Unit 9: Other lectures not found in decided book
762
Lecture 2+3 - Medicinal herbs
The medicinal herbs are the old ways of treating illnesses.
Many of today drugs and medicines were originally
derived from natural ingredients, combination of plants
and other items found in nature. Those herbs used for
curing ailments, skin remedies and have found wide
application in health. These medical herbs have
immediate effects so they are supposed to be used with
greater knowledge for specific conditions and usually for
a certain fixed period of time.
Natural herbs information included:
Names-English name, Latin name, German name, French
name, Family, local name with synonyms, and some
more….
The useable part of the medicinal plant- roots, leaves,
stem bark, flower, fruit etc.
The different forms in which the herb can be used-crude
powder, cold infusion, decoction, whole herb extract,
aqueous extract, organic compound based extracts, tea,
balm, ointment etc.
The dosage of the different forms and different parts-
crude powder, the ration in tinctures, infusion, decoction,
extracts etc.
The timing of dosage, a cycling of the dosage etc.
The relative contraindications-when the herb should not
be used.
The constituents or chemical composition-the alkaloids,
the glycoside, the tannin, the oils, the mineral, the active
principle etc.
Practical applications:
1) Gastrointestinal and metabolic disease:
Herbal medicine is indicated in a wide range of
gastrointestinal and metabolic diseases. In certain
countries herbal medicines are either the drugs of choice
in these indications, or they represent a true alternative to
the synthetic drugs used in the same indication.
Mouth and throat disease:
Mouthwashes and gargles
are still the most effective and
reliable way to treat various diseases of the mouth and
pharynx. Oral gargles are useful in inflammations ranging
from peritonsillar abscess, stomatites, and gingivitis to
acute and chronic pharangitis. Herbal mouthwashes
cleanse the mouth due to the action like for e.g
glycosides, volatile oils, and tannins contained in the
herbs.
The herbs used in mouth washes are divided into four
categories according to their primary actions, namely
demulcent, topical antiphlogistic, astringent and tonic.
Demulcents
: These are used to reduce irritation caused
by acute inflammation, particularly acute stomatitis as
well as pharyngitis in conjunction with dry cough and
difficulty in swallowing. The primary herbal demulcents
are:
Mallow leaves
(Malvae folium)
Sage leaves
(Salviae folium)
Marschmallow
root (Althaeae radix)
The patient should gargle or rinse the mouth several times
a day using a tea infusion prepared from one or more of
these herbs.
Topical antiphlogestics
:
Chamomile
is the primary
topical antiphlogestics agent. Fresh tea can be prepared
using chamomile flowers or a commercial chamomile
extract: 10 drops of fluid extract are added to a glass of
water. Other preparation:
Extract sage leaves fluid 20 drops are added to a glass of
water.
The only drawback is that patient must gargle every 30
minutes for as long as deep as possible, and the gargle
solution must be as hot as possible.
Astringents:
astringents are used for treatment of
subacute and chronic conditions for example, for
persistent stomatitis and gingivitis as well as for chronic
pharyngitis and persistent smoker catarrh.
Fresh gargle solution can be prepared by boiling two to
three tablespoons of
Tormentil rootstock
in a litter of
water. The patient should gargle or rinse the mouth and
throat with this solution several times a day.
Tonics
: gargles containing
bitter herbs
are of therapeutic
value in chronic inflammatory diseases of chronic
stomatitis, atrophic glossitis and chronic pharyngitis.
They improve the reactivity of mucosa and stimulate the
salivary and mucous glands. Decoction are prepared using
one to two teaspoons of the following herbs per liter of
water:
Centaury herb, Rabbit-foot leaf & gentian root
.
Unit 9: Other lectures not found in decided book
762
Stomach disease:
Acute: stomach disorders have a wide spectrum of
causes, ranging from simple overloading of the stomach
(overeating) to all types of nausea and vomiting, and
acute gastritis. The number of medicinal plants indicated
for treatment of acute, noninfectious gastric diseases.
Chamomile, peppermint, and balm
are primary herbal
drugs for these indications, they have antiphlogestics,
spasmolytic and carminative. The bacteriostatic and
fungistatic effects of chamomile are also well
documented.
Chronic: patients with lack of appetite, heartburn,
nausea, vomiting and dyspepsia were formerly diagnosed
as having chronic gastritis if the radiographic examination
revealed bulges in the gastric mucosa, appearance of the
greater curvature, and other such changes. The three
plants most commonly used:
Angelica, blessed thistle and calamus
(are called
aromatic bitters because they contain volatile oils).
Ginger:
clinical studies have shown that medicinal
ginger has antiemetic properties that have a positive
effect on motion sickness.
Gastric and duodenal ulcers:
Licorice
: the licorice root is the most important indication
for ulcers of stomach and duodenum. Due to its
demulcent action, licorice root is naturally a useful
remedy for all conditions that attack the mucosal lining of
the stomach and ultimately result in gastritis or irritable
stomach.
Belladonna
: Belladonna, or deadly nightshade, is widely
distributed plant. The leaves and roots are used for
medicinal purposes. Belladonna alkaloids are cholinergic
agents that inhibit neuromuscular transmission by
competing with acetylcholine at the receptor.
Belladonna extract from leaves and roots: 0.15g.
equivalent to 2.2mg total alkaloid content. Calculated as a
percentage of hyoscyamine content.
Carminatives:
After carminative administration, the gas and fluids are
thereby ejected from the stomach. The effect persists for
about 5 minutes. Herbs as
Caraway, fennel, anise have good carminative effects.
Diarrhea:
Diarrhea is a symptom associated with a wide range of
diseases. It is the presenting symptom of various bacterial
infections, such as salmonellosis, shigellosis and viral
enteritis. Herbal remedies as:
Tormentil
: the high tannin content lends the tormentil
rootstock astringent properties. Tormentil rhizome can be
used in all types of diarrheathat do not required antibiotic.
There are different preparations of tormentil as tormentil
tea, tormentil tincture, tormentil decoction
Other plants as
bilberry, black currant, blackberry
and opium poppy
(contain not less than 1% morphine).
Constipation:
Antiabsorptive herbal remedies as
senna, rhubarb and
frangula bark.
Bulk laxatives as
flax, ispaghula
Diabetes mellitus:
Herbal drugs cannot replace insulin or oral antidiabetics.
The native plants that are most commonly used for
treatment of diabetes are
bilberry leaf, kidney beanpods,
golden cinquefoil and the whole herb & seed of goats rue
Preparation: The best results obtain as antidiabitic using
kidney bean pods. Place a handful of the herb in ½ liter of
water, bring to a boil and let simmer until reduced by half.
Divided into two doses, one to be taken in the morning
and the other in the evening. The constituents of the
plants are not known. It is assumed that they stimulate
endogenous production in the pancreas, much in the same
way as oral antidiabetics.
Heart failure:
The management of heart failure is by digitalis
preparation. These digitalis derived from the plant
species.
Hawthorn
is the most commonly used herbal
drug for treating heart failure. Other herb:
Squill
: it has effects that are similar to those of digitalis,
but weaker. The herb has a significant diuretic effect that
distinguishes it from other glycoside-containing plants.
Spring Adonis: it contains 0.2-0.8% cardenolide cardiac
glycosides drugs mainly cymarin and adonitoxin.
Cymarin is now considered to be primarily responsible for
the pharmacological action of the drug.
Unit 9: Other lectures not found in decided book
762
2) Peripheral and cerebral vessels
The peripheral and cerebral vessels diseases
corresponding to generalized arteriosclerosis which is a
large group of disease in the civilized world, associated
with excessive tobacco use. Preventive treatment with
herbal drugs can be extremely useful.
Garlic
: it has an ancient tradition as a medicinal herb and
is used in large quantities today. It has four main actions
that are of therapeutic inters: antimicrobial, antilipemic,
fibrinolytic and antiplatelet.
Onion
: like garlic, the common onion also has an effect
on blood lipid levels. The only scientific proof of this
claim was obtained in research on the freshly expressed
juice (daily dose corresponding that of 50g of raw
onions). Compared to garlic the spicy nature of onion is
more predominant.
Hypertension:
Rauwolfia
: reserpine and other alkaloids in rauwolfia
root exert sympatholytic action via depletion of
catecholamine and inhibition of norepinphrine uptake into
the vesicle of the nor-adrenergic endings. As a result, the
drug has antihypertensive and sedative properties. Other
antihypertensive plants: garlic and rhododendron.
Respiratory disease
Herbal remedies play a very important role in the
treatment of respiratory diseases.
The
marshmallow
is a typical demulcent cough remedy.
The drug is exclusively derived from the root and leaves
of cultivated marshmallow plants. The leaves are most
commonly used, although they are not as potent as the
root, the drug contains at least 35% mucilage, 38%starch,
10% pectin and 10% cane sugar.
Preparation: because it contains both mucilage and
starch, marshmallow must be prepared cold to ensure that
the mucilage and not the starch is extracted (the starch
does not dissolve in cold water),
Iceland Moss:
in addition to large quantities of mucilage,
it also contains iodides and bromides, it can therefore be
recommended as an antitussive for treatment of cough,
Ipecac
is a typical expectorant. Expectorants are cough
remedies that dissolve thick sputum and increase the flow
of mucosal fluids. The principles mainly responsible for
medicinal action of ipecac alkaloids (emetine and
cephadine).
High doses (o.5-2g) of the alkaloids in ipecac root have
an low doses (o.4mg emetine = 20mg root powder)
stimulate the gastric mucosa, leading to reflex stimulation
of bronchial secretion. A loss of effect occurs due to
oxidation of the alkaloids.
Thyme
can help in all cases where coughing occurs in
conjugation with spasmodic symptoms. There is no need
to be afraid of administering high doses (high dose
administration is often required to achieve the desired
therapeutic results). It does not matter whether the cough
is acute or chronic in nature. Its spasmolysant effect has
made thyme a preferred remedy for whooping cough.
Patients with emphysema and asthma will appreciate the
spasmolytic properties of thyme, even if it is only used as
an adjuvant to another form of treatment.
The most commonly used cough remedies with sedative
effects are
opium
. Codeine is the drug isolated from it.
Opium is of course derived from the milky juice of the
immature capsules of the opium poppy.
External uses (inhalation, chest ointments) for cough:
the herbal drugs for treatment of respiratory tract diseases
and their most common symptom, cough , are generally
administered internally. The vapors of selected drugs can
also be administered by inhalation, a popular method of
therapy.
Chamomile
infusions are most commonly used
for inhalation. The infusion is prepared by placing a
handful of chamomile flowers in a pot and pouring
boiling water onto them. The patient should breathe in the
vapors, there using a towel draped over the head and
around the pot. It may also be helpful to add other herbs
to enhance the effects of the infusion. Thyme is a good
choice.
Eucalyptus oil
is the essential oil obtained from the fresh
leaves of the Eucalyptus tree. Inhalation with pure
essential oil is popular. Five drops of the essential oil are
added to 10-20 ml of distilled water in a conventional
inhaler. The vapors should be inhaled while keeping
respiration slow and uniform.
Unit 9: Other lectures not found in decided book
722
Bronchial asthma
Bronchial asthma does not present a uniform disease
picture. Physicians can attest to the fact that the features
of disease vary in each individual asthma patient.
Bronchial asthma is now treated using established
synthetic drugs, such as topical glucocorticoids, beta-
sympathomimetic and theophylline derivatives. In light of
the disease picture and the established of treatment, which
are mainly only symptomatic in nature, can one assume
that it is possible to wisely utilize herbal drugs for
treatment of bronchial asthma?
Recent studies by Dorsch et al. (1987) show that freshly
prepared lyophilized
onion
extracts contain a principle
that can be classified as antiasthmatic, in folic medicine,
fresh onion juice was used as a remedy for cough,
bronchitis, and even asthma.
Cold and influenza
Diseases such as the common cold, influenza, and
laryngitis are usually virally induced. To use antibiotics or
chemotherapeutic agents in these cases would not make
any sense. The common practice of treating these diseases
with antipyretic substances is also and could lead to
unnecessary complication. The natural defense system
plays a major role in this process.
For treatment of cold and flu. The dried leaves of the
pilocarpus jaborandi
should be used instead of pure
pilocarpine. We recommend the administration of
jaborandi tea, which is made by pouring one cup of hot
water onto one teaspoonful of the drug and straining after
5-10 minutes. The patient should drink one to two cups of
the tea. Two other medicinal plants, namely elder and
linden. Elder and linden flower preparation are better
tolerated than pilocarpus.
Wormwood
also leads to general improvement of
physical health in cold and flu. A wormwood tea made
using one to two teaspoonfuls of the herb per cup of
boiling water; this should be drunk hot.
Vitamins in medicinal plants
Vitamins, especially vitamin C, increase the body's
general resistance to disease. The best way to get plenty
of vitamin C is to eat fruit and drink juices with a high
vitamin C contant, lemon juice is the best known source
of vitamin C, it also contains P vitamins, such as citrin
and hesperidine. This explains why lemon juice was more
effective in treating scurvy than pure vitamin C
preparations,
Rosa canina, sallow thorn
and
black currant
are plants
rich in vitamin C. To preserve the vitamins the juice
should not be directly heated, but merely diluted with hot
water.
Urinary tract infection
Uva ursi
leaf is indicated for treatment of all
inflammatory diseases of the efferent urinary passages,
especially unspecific urinary tract infection and those that
present minimal symptoms.
Preparation: Uva ursi leaf can be prepared as a
maceration or as an infusion. To make the maceration two
teaspoonfuls of the drug are added to one cup of cold
water, allowed to soak for several hours, then briefly
heated and strained. The patient should drink one cup of
this product between meals several time a day.
Other plant
orthosiphon
, it is recommended in cases of
chronic urinary tract infection with only mild symptoms.