medicinal concentration is higher than for fresh leaves. Bearing this in mind, I usually stick by a rule of thumb that says maximum of two t-spoons of each dried herb within each remedy as a guidance on volume.

Meadowsweet is famed for the large concentrations of salicylates contained within its aerial parts. As you may be aware, this class of molecules were first extracted from willow bark and meadowsweet in the 19^th century. At this time, Meadowsweet had its old latin name of Spirea ulmaria from which the pharmaceutical drug Aspirin got its name.

Unlike the chemical drug, Meadowsweet does not display anti-platelet activity

(prevention of blood clotting) and furthermore actively repairs the cells and membranes of the stomach lining whereas aspirin will irritate eventually leading to ulceration with even short term regular use. It is for this reason that Meadowsweet is prized for it acts on the Gastro Intestinal Tract (GIT) in a much more holistic fashion. The tannins and their general astringency reduces excess acid production in the stomach and the anti-inflammatory action of the salicylates reduces pain by reducing inflammation.

It cannot be over-stressed how much more beneficial this plant is compared to the range of aspirin derivative drugs now on the market, both prescription and over the counter remedies. The popularity of the range of non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory drugs(NSAID) which include ibuprofen et al does not detract from the damage they will inflict on our bodies whilst purporting to be effective remedies. In short, the advice from this author would be to give them up unless it is absolutely necessary to embrace the final, nuclear war style solution.

It is worth crushing the leaves of this plant in early to mid spring when still relatively fresh and young to experience the smell that emanates from the plant. It can only be described as a smell similar to that of deep heat. This may well be the salicylates.

The author can testify to the remarkable healing powers of this plant, especially its abilities to heal and repair the stomach wall membranes. The over production of stomach acid is one of the ways our body will try and repair itself due to a) excessive consumption of harmful foods and beverages such as curries, alcohol and caffeine and b) stress. Many typically experience acid reflux as a ‘heart burn’ sensation and the unpleasant passage of stomach acid back up the oesophagus. This is one of the first signs of ulceration and needs immediate treatment in order to prevent the condition becoming more serious. It is necessary as with any course of herbal remedies to desist from taking the harmful food!

Meadowsweet is also utilised in the treatment of both rheumatic and arthritic pain. The combination of diuretic and anti-inflammatory actions seem can assist the joints where it is common for fluid build up to aggravate already painful bones. It must be pointed out however, that another plant containing the salicylate family of compounds, ‘Wintergreen’ is recommended more highly as an ointment. This said, the queen of the meadow is a more widespread plant in the Uk.

As with all plants containing the salicylates, Meadowsweet acts

on the physiology through its abilities to gently suppress the C.N.S as well as having a febrifuge action

(combats fevers). The salicylates increase peripheral blood flow whilst similarly increasing sweating (diaphoretic) through its direct action on the thermogenic section of the hypothalamus gland in the brain.

Traditonally the plant has been used as a diuretic and for conditions of the urinary tract.- often being recommended for overweight people and those suffering from bloating due to water retention. The plant is also recommended as a treatment for gout and headaches.

Melissa officinalis : Labiatea family

Another of the mint family, this plant is known as a garden escapee more than a wild plant. Lemon balm is thought to have originated in northern africa or the soputhern tip of europe, around the hot bed of aromatic plant origin…the mediterranean sea. It’s inclusion in a publication about herbal medicines is tenuously justified because of its long standing reputation as a scholars herb. This reputation goes back to at least the 13th century, when only boys could go to university!! The author took it regularly during recent academic studies and can verify its power as a calming and concentrating plant.

This annual superficially looks like a mint, to which it is not too distantly related, but has more rounded (broadly ovate) and generally smaller  leaves which usually reach approx 2-3 inches in length. These arise opposite each other on square stems. Melissa leaves are strongly aromatic with a distinctive ‘lemon’ scent.

The plant will reach up to 2.5 feet when in flower. The small flowers are hermaphrodite, mostly white yet sometimes dappled pink within the petals inner sanctum. They are two-lipped and grouped in loose whorls around the main flowering stem, although branching usually occurs. Flowering will usually occur from June to September and the plant will happily and freely self-seed. Melissa is well known for being an invasive plant, taking over patches of a garden via its network of vigorous underground creeping stems and for this reason i recommend it being grown in containers to restrict this habit. If your garden is big enough then fair enough, let it run riot, but smaller gardens need more managing and well, yes, coercion !

Whatever the size of the garden or container, Lemon balm can take more watering than many of its relatives. It is happy in most soils but as is common with many of the mint family, it prefers a sandy or free draing soil with a pH close to 7.0 (neutral). .The plant is happy in full sun, although partial shade provides an equally good habitat. The woodland edge is therefore a good placement for this plant in a forest garden

Parts used.

The herb above ground, shortly before flowering is best. The leaves should be dried briskly but gently in the shade.

Constituents

A volatile oil highly prized by aromatherapists because of the difficulty extracting it from the plant. This contians monoterpenes such as citronellol, citral, geraniol, as well as bitter extracts and tannins. Dosage is typically around 1-4 grams fresh tincture per day of a 1:1 extract in 40% alcohol.

The monoterpenes have calming effects on the central nervous system. All have noticable and useful anti-septic properties, as well as significant anti-spasmodic properties. In fact, the  spasmolytic action is  notable at concentrations as low as would be used with the opiate papaverine.

The plant has long been esteemed for its psychological autonomic responses which have been backed up by clinical tests in Germany, the hub of modern European herbal medicine. On the basis of these tests, lemon balm has been verified in claims to help nervous excitability, restlessnes, headaches, and palpitations. The herb has many of the properties of chamomile, and is considered by Simon Mills to be one of the best C.N.S relaxants. It is also an excellent diaphoretic and preipheral vasodilator, usefully employed to manage fevers with a tension component. It is a safe an excellent childrens remedy

No.8 Achillia millefolium Yarrow. Asteracea family

This is a perennial plant steeped in history. Yarrow is widely spread and naturalised around the world, being instantly recognisable for the dark green patches of small feathery leaves, which, in a broken patchwork kind of way, carpet the ground on a lawn in a drought. It colonises waysides, pastures, grassy banks, hedgerows, and waste places

This plant was apparently held in much esteem thousands of years ago, according to evidence of plant remains discovered in a Neolithic grave in ancient Iraq. The plant was also notably and mythically used by the god Achilles on the battlefield in ancient Greece as a blood staunching vulnerary herb of great repute. This is due to its bitter astringent qualitie.

Fashions and wealth bring numerous changes to our landscape, as the treatment of yarrow will testify to. Nowadays, the plant is generally thought of no more than as a weed to get rid of in the garden, unless growing a cultivated variety in which case you will have to pay money for the pleasure of seeing its the little umbel style mats of numerous flowers. In the wild medicinal plants, these are mostly white and often subtley differing shades of pink floral clusters.

It thrives in many conditions in many nations, and as it puts up with substantial amounts of drought without losing its fresh green look of vitality, Yarrow rightly retains its place in the medicine cabinet of the traveller, as well as being a favourite of numerous herbalists. It is embraced in the kitchen of the adventurous because the younger leaves are palatable in a salad with dressing. For other more ornamentally inclined gardeners, Yarrow (its showy pink cousins anyway) merit inclusion in a formal garden.

As mentioned by the latin name ‘millefolium’, the leaf is a feathery multi-cut-affair, although there are not a thousand leaves! These extend 5-15cm in length, being lanceolate in shape and bi / tri-pinnate. The basal leaves are long and have petioles, the upper short and sessile. They arise forming a rosette from late march, originating from underground rhizomes. Flowering occurs usually in late summer.

During July and August, the flowers are borne on a dense terminal corymb resembling an umbel. The individual flowerheads are numerous and creamy white with a sometimes pink flowering version not uncommon. There are five-six florets in each headThese will grow up to 50cm on woolly furrowed stems. The flowers have a characteristic odour and taste bitter. The fruit are small achenes, 2mm long.

Parts used

The herb while flowering, some say just the flowers. Harvesting therefore from June through October. The plant needs drying in gentle heat, or in cold circulating air.

Constituents

Vol oil: containing cineol, pinnene, azulene, eugenol, thujone, camphor. Bitters, cyanogenic glycosides, salicylic acid, asparagin, Tannins, isovalerianic acid

Pharmacology

Cineole has antiseptic qualities, azulene reduces inflammation and stimulates formulation of granulation tissue (for wound healing) Bitter action stimulates digestion, tannins have an astringent effect on exterior and interior surfaces of the body. This boys, means that Yarrow is good for the possible ulceration that alcohol or caffeine coupled with your rich diet is bringing on

Taken internally Yarrow can reach any place throughout your Gastro-intestinal-tract. Nice work. The salicylates are general anti-inflammatory’s as well as helping the stomach wall repair itself.

Yarrow is also diuretic, expectorant and a digestive stimulant which is  explainable by essential oil content. The isovalerianic acid and cyanogenic glycosides have sedative actions. Asparagin is a potent diuretic. As with any member of the Asteracea family, there is a slight risk of possible phytosensitivity for some individuals especially with dermatological problems.

This plant has restrictions on availability in USA, due to its thujone content in some of its polyploid specimens. Yarrow is a one of many different plant species which exhibit the characteristic of specimens with more than the commonly found two sets of chromosomes, or diploid. Thujone, as will be discussed in the section on Artemisia species, is a potentially toxic monoterpene compound found within essential oils in a range of plants, including Sages as well as many others. Due to Yarrow’s propensity to polyploid variation in chemical profile, this seems a little harsh. 

Yarrow has been traditionally employed as a wound herb, digestive aid and bile stimulant, as well as finding much use as an anti-spasmodic. It has reported use for nervous dyspepsia, palpitations, painful periods and convulsions. The herb is much used as a diaphoretic in cases of fevers, whilst also being of use as a peripheral vasodilator. The plant exhibits many uses akin to a family relative, chamomile. Yarrow is, however, more widespread throughout the UK being a successful coloniser of waste ground, both in rural and country settings as well as being more tolerant of adverse conditions and drought.

The plant is simple to use like many others in as much it needs only to be collected when in flower, using leaf and flower is fine. This is infused in  water just boiled. Remember though, that boiling water and temperatures above 40°C will rapidly volatise and evaporate the 10 carbon mono-terpenes, which constitute a large part of the essential oil within plant matter. This is why a lid must be placed onto any tea-cup or other receptacle that you infuse in and decoct into. Remember also, that fresh material can be up to 90% water and more than you think of fresh material is required for a medicinal dose when using medicine herbs in this way.

No 7 Hops…Humulus Lupus Cannabacea family

Almost every man knows about this herb, if he has ever had the pleasure of consuming beer. Indeed, some of them, sometimes suffer the classic brewers droop, which points to its superb powers as a sedative.

Hops was classified with Cannabis in a family of its own although recent advances in D.N.A technology means that many plants are being reclassified by taxonomists and they may well end up back in with the stinging nettle family.

The plant loves riversides, especially clambering over cracked willow as is evident on the bank of the Isis in Oxfordshire. This habit earned it the common name of willow wolves foot. The lupus part of its name equates to wolves, reinforcing the fact that the scientific names of plants are worth discovering and reading up on.

The plant is a herbaceous perennial, growing upto and beyond 18 foot(6m). The stems twist clockwise giving rise at intervals to opposite leaves, which are broadly ovate though more or less cordate at the base. The leaves are deeply lobed(3-5 each leaf) sharply toothed, being hairy and rough on the surface. Smaller leaves are not lobed. The plant is dioecious (flowers are single sex on different specimens).

Male flowers grow in loose panicles from each leaf axis in the upper leaves, being around 5cm across and yellow-green in colour. Female flowers resemble, fat closely stacked catkins, made up of bracts, with the flower itself tucked into the bract axils. After fertilisation the flower grows three fold, up to 8cm long, changing colour from a yellow-green to yellow-brown, then to brown. Flowers taste bitter, distinctly aromatic with a heavy scent subtly reminiscent of beer.

The plant lives happily in most situations inn the south of the country, and locally in preferable microclimates further up north. Hops also grows freely where it is thought to originate, in Asia and Europe.

Parts used
The flower ‘strobiles’ being harvested from August –October depending on site and aspect. They require careful thorough drying because the scent will then improve. A volatile component ‘lupulin’ found within the flower is very prone to oxidation and therefore the plant does not store for long and should be replaced each year.

Constituents
Volatile oil inc: sesquiterpenes, such as humulene, geraniol, linalool, myricin, luparol, luparenol, valerianic acid, humulon, lupulon, bitter resin-lupulin, condensed tannins, asparagin, trimethylamine, choline and oestrogenic substances.
Pharmacology
Sedative properties come from valerianic acid and lupulin. This latter compound is anti-septic, affecting gram positive bacteria. Hops has reported anti-histamine and anti-oxytocic properties which lends to its use as a beneficial herb for the other lot, y’know, girls.

The herb commonly is employed as part of a night time sleep easy sedative combo with other similar plants such as Valeriana officinalis, Lactuca virosa, Tillia europea and Passiflora incanata.

One huge improvement would come about in society, in the authors view, if this plant was used mainly as a herbal sedative, without the alcohol. So come on boys, do yourself and your long suffering friends a favour and start consuming the medicine, not the poison. It does’nt turn you into a wanker after drinking a few cups either!

No. 6 Lime Flowers Tillia cordata/platyphyllus  Tilliacea family.
Aka Linden tree

This is one of the few temperate zone examples of a mostly tropical family. The Lime tree neither smells of nor produces lime flavoured fruit, another horticultural plant name blind alley. Once again this is a plant that is easily found, harvested and used to assist the overstressed male in his search for an instant drinkable chill out following a hard days work, or play! This is one of nature’s strongest tranquillisers.

Research has found that Tillia species contain compounds, such as gamma-amino-butyric-acid, that are found also in the brain (where they are messenger molecules). These work on the benzodiazepene receptors in the brain, as does Valeriana officinalis, enabling the dampening down of the brain’s messaging ‘chatter’, so constant in our minds in western society. This results in an increased state of relaxation via sedation of the specifc area of the brain that needs to quieten down. It is obvious that if the brain relaxes, then so do you

This tree is renowned for both the heady late spring scent and its graceful silhouette created in the winter, at a time when all trees bear their souls. The trademark of the Lime are the regularly almost opposite dark coloured branches arching up and outwards like shoulders and arms.

Tillia species have found a home all over the UK except in the north of Scotland. They can happily live on their own as seen by the number of specimens planted in parks, as well as in old thickets and hedges and in woodland throughout a number of broadleaved habitats.

The bark of mature trees takes on a close patterned dark grey fissure in elongated narrow tapered ridges. The brown red stems of last year’s growth are home to alternate red oval buds. Buds break by May into broadly ovate leaves, dark green above, with lighter undersides. The leaves carry sharp-toothed-margins and have acuminate leaf tips whilst cordate at the base. A long petiole connects leaf to branch.

There are leaf size differences as well as overall plant size differences between the species. However, the medicinal flowers are collected from all species mentioned. These arrive in full display, uncannily for a plant that has esteemed powers over the domain of mercury and the mind, at a time of year when the astronomical sun is moving through the constellation of Gemini. In other words they bloom during the month of June.

The exquisitely scented flowers grow in small clusters of four to ten flowers. These cymes are pendulous, yellow / white and consist of 5 sepals and petals with many prominent stamens. The long stalks originate from the centre of large pale green bracts with resulting pale yellow green fruits reaching no more than 10 mm across

Parts Used
The flowers with bracts. These are harvested during flowering.

Preparation
Flowers should be dried quickly and carefully as to avoid exceeding 27°C. Tinctures are commonly 1:5 in 25% alcohol

Constituents
Volatile oil inc Farnesol, phenolic acids, proanthocyanadins, condensed tannins, flavonoids, mucilage, sapponins( same one here as in horse chestnut), oestrogenic substances

Action
Peripheral vasodilator, diaphoretic, relaxant, diuretic,

Applications,
This plant is widely used throughout Europe for its gentle sedative action, valuable to induce a restful sleep, relaxing a tense nervous system and musculature. Lime has been employed usefully to treat feverish colds and as an anti-catarrhal remedy used in respiratory infections. German physicians prescribe it specifically to children for influenza. It can also help with arteriosclerosis.

No 5 Chamomile….Matricaria recutita Asteracea family

This species (German chamomile) is an annual, with a distinctive growth form and smell. It is a botanically and pharmacologically distinct species to Chamaemelum nobile (roman chamomile) although there is sufficient pharmacological ‘overlap’ for the two species to be used interchangeably, justifying, according to Simon Mills the esteemed herbal medicine scientist, for their overlap in clinical use.

The plant has thin and wispy, bi or tri-pinnate leaves and seldom reaches above 50cm when in flower. The flowering stalks are terminal bearing their corolla’s on peduncles, revealing the distinctive small cones of composite flowers. They comprise, white ligulate ray florets surrounding yellow tubular florets. The ray florets are often characteristically bent downwards, and are often as not lost on drying. These flowers taste bitter and are distinctly aromatic, imparting an odour instantly recognised by many.

This distinctly (to my pallet, pleasant) aroma of chamomile is in contrast to its close relative, ‘stinking mayweed’ (another Matricaria species) which seems to be beloved by strange hippy types at festivals who then proceed to make a horrible cup of tea. The mayweed is definitely more common of the two species and care is needed to correctly identify, usually by differences in the flower.

Chamomile is found in many areas in the south of the UK, being a popular garden escapee, as well as sometimes-cultivated crop. It likes edges of cultivated fields, waysides and many other places throughout southern England and Europe.

Parts used
The flowers, preferably just before opening. Commonly an infusion is made, simply by steeping the herb with just-past-boiling water.

Constituents
A volatile oil, including bisabolol, proazulenes, flavonoids, glycoside, coumarin, tannins. Valerianic acid, spiroether.

Pharmacology
The azulenes and bisabolol are anti-inflammatory and anti-spasmodic, reducing histamine-induced reactions such as anaphylaxsis, and hay-fever, allergic asthma and eczema, also being shown to hasten healing of peptic ulcers. Flavonoids are anti-spasmodic. Valerianic acid is sedative whilst spiroether is a stronger anti-spasmodic than papaverine. The whole plant is shown to be anti-spasmodic in Labaoratory tests, inhibiting contractions provoked by histamine. They are also anti-inflammatory.

Applications
Include general relaxant, uterine relaxant, anti-inflammatory, peripheral vasodilator and bitter. There are strong traditional uses of the two plants we sometimes mistakenly think of as one. For centuries used to treat convulsions, nervous insomnia, and nervous tension. This is an excellent remedy to use on offspring, being gentle and effective.

In these 21st century days of fast food and stress the plant could be employed to great effect on those people who simply need to relax and chill out. Chamomile is also perfect for those people who have either imbibed too much alcohol or had one too many curries. As this is a male dominated activity a lot of the time, the plant warrants inclusion in a booklet designed for the use of men

In the garden it has a reputation of being a companion plant, of benefit to others wherever it grows. Certainly, most aromatic herbs have beneficial effects within the garden eco-system, either from their abilities to fend of pests or by root exudates, which can exert beneficial or harmful effects on neighbouring plants.

Garlic: Allium sativum Lilliacea family

Garlic is one of the world’s most familiar plant medicines, familiar to most people due to its distinctive appearance and pungent smell, renowned for its culinary use throughout the planet.

Botany
The plant is one of the huge Lilly family members, with botanists believing it to have originated in Asia. Garlic is a biennial, taking two years to complete it’s life cycle and is usually propagated from the individual cloves of the bulbs.

It is a monocotyledon, having only one seed leaf, like onions and grasses. The leaves are thin lanceolate blades, of a dark green hue, although not as dark as leeks, their cousin. The leaves are characterised by their parallel veins running up the length of the leaf either side of its mid rib vein. The plant can grow up to 18 inches(45cm) whilst during flowering, the spike can reach a further foot(30cm).

Growing it
Garlic is very easy to grow. The plant loves moisture, although hates being waterlogged. It prefers a rich sandy loam, requiring free draining soil wherever it finds itself. As for soil acidity, slightly under neutral pH (around 6.5) will prove ok. If cloves are planted in the autumn they will usually do a little better than cloves planted in the spring. This is because the plant needs to have felt a winter. It is possible to confuse the plant by placing February bought bulbs in the fridge at less than 5C for a week or two before planting out, yet the bulbs will probably be smaller than autumn planted ones.

Medicinal use

Garlic has been used as a medicine for thousands of years, and has built a reputation for killing vampires. I believe this is because of its proven abilities to kill bacteria, viruses and fungus. It can also kill potential love with the ladies if your beau does not like the smell !

Parts used

The individual cloves; raw is best, as it maintains all the potency, which rapidly diminishes with cooking.

Harvest
When the leaves turn yellow around mid – late July, depending on your region. The whole bulbs are then lifted and dried to allow the outer skin to harden before being stored

Constituents
Among the literally thousands of compounds within garlic, is a volatile oil, containing alliin, which after crushing or chewing is enzymatically converted to alliciin. Germanium is present, as are substantial amounts of mucilage.

Actions

Antibacterial, antiseptic, antifungal, antiviral, warming expectorant, due in part to the mucilage, reduces platelet clotting, anthelmintic, hypocholerestolaemic, hypolipidaemic, vasodilatory and more…do your own research!

Applications
As a fiery herb under the dominion of mars (according to Nicholas Culpeper) it is no great surprise that this plant is renowned for expelling endoparasites from the body. Check out the glyph of mars and you see the arrow leaving the circle. There you go.

This plant has a traditional use as an expectorant to help clear coughs and colds. This is due to the passage of the volatile oil components along and through the lungs where it loosens mucus and promotes its leaving via the mucociliatory escalator. It has been used with great effect for treatment of atherosclerosis(fatty deposits clogging up the arteries) through the reduction of fibrinogen in blood. As a vasodilator it reduces blood pressure. It is also used in dietary control of diabetes and hypoglycaemia because of resultant improvement in pancreatic abilities to produce insulin and glucagons.

In short, this is one of the most treasured and valuable herbs to have in your bathroom, sorry kitchen cupboard. As said before, the plant can kill most pathogenic organisms (in fact it has been placed in the Control Of Substances Hazardous to Health handbook for people in the catering trade, as it is pretty corrosive in large doses)

Recent research from the University of East London has shown it substantially destroys the antibiotic resistant MRSA. This makes me wonder whether it is purely the smell that puts people off using it. Sod ‘em, I love it. Top herb!

It secures a place in a publication about herbs for men, not just because vampires were traditionally cast as men, but because lets face it ladies, many of the best chefs are blokes!

Cratageus oxycantha/monogyna   Rosacea family

This tree is a truly remarkable species, common as you like, up and down the UK.

It is a common hedge plant and you can find it at the edges of woodlands, even as little groves of its own in some districts as well as it being a tree happy on its own in a myriad random places.

There are far to numerous hawthorns to mention ( more thn 200 speices plus cultivars and hybrids a-plenty, so im sticking to the two most common species we are likey to find in the wild, and it is pleasing to know the medicinal benefits are very similar and we can use either one interchangably.

The ‘Mayflower’ as they are commonly known by this author is a beautiful shrubby tree crossover, sometimes sprouting numerous suckers and sometimes growing up a standard single trunk. 

It has terminal branches decorated with sharp inch long thorns with  reasonably small leaves which are generally lobed into three distinct sections. (leaf lobe depth being one of the defining characteristics when it comes to positively identifying species, another being the number of seeds within the ‘haws’…monogyna therefore meaning one ovary, one seed)

The leaves breaking out are one of the first woodland species to herald the returning spring, breaking bud generally around the end of February, and within a couple of months,  swelling flower buds soon burst into spectacular display, revealing the common white flowers, beloved of Beltane lovers everywhere.

The flowers comprise of five petals ( as most of the rose family do) with numerous stamens producing a gorgeous pink inner flush to the corolla although many parks throughout the land have chosen a red flower cultivar which you may have seen, which may explain its appearance in the wild every now and again.

As apparant from its common name aforementioned, this plant is full in flower at end of April/beginning of May.

At this time of year the flowers and leaves will yield one of the most potent heart medicines you can get….anti-oxidants in the form of Oligomeric proanthocyanidans! These anti-oxidants are being saluted by the Daily mail as amazing anti-aging, pro-good health compounds for which you could pay £50 for a few grams of exotic berries shipped from halfway arounfd the world.

No need my friends, for we have the superfoods on our doorstep, its just that…surprise surprise, hawthorns arent being advertised because they are free. There is probably no better heart tonic in the land. Just the thing that stressed out 21st century males need i reckon. Anything is better than the array of mess-you-up-and-keep-you-hooked-statin drugs and beta-blockers so loved by the doctors in cahoots with pharmaceutical companies

But better than this is the fact thet come the autumn and early winter, we can go back to the same trees we visited for leaves and flowers early in the season and then harvest the berries which are EVEN MORE rammed with the Oligomeric pro-anthocyanidans contained within the pigments found in the haws.

Ok, the common or garden haws are not superbly tasting off the hedgerow plants, due to their small size and tough living conditions, but they are more than palatable raw, yet even better processed into a fruit leather Ray Mears stylee. With this process,  aonce mealy and unsweet berry takes on an amazing sweetness due to its internal acids conversion to sugars within the oxidised fruit.

Medicinal constituents include:

Flavonoid glycosides inncluding rutin & quercitrin. Sapponins, coumarin, cyanogenic glycosides, trimethylamine, condensed tannins.

Pharmacology:

The flavonoid fraction is vaso-dilatory as also is condensed tannins. They not only dilate the peripheral circulation significantly but have a specific action on the coronary circulation.

There are numerous hawthorn species which have beautiful tastin berries. In University parks Oxford, there are at least a dozen species which have orange, scarlet, brown and soft red haws, all exhibiting a diverse array of flavours ranging from peach to apple and orange scents. These bigger fruiting varieties are available from suppliers such as the Agro-forestry research trust in Dartington, Devon.