Camellia sinensis is the plant that brings us tea in all its many colors and flavors. It has a fairly high level of caffeine, and plenty of antioxidants. It makes a great tea for...
Eleuthero Root (Eleutherococcus senticosus)
Manuka (Leptospermum scoparium)
What is Manuka?
In New Zealand, where manuka trees grow, the Maori consider male tea tree plants "Kanuka" and the female plants "Manuka". The plant is regarded very highly in this culture as a medicinal species.
The most well-known form of manuka is in manuka honey. This is a honey made by bees feasting primarily on manuka bushes. The honey has an impressive antibacterial profile when made from these plants. This is also reflected in the herb itself, which has been shown to have potent antibacterial, anti-fungal, and antiviral activity.
Most of the medicinal benefits of the plant come from its essential oil content, which can vary a lot depending on the region the plant was grown in.
What is Manuka Used For?
Internally, manuka is used to treat gastrointestinal conditions like diarrhea, colic, inflammatory bowel syndrome, and dysentery. It's also used for urinary tract infection, anxiety, and cold/flu infections.
Manuka is used topically for its antibacterial, and vulnerary actions. It's used to treat slow healing skin and bone injuries, bacterial infections, candida, and eczema. It can be gargled for gingivitis, or for general oral hygiene.
Manuka honey is another common form of the plant. It's become so popular worldwide, it's been standardised by the phenol content. This is expressed as a unique manuka factor (UMF) value set by the Active Manuka Honey Association (AMHA). Anything over UMF 5 is considered strong enough to kill MRSA.
Herb Details: Manuka
Herbal Actions:
- Anti-inflammatory
- Antibacterial
- Antifungal
- Antispasmodic
- Anxiolytic
- Diaphoretic
- Diuretic
- Febrifuge
- Sedative
- Astringent
Weekly Dose
- (1:2 Liquid Extract)
20-65 mL - View Dosage Chart
Part Used
- Leaves, Flowers, Bark
Family Name
- Myrtaceae
Distribution
- New Zealand
Constituents of Interest
- Leptospermone
- Sesquiterpenes
- Tannins
- Citronellal
Common Names
- Manuka
- Tea Tree
- New Zealand Tea Tree
Quality
- Neutral-Warm
Pregnancy
- Unknown
Taste
- Spicy
Duration of Use
- Long term use is acceptable, but should be taken away from food.
Botanical Information
Manuka is a member of the Myrtaceae family of plants. This family contains as many as 133 different genera, and around 3800 different species, many of which are medicinally relevant.
Clinical Applications Of Manuka:
Manuka is useful both internally and topically. It's been shown to be an effective antibacterial agent for various forms of bacteria (including Staphylococcus). It's also an effective anti-fungal and antiviral (including HSV). The antibacterial effects were the most notable, with only some chemotypes of Manuka showing potent anti-fungal benefits.
Manuka can be used for nearly any form of bacterial infections both topically and internally, as well as wounds, ulcers, and gastrointestinal inflammation or infection. It's also useful for skin inflammation like eczema or psoriasis. The muscle relaxant effects make it useful for injuries, muscle tension, colic, and insomnia.
Cautions:
Manuka is widely considered safe and there are no common side effects of the herb.
+ Contraindications
Avoid long-term use alongside food. Tannins may impede mineral absorption.
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Mullein (Verbascum thapsus)
Mullein
Mullein is considered a staple in herbal medicine. It wasn't native to North America and was brought over by European settlers. Despite the new introduction of the herb, it was quickly adopted into use by the local native Americans and is even referred to commonly as Indian Tobacco.
Mullein is a very safe herb and offers benefits to a number of different systems in the body.
Out of all systems, mullein is most commonly used for respiratory and digestive system conditions. It's popular as an anti-catarrhal and for both soothing dry coughs, and eliminating catarrh with productive coughs. Although the entire plant can be used for either one, the leaves are generally preferred for dry coughs and the roots for productive coughs.
Mullein is as useful topically as it is internally for inflammation, muscle spasms, and infection.
What Is Mullein Used For?
Mullein is mainly used for treating respiratory infections and persistent coughs. Somewhat ironically, it's often smoked for its soothing effect on the lungs. It tends to increase moisture in the lungs, especially the leaves, making it especially useful for unproductive, dry coughs.
It's also used for gastrointestinal inflammation, parasitic infection, and muscle aches. It tends to have a humidifying effect throughout the body, providing a soothing effect, especially with dryness.
One of the most well-known uses for the herb is in the form of an infused oil for ear infections.
Herb Details: Mullein
Main Herbal Actions:
- Anthelmintic
- Anti-catarrhal
- Antispasmodic
- Astringent
- Expectorant
- Lymphatic
- Antibacterial
Weekly Dose
- (1:2 Liquid Extract)
20-60 mL - View Dosage Chart
Part Used
- Leaf, root, and flower
Family Name
- Scrophulariaceae
Distribution
- Originates from Europe around the Mediterranean, but has spread all around Europe & North America
Constituents of Interest
- Iridoid glycosides
Common Names
- Mullein
- Lady's Flannel
- Gordolobo
- Punchón
- Candelaria
Quality
- Root: Neutral, drying
Leaf: Cool, moistening
Flower: Cool
Pregnancy
- Unknown
Taste
- Salty
Duration of Use
- Long term use is acceptable.
Botanical Information
Mullein belongs to the figwort family (Scrophulariaceae) — a family consisting or roughly 65 different genera and 1800 species.
The Verbascum genus itself contains around 250 different species.
Verbascum is a popular garden plant for its ability to thrive in dry, nutrient-poor soils, and for their incredibly long flower duration.
The herb is biennial — the first season growing in a rosette leaf pattern, the second with a large velvety flower spike. Some mullein plants can grow up to three meters tall.
Clinical Applications Of Mullein:
Although there are many ways to use mullein, it excels with treating respiratory tract conditions. The leaves are excellent for treating dry coughs, while the root is much better for productive wet coughs.
Mullein is useful as a topical treatment for skin irritations, and as an oil for ear infections, especially the more drying flower of the plant.
Mullein also makes for an excellent lymphatic, both internally and externally.
Cautions:
Caution advised when working with the fresh leaf of this plant, as it can cause contact dermatitis in some individuals.
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Graviola (Annona muricata)
What is Graviola?
Graviola is a large tropical tree with a rich history of traditional use for conditions like cancer, parasitic infection, insomnia, and dysentery. Modern use remains very similar, mainly focusing on tension headaches and muscle aches, insomnia, diabetes, cancer, hypertension, and parasitic infection.
Although the entire plant has been used as medicine by various traditional medical systems, the most common form the plant is available in today is as a leaf extract, and raw leaves intended for tea.
Graviola is gaining in popularity outside worldwide as a general health supplement, blood sugar regulator, and anticancer agent. As a result, it's getting easier to find the herb as time goes on. It is likely this tea will become a staple in Western herbal medicine in the coming years.
Featured Graviola
How Is Graviola Used?
Graviola is mainly used as an adjunctive treatment for cancer, especially leukemia and other haematological cancers, as well as prostate, colon, and breast cancers.
Graviola is also popular as an anti-diabetic herb, and can be used to reduce hypertension, especially in combination with diabetes or metabolic syndrome.
Graviola is a potent anti-parasitic, useful for a wide range of different parasitic species, including worms, protozoa, and bacterial parasites.
Traditional Uses of Graviola
+ South America
Graviola originated from South America and/or the Carribean. All parts of the plant were used as medicine for a wide range of conditions.
The most common use of the plant appears to involve cancer treatment and parasitic infection.
The darkest leaves on the plants were used primarily as a sedative or antispasmodic. They were used to treat insomnia, arthritic pains, colic, dysentery, muscle aches, headaches, and diabetes. The leaves were often placed inside a pillow or bedsheets to improve sleep.
In Brazil, the leaves were made into a tea for treating various liver conditions. The oil of the leaves and unripe fruits were used topically for treating neuralgia, and arthritis.
In Peru, the leaves were used to treat excess catarrh, and the bark and root were used for treating diabetes, insomnia, and muscle aches.
In Guyana, the leaves were used as a heart tonic.
+ Southeast Asia
In Southeast Asia, graviola was an important treatment for malaria. It was made into candies, ice cream, and syrups for treating malaria and other parasites.
Herb Details: Graviola
Herbal Actions:
- Anticancer
- Antinflammatory
- Antioxidant
- Antispasmodic
- Anticonvulsant
- Antidepressant
- Antidiabetic
- Antibacterial
- Antiarthritic
- Antilithic
- Antimalarial
- Bradycardic
- Digestive stimulant
- Febrifuge
- Hepatoprotective
- Hypotensive
- Sedative
- Vasodilator
Weekly Dose
- (1:2 Liquid Extract)
40-80 mL - View Dosage Chart
Part Used
- Leaves
Family Name
- Annonaceae
Distribution
- North & South America, The Caribbean, Indonesia, Western Africa, Pacific Islands
Constituents of Interest
- Acetogenins
- Alkaloids (reticulin, coreximine, coclarine and anomurine)
- Essential oils (β-caryophyllene, δ-cadinene, epi-α-cadinol and α-cadinol)
- Quercetin
Common Names
- Graviola
- Custard Apple Tree
- Soursop
- Annona
- Guanabana (South America)
Quality
- Cool*
Pregnancy
- Unknown
Taste
- Sour
Duration of Use
- Avoid long term use.
Botanical Information
Graviola is a large tree, growing to a height of 10m. It requires high humidity, warm weather, and high annual rainfall in order to thrive. It produces large, edible fruits with an acidic taste (hence the common name soursop).
There are over 130 different genera in the Annonaceae family, and around 2300 different species. The Annona genus itself has about 70 different species. Annona muricata is the most commonly grown worldwide.
Phytochemistry
There are over 100 annonaceous acetogenins in the plant, which are considered to be the primary active constituents of the plant. Structurally these chemicals are derivatives of long chain (C35 or C37) fatty acids. These compounds are cytotoxic against tumour cell lines, and molluscicidal.
Graviola is also rich in alkaloids, saponins, terpenoids, flavonoids, coumarins, lactones, anthraquinones, tannins, cardiac glycosides, phenols, and phytosterols.
+ Complete Phytochemical Makeup
Annonaceous Acetogenins
The leaves contain annomuricins A and B, gigantetrocin A, annonacin-10-one, muricatetrocins A and B, annonacin, goniothalamicin, muricatocins A and B, annonacin A, (2,4-trans)-isoannonacin, (2,4-cis)-isoannonacin, annomuricin C, muricatocin C, gigantetronenin, annomutacin, (2,4-trans)-10R-annonacin-A-one, (2,4-cis)-10R-annonacin-A-one, annopentocins A, B and C, cis- and trans-annomuricinD-ones, annomuricine, muricapentocin, muricoreacin and murihexocin C and annocatacin A and B.
Alkaloids
Graviola contains reticulin, coreximine, coclarine and anomurine.
Essential Oils
Graviola contains β-caryophyllene, δ-cadinene, epi-α-cadinol and α-cadinol.
Clinical Applications Of Graviola:
Graviola is useful for parasitic infection, including protozoan, and helminth parasites. It's used as a mild sedative and antispasmodic, and can be very useful for gastrointestinal inflammation and dysbiotic conditions.
Graviola is also a popular treatment for diabetes by slowing lipid per-oxidation, and restoring islet beta-cells in the pancreas.
It's commonly used as an adjunctive treatment of cancer, especially haematological cancers and colon cancer.
Cautions:
Graviola has been reported to increase symptoms of Parkinson's Disease.
Caution advised in combination with other hypoglycaemic drugs due to potential additive effect.
+ Contraindications
- May exacerbate Parkinson's Disease symptoms (Acetogenin content)
- Caution advised in combination with other hypoglycemic drugs due to potential additive effect.
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References:
Moghadamtousi, S. Z., Fadaeinasab, M., Nikzad, S., Mohan, G., Ali, H. M., & Kadir, H. A. (2015). Annona muricata (Annonaceae): a review of its traditional uses, isolated acetogenins and biological activities. International journal of molecular sciences, 16(7), 15625-15658.
De Sousa, O. V., Vieira, G. D. V., De Pinho, J. D. J. R., Yamamoto, C. H., & Alves, M. S. (2010). Antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities of the ethanol extract of Annona muricata L. leaves in animal models. International journal of molecular sciences, 11(5), 2067-2078.
Torres, M. P., Rachagani, S., Purohit, V., Pandey, P., Joshi, S., Moore, E. D., ... & Batra, S. K. (2012). Graviola: a novel promising natural-derived drug that inhibits tumorigenicity and metastasis of pancreatic cancer cells in vitro and in vivo through altering cell metabolism. Cancer letters, 323(1), 29-40.
Coria-Tellez, A. V., Montalvo-Gónzalez, E., Yahia, E. M., & Obledo-Vázquez, E. N. (2016). Annona muricata: A comprehensive review on its traditional medicinal uses, phytochemicals, pharmacological activities, mechanisms of action and toxicity. Arabian Journal of Chemistry.
Gavamukulya, Y., Abou-Elella, F., Wamunyokoli, F., & AEl-Shemy, H. (2014). Phytochemical screening, anti-oxidant activity and in vitro anticancer potential of ethanolic and water leaves extracts of Annona muricata (Graviola). Asian Pacific journal of tropical medicine, 7, S355-S363.
Arroyo, J., Martínez, J., Ronceros, G., Palomino, R., Villarreal, A., Bonilla, P., ... & Quino, M. (2009, September). Efecto hipoglicemiante coadyuvante del extracto etanólico de hojas de Annona muricata L (guanábana), en pacientes con diabetes tipo 2 bajo tratamiento de glibenclamida. In Anales de la Facultad de Medicina (Vol. 70, No. 3, pp. 163-167). UNMSM. Facultad de Medicina.
Adewole, S., & Ojewole, J. (2009). Protective effects of Annona muricata Linn.(Annonaceae) leaf aqueous extract on serum lipid profiles and oxidative stress in hepatocytes of streptozotocin-treated diabetic rats. African journal of traditional, complementary and alternative medicines, 6(1).
Adeyemi, D. O., Komolafe, O. A., Adewole, O. S., Obuotor, E. M., Abiodun, A. A., & Adenowo, T. K. (2010). Histomorphological and morphometric studies of the pancreatic islet cells of diabetic rats treated with extracts of Annona muricata. Folia morphologica, 69(2), 92-100.
Adewole, S. O., & Caxton-Martins, E. A. (2006). Morphological changes and hypoglycemic effects of Annona muricata linn.(annonaceae) leaf aqueous extract on pancreatic β-cells of streptozotocin-treated diabetic rats. African Journal of Biomedical Research, 9(3).
As COVID-19 continues to spread around the world, we’re getting a lot of questions on what the potential role of herbal medicine is during the outbreak. Learn how the virus works and how to limit your chances of transmission.