Everything Herbal - Main Page - PS-Survival.com

Herb Uses - A, B Herbs
stimulant and carminative, good for flatulence, indigestion and hysterical paroxyms. Aqua pimentae was an ingredient
in stomach and purgative medicines, and also played a part in the treatment of rheumatism and neuralgia. The
powdered berries have been used for dyspepsia and also to disguise the taste of disagreeable medicines.
Almond (Prunus communis): Bitter almonds when distilled yield an essential oil containing about 5% of prussic
acid. Almonds are usually processed to extract almond oil for cosmetic purposes. It is helpful for alleviating itchy skin
conditions, such as eczema. The oil is popular with masseuses and aromatherapists as it is light, easily absorbed,
and makes an excellent carrier oil for essential oils. Little is used for medicinal purposes, but almond flour is
sometimes used as sustaining food for diabetics. Almond milk is still drunk as a kidney tonic and to ease heartburn.
The oil derived from a bitter variety of almond has sedative properties and is sometimes used in cough remedies. As
well as being a tasty addition to the diet, almonds are also beneficial to the overall health of the body, being used
especially in the treatment of kidney stones, gallstones and constipation. Externally, the oil is applied to dry skins and
is also often used as a carrier oil in aromatherapy. The seed is demulcent, emollient, laxative, nutritive and pectoral.
When used medicinally, the fixed oil from the seed is normally employed. The seed contains 'laetrile', a substance that
has also been called vitamin B17. This has been claimed to have a positive effect in the treatment of cancer, but there
does not at present seem to be much evidence to support this. The pure substance is almost harmless, but on
hydrolysis it yields hydrocyanic acid, a very rapidly acting poison - it should thus be treated with caution. In small
amounts this exceedingly poisonous compound stimulates respiration, improves digestion and gives a sense of
well-being. The leaves are used in the treatment of diabetes. The plant contains the antitumor compound taxifolin.
Aloe (Aloe barbadensis) Commercial aloe juice is made from the inner leaf, which is blended and strained,
with a preservative added. To make aloe “gel”, the juice is thickened with seaweed to mimic the leaf’s original
thick consistency. The crystalline part called aloin, a brownish gel found alongside the leaf blade, is powdered
and used in some commercial laxatives. It is so strong that it must be combined with other herbs to prevent
intestinal griping. The commercial juice and gel remove this part of the leaf, so both the juice and the gel are
soothing to digestive tract irritations, such as peptic ulcers and colitis. In one study, the stomach lesions of
twelve peptic ulcer patients were all completely healed. A popular ingredient in commercial drug store
products, aloe is commonly used to soothe burns, including sunburn and radiation burns. Aloe is also applied to
wounds, eczema, ringworm and poison oak and poison ivy rashes. There is evidence that it effectively
regenerated injured nerves. One study reports aloe to be successful in healing leg ulcerations and severe acne
and even finds that it promotes hair growth. When 56 frostbit patients were treated with a product containing
70% aloe, only 7% developed infections, compared to 98 frostbitten patients not treated with aloe, 33 of whom
eventually needed amputation. It has also proved helpful in treating periodontosis. One study injected aloe
extracts into the diseased areas of 128 patients with varying degrees of gum disease. Within a week, the
development of symptoms stopped, pain decreased and marked improvement followed in all patients.
Aloe is wide used in folk medicine, both as a liniment and as a drink, to reduce the swelling and pain of
arthritis and rheumatism. Diabetics in the Arabian peninsula eat aloe to control their blood sugar levels. A
clinical study did find that when volunteers who were not insulin dependent took half a teaspoon daily for 4-14
weeks, their fasting blood sugar levels were reduced by half, with no change in body weight.
Another preparation from aloe, carrisyn, is a polysaccharide. It has been claimed that carrisyn directly
kills various types of viruses, including herpes and measles, and possibly HIV. However, research is still in the
preliminary stages.
Aloewood (Aquilaria malaccensis) : Internally for digestive and bronchial complaints, fevers, and
rheumatism (bark, wood). Because of its astringent nature, the powdered wood of the aloe tree provide an
effective skin tonic and is recommended by Ayurvedic physicians as an application for restoring pigment in
leucoderma. Powdered aloeswood provides an antiseptic so gentle it is used for ear and eye infections as well
as on open wounds.
Alstonia (Alstonia scolaris, A constricta) There are 43 species of alstonia trees. The bark of the tree is used
medicinally in the Pacific Rim and India. Constricta, which is native to Australia, is used extensively as an
Aboriginal folk remedy for fever, chronic diarrhea, dysentery and rheumatism. Scholaris, found growing
mostly in India, Pakistan and the Philippines, is used for the same purposes, but may also be employed as a
treatment for malaria, and is thought to have aphrodisiac qualities. In all cases the bark is powdered and made
into a tea. The inner bark of Alstonia constricta is said to possess marked antiperiodic properties, while the
outer bark is stated to have been efficacious in curing certain forms of rheumatism. Further trials are needed,
however, before it can be ranked as a substitute for quinine, or other of the cinchona alkaloids, yet it has proved
as efficient in intermittents. Scientific investigation has failed to show why it is of such service in malaria, but
herbalists consider it superior to quinine and of great use in convalescence . It lowers fever, relaxes spasms,
stimulates lactation and expels intestinal worms. Used for chronic diarrhea, dysentery and in intermittent fever;
also as an anthelmintic. It is also much used by homoeopaths.
Alumroot (Heuchera americana) The root of this plant may contain as much as 20% of its weight in tannins,
acid compounds that serve to shrink swollen, moist tissues. Alumroot’s strong astringency is likely to have
earned the plant its common name. Its overall effect is less than irritating than Cranesbill, Oak Bark or
Canaigre. Dried and powdered alumroot was used by Northwest Indians as a general digestive tonic, and
herbalists still use it to stop minor bleeding and reduce inflammation. It was listed in the US pharmacopoeia for
http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_AB.htm (3 of 16) [5/17/2004 8:54:28 AM]