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Herbal medicine: how to treat yourself with plants
Herbal medicine is called herbal therapy (from the Greek phyto = plant and therapeia = care).
It is a therapy which uses plants or galenic forms derived from plants excluding the principles of pure extraction isolated from plants. Thus many galenic forms can be used: herbal teas (infused, decocted, etc.), powders, dry extracts (nebulisates, lyophilisates, etc.), liquid extracts, etc.
Across the world, all ethnic groups have a traditional pharmacopoeia made up of a dozen medicinal plants selected for their effectiveness over the centuries and passed down from generation to generation. This knowledge of medicinal plants has formed into pharmacopoeias, which are collections of knowledge and practices linked to the therapeutic indications of these plants.
The learned medicines of written tradition, Greek, Arab-Persian, Ayurvedic and Chinese based their transmission of medical knowledge on these pharmacopoeias. In Europe, the knowledge of medicinal plants was formalized with Greek medicine developed by Hippocrates from the 4th century BC. In the Middle Ages, Arab-Persian medicine took up the bases of Greek humoral theory and l ‘developed by incorporating plants from Ayurvedic medicine. These Arab-Persian treatises were then translated into Latin from Andalusian Spain in the 13th century and formed the basis of European medicine. In other regions of the world, such as Africa or the Americas, the transmission of knowledge has been mainly oral.
How to know if a plant is medicinal ?
In France, plants are considered medicinal when they are included in the list of medicinal plants of the French Pharmacopoeia. Brought back from the Americas like cinchona, from Africa like cola nut or from China like ginseng, these exotic plants have been gradually integrated into the French Pharmacopoeia. During the second half of the 20th century, few new plants obtained the status of medicinal plants in France. However, over the past fifteen years, new plants have entered this list. These are plants from the overseas departments, which have provided around fifty new plants from the traditions of these overseas communities. At the same time, around sixty Chinese plants were also included in this list and were the subject of control monographs at the European Pharmacopoeia. For its part, Africa conceals many interesting medicinal plants, widely used at the traditional level and often well studied scientifically, but whose use has not yet been recognized by local or international institutional bodies.
Why treat yourself with medicinal plants ?
Man has always sought in nature the means to heal himself.
Although medicine has made tremendous progress through chemistry and recently through biology, drugs that are developed to treat severe illnesses are often ill-suited to chronic conditions that start out mildly and then get worse and worse. the bed of much more serious problems. This disproportion between the evil and the remedy has become blatant. Too many drugs, developed to treat serious diseases, then spread to the population of small chronically ill patients who thus benefit from their shock effectiveness, but also suffer from the risks and undesirable effects which are attached to them. In pharmacology the law of “who can do more can do less” does not apply.
Herbal medicine has its place in this gap between the end of the means. It has its place with therapeutic effects that may be less powerful at the moment, but less problematic in the long term and that it is possible to maintain over long periods without difficulty.
The objective of the phytotherapy articles on the Soin et Nature blog is to promote the recognition of common medicinal plants in the world, some of which already have a regulatory status in certain countries, in order to be able to diversify our therapeutic arsenal with plants, many of which have made their mark. evidence in their respective cultures and in scientific validation studies.
The oldest medicinal plants in the vegetable kingdom are, as Darwin said , a veritable “living fossil”. Ginkgo is part of a plant group that developed in the Carboniferous, during the heyday of giant horsetails, 200 to 250 million years ago. Among other things, this tree has the advantage of being able to age for millennia . If we generally agree that 4000 years is … Read more
Perfectly ignored in Antiquity and the Middle Ages, Figwort made its timid beginnings in the 16th century, spotted by Jérôme Bock and Léonard Fuchs as a remedy for hemorrhoids, vulneraries and more specifically for skin diseases. This may pass for anecdotal, but behind the strange name of these plants hides a part of the medical history of Europe , which has been … Read more
As indicated by its Celtic root sa-lis (or salik ) which means ” near water “, the willow particularly likes temperate places throughout the northern hemisphere , along rivers and streams, on cool and humid grounds, even marshy, but above all it is a “green and beneficial tree of running waters” and riparian forests. A bit of mythology Mentioned in the Iliad , the willow … Read more
Between sage officinalis and clary sage , it’s 10 to 1. If the literature is full of information concerning the first, it is clear that the bare minimum falls on the second. So I’m going to do my best to relate the few meager events recorded here and there about him, to tell his story. A little history The oldest … Read more
Saffron is an atypical crocus in many respects and whose reputation is well established. Unlike other crocuses , it is the only one whose flowering is autumnal . The preciousness that characterizes it makes it particularly expensive, and this since the highest antiquity, and also remarkable; as I will now practice demonstrating. A little history 4000 years, it is approximately the age of the … Read more
The adjective birch is attributed to the silvery sheen of its papery bark. The birch is a particularly typical tree species in Eurasia. Although commonly grown as an ornamental tree, it is no less a host to young woods, steep acid soils, stony soils and sandy soils. Surprisingly, birch sap harvested in early spring has … Read more
Rosemary smells of Provence. In our imagination, it rubs shoulders with thyme and wild thyme. Undoubtedly, it evokes good herbs , and its use imposed itself first in food, for the pleasures of the nose and the palate, even before we realize that a meal decorated with rosemary not only tastes better, but also digests better. It is thus part … Read more
Gemmotherapy is the most recent branch of phytotherapy . It uses young shoots of trees and shrubs . The latter are prepared fresh by direct maceration in water, glycerol and alcohol. Gemmotherapy acts on the whole body. It is mainly used to support and rebalance the body’s dysfunctions : immunity, elimination, circulation, etc. How does gemmotherapy work? The bud is made up of embryonic tissue … Read more
The Latin appellation for Rhodiola derives from the Greek word rhodios , used by the Greek philosopher Dioscorides when he first described the plant in his De Materia medica (77 AD), as Rodio riza , in reference to the smell of rose given off by the root, once cut. Its vernacular name of golden root is an allusion to its legendary reputation as a panacea plant . A … Read more
To unearth the oldest written traces linked to the meadowsweet, it is necessary to wait for the Middle Ages, but they still have nothing to do with its medicinal value . It was made into crowns, especially at weddings, because its flowers symbolized virginity . A little history It was not in fact until the Renaissance that it was possible … Read more
The therapeutic properties of liquorice have been known since ancient times, when it was used by the Romans and Greeks to treat asthma and ulcers. Scientists of the time named it glycyrrhiza from glycys, for sugar, and rhidza, for root , meaning sweet root. A little history Chinese medicine considers it to be one of … Read more
In the underground world of roots, nothing is really very simple, and it is all the more so with the black radish whose origin is still uncertain , even if we wanted to see in the south of the Asia his native land. A little history What we do know, however, is that in the oldest Chinese … Read more
If there’s one medicinal plant that can be found all summer long by streams and in damp, sandy places where it thrives, it’s horsetail. Common and seemingly banal, this is an extraordinary plant, one of those that have survived the ages, just like ginkgo biloba. Horsetail is a very old lady, over 270 million years … Read more
In ancient times, plantain was a well-known and widely used plant. In addition to the pseudo-Apuleius who wrote extensively about its use, there was a writer in the first century AD who held plantain in high esteem. Like mallow, plantain is reputed to have anti-inflammatory properties, both internally and externally. What is plantain? Plantago lanceolata, … Read more
The dandelion is a very common plant, impossible to ignore and full of treasures. A headache for botanists, there are no fewer than 60 species groups and over 1200 species in total (in Europe alone). The dandelion is widespread in most temperate zones of the northern hemisphere (Europe, North America, North Africa, China, India, Iran, … Read more
Scots pine, whose botanical name is Pinus sylvestris L., belongs to the Pinaceae family. Its essential oil is obtained from the needles. The origin of Scots Pine’s Latin name is debated. Alexandre Etienne Guillaume “de” Théis, in 1810, maintained that it comes from the Celtic “pinus”, meaning mountain or rock. However, Félix Gaffiot, in his … Read more
Legend has it that a hawk feeds on the juice of hawkweed to improve its eyesight. Hierakon, from which we can guess the Latin name for hawkweed. Hieracium was already the Greek name for several Chicoraceae. But it also contains Hierax, meaning “falcon”. The nameHieracium was therefore given to hawkweed “without any explanation other than … Read more
Alfalfa, also known as cultivated alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), is a remarkable plant of the plant kingdom. Native to warm temperate regions, it belongs to the Fabaceae family and has played an essential role in agriculture and animal nutrition thanks to its exceptional nutritional properties. This perennial plant is rich in proteins, amino acids, lipids, … Read more
Unlike the March violet, the therapeutic career of wild pansy began late. There was no trace of it in Antiquity, and it played only a few symbolic and ornamental roles in the Middle Ages. The first interest in wild pansy dates back to the sixteenth century, when the word “pansy” first appeared. Although most Renaissance … Read more
Passionflower, or Passiflora incarnata, is a climbing plant native to the south-eastern United States and Mexico, renowned for its medicinal properties. Traditionally used to treat insomnia and anxiety, it has gained an important place in the French pharmacopoeia. Its richness lies in its unique constituents, notably flavonoids and indole alkaloids. This article explores the many … Read more