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Herb Uses - C, D, E Herbs
similar to digitalis can be extracted from the whole herb with the roots removed. This is cardiotonic.
Chinese Cucumber (Trichosanthes kirilowii) Internally used for diabetes, dry coughs, abscesses, childbirth (second
stage of labor), and abortion (tubers); bronchial infections with thick phlegm, chest pain and tightness; dry constipation,
and lung and breast tumors (fruits). Fruits are traditionally prepared as a winter soup to ward off colds and influenza.
Trichosanthin was isolated from the root tuber of a Chinese medicinal herb Trichosanthes kirilowii Maximowicz
and was identified as the active component of Tian Hua Fen, a Chinese medicine described as early as the 16th
century as a treatment for various kinds of ulcer. Since the discovery of its specific injurious effects on human
placental trophoblasts in the 1970's, trichosanthin has been used clinically in China to induce abortion and to treat
diseases of trophoblastic origin such as hydatiform mole, invasive mole and choriocarcinoma. Soon after the
laboratory finding in 1989 by McGrath et al. that trichosanthin appeared to inhibit the HIV-1 replication in both acutely
infected T-lymphoblastoid cells and in chronically infected macrophages, and selectively killed HIV-infected cells while
leaving uninfected cells unharmed, clinical trials of trichosanthin as a potential treatment for HIV were carried out in
USA. Trichosanthin attacks the life cycle of the virus at an entirely different point from AZT and related drugs, and in
other words, it has a unique mechanism of action complementary to other drugs. Present clinical reports showed that
trichosanthin has some curing effects on AIDS patients and suggested it to be a possible treatment that may fill the
gap in the treatment of HIV disease.
Chives (Allium schoenoprasum): : Chives has been used as a vermifuge. Used as an antiseptic, diuretic and a
stimulant. The oil in chives is used in medicines to help reduce blood pressure. Suggested in the Orient as a
cold, flu and lung congestion remedy.
Chrysanthemum (Dendranthema grandiflorum): Chinese Medicine: Disperses wind and clears heat: for
wind-heat patterns with fever and headache; Clears the Liver and the eyes: for either wind-heat in the Liver
channel manifested in red, painful, dry eyes or excessive tearing, or yin deficiency of the Kidneys and Liver
with such symptoms as spots in front of the eyes, blurry vision, or dizziness; Calms the Liver and extinguishes
wind: for such symptoms as dizziness, headache, and deafness due to ascendant Liver yang. The ability of
white chrysanthemum to nourish the Liver and clear the eyes is somewhat superior to the other varieties. It is
also known as sweet chrysanthemum (gan ju hua). This variety is often used for diminished vision due to Liver
and Kidney yin deficiency. Yellow chrysanthemum (huang ju hua) has a greater wind-heat dispersing capacity
than do the other varieties. It is most often used in treating eye redness and headache due to
externally-contracted wind-heat. Research has demonstrated that it is a valuable remedy for high blood
pressure.
Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum): : Coriander seeds are used in many medicines to improve taste especially
bitter laxatives. They aid digestion, reduce gas and improve the appetite. Previously coriander water was used
to relieve colic. The Chinese use coriander tea to counter dysentery and measles. East Indians make the seeds
into an eyewash to prevent blindness in smallpox patients. The oil is an antiseptic and was suggested by
Dioscorides to great urinary tract restrictions and inflammations. Add the essential oil to ointments for painful
rheumatic joints and muscles.
Cinchona (Cinchona calisaya ) The indigenous people of Peru have taken cinchona for many centuries, and it is still
a well-used remedy for fevers, digestive problems, and infections. Cinchona, and in particular quinine, were the
principal remedies for malaria until World War I. From the 1960s on, resistance of the malarial parasite to the
synthetic drug chloroquine led to quinine’s use once again in preventing and treating malaria. Quinine is also used to
treat other acute feverish conditions. As a bitter tonic, cinchona stimulates saliva, digestive secretions, and the
appetite, and improves weak digestive functions. It is useful as a gargle for sore, infected throats. The herb is used in
herbal medicine for cramps, especially night cramps. It also relieves arthritis. In India, cinchona is used to treat
sciatica and dysentery, as well as problems associated with an imbalance in kapha. Edgar Cayce primarily
recommended calisaya as a blood purifier and aid to digestion. There is also a distinct action of quieting the heart,
reducing palpitations and normalizing the function.
Cinchona has been thoroughly researched, and its pharmacological actions are well established. Quinine is
both strongly antimalarial and antibacterial. Like the other alkaloids, it is antispasmodic. The bitter constituents in
cinchona, including the alkaloids and quinovin, produce a reflex stimulation of the digestion as a whole, increasing
stomach secretions. Quinidine is known to reduce heart rate and improve irregularity of heartbeat.
Cinnamon: (Cinnamomum zeylanicum): : It was one of the ingredients in ivory jelly, which was made from
powdered ivory and given at one time to consumptives. It raises vitality, warms and stimulates all the vital
functions of the body, counteracts congestion, is antirheumatic, stops diarrhea, improves digestion, relieves
abdominal spasms, aids the peripheral circulation of the blood. Cinnamon is the second most widely used
warming stimulant in Chinese medicine, used by Chinese herbalists much as Western herbalists have used
cayenne. In India, it is taken after childbirth as a contraceptive. It has a slight emmenagogic
action—stimulating the uterus and encouraging menstrual bleeding. Japanese research in the 1980s showed that
cinnamaldehyde was sedative and analgesic. It is also thought to reduce blood pressure and fevers. One
German study showed cinnamon suppresses completely the cause of most urinary tract infections and the
fungus responsible for vaginal yeast infections.. It helps break down fats in your digestive system, possibly by
boosting the activity of some digestive enzymes. You can dust a bit of cinnamon on cuts and scrapes (it
contains eugenol) which helps relieve the pain of household mishaps.
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