Nature and Medicine- A medicinal herbs identification Walk

   On Saturday last we went as a family on a medicinal herbs walk led by our Doctor. It was a very pleasant loop on the outskirts of town. The three hours commune with nature, as well as the comfortable lunch in a nearby cafe afterwards, made it into a pleasant weekend activity.

     I have always had an interest in medicine and with it comes an interest in medicinal herbs. One of the things that has often frustrated me is that there is often a lack of communication between the two worlds, it seems to me that it is especially strong coming from the herbal side. I understand and sympathize with those who want to avoid being over medicated, or taking unnecessary, chemical-based medications. Yet it is equally clear that doctors understand the workings of the human body in a way that the layman simply does not. Their knowledge of both pathology and physiology lead to an ability to evaluate both the seriousness of an illness as well as to prescribe a treatment that will be appropriate to that level. Therefore, although I do know a bit about medicinal herbs I do not feel competent to diagnose and medicate myself or my family. Thus my delight in this tour.

   In Austria, it is common to be prescribed a plant-based medication as the first course of treatment. Often this comes in the form of a tea. Our Doctor is especially knowledgeable in acupuncture and herbal treatments while being at the same time very professional and unafraid to prescribe antibiotics when necessary. I have received a number of nasty teas paired with indescribable saline nose sprays for most of my colds but was given a very strong antibiotic and capsules for emergency when I had pneumonia a couple of years ago. So that being said, I appreciated his wealth of knowledge of disease and overall physiological response.

As we walked and each plant was identified and categorized I collected samples in a notebook I had brought for the purpose. It was full at the end. I made notes on the function and active ingredients of each of the plants we examined.

Here are some of the categories we discussed:

Active ingredient gerbstoff:

 The first category of plants we examined contain gerbstoffe, tannins. These chemical compounds have the ability to dry things out and are therefore useful in the tanning of leather products. They function similarly in the human body, assisting wherever things flow. Most people are familiar with this compound in the form of diuretics. They can dry up anything that flows too freely, from heavy bleeding to diarrhea, but more interestingly they are also useful in situations where you lose things, including memory and have been useful in treating dementia. The tannins can be extracted by brewing the bark, roots or leaves, depending on which plant you are working with, for 10 to 20 minutes. Anyone who drinks tea will be familiar with the taste of tannins as they are the flavor that you taste when you have left the tea bag in for too long.

warming vs. cooling

   An aspect to take into consideration when preparing an herbal remedy is whether the plant is warming of cooling. It should be complementary to the symptoms of the patient. For example, if a patient is suffering from a hot pain, such as rheumatoid arthritis, they want a cooling medication to treat it if on the other hand, if they have stiff joints and pain when it gets cold, a warming plant is the best option. An example of a warming plant is ginger, whereas mint is cooling.

Basil is an example of a warming herb

 

Antibacterial

   We examined plants with antibacterial properties and I was glad when someone asked whether or not they could be substituted for antibiotics in the case of infections, eg. ear infection. It turns out that they contain something like 40 times less of the active ingredient than over the counter antibiotics. Apparently the Chinese have some of the only apothecaries who are skilled enough at extraction to create viable plant-based alternatives. which brings us to extraction.

Cold and Warm Extraction,

Infusions, and Oils

 

Depending on the medicinal compound needing extraction, there are a variety of methods available to choose from. A cold extraction is basically similar to making sun tea, you put the plant into water and let the medicinal elements seep out. Whereas a warm extraction is similar to a normal cup of tea which you steep in boiling water. there are also extractions where an infusion is made by boiling the plant in water until it is saturated by the desired compound, pouring off the infusion, adding more water and continuing to boil. This process can be repeated multiple times. Oils are extracted either by adding boiling water and putting a lid on to keep them on the surface or adding the boiling water and inhaling the floating oil molecules.
An example of a plant which is difficult to extract is red clover.

Parts of the Plant Used:

Different plants offer different compounds in different parts,  some in the bark, others in the leaves and many in the roots. It is important to be aware that not every plant has the same effect when using every part. Some have one compound in the leaves and another in the bark or roots. It is also interesting to note that some have multiple compounds at different phases of life, in the new shoots, leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds. Because these may differ radically it is important to know what is present at the time of harvest and extract accordingly.

List of Plants:

 I originally planned to add a comprehensive list of the plants we examined here but as I plan to draw them, I will be publishing them one by one over the next month or so. Look out for the illustrations on Instagram and Facebook.

Different Effects at Different Phases of Illness:

  Coming, to a certain degree, from a one size fits all culture when it comes to the treatment of basic illnesses, obviously more serious conditions are treated in a more specialized manner, It seems normal to me to take a Sudafed for a cold and not to spend a lot of time thinking about whether your nose is runny or full. Sudafed is good for everything, until your cold is gone.  However, taking the common cold as an example again there are certain treatments, eg. those tannins that cause things to dry up, for flow- ie. a runny nose, and others for full sinuses.  The treatment could be evaluated and adapted as the illness progresses. Something that most people in the US don't really bother with in my experience. Here, there are certain types of people, my husband is one of them, who order in the whole apothecary for a cold, and brood over it until they are well, dabbling in the possibilities.

Calming vs Pepping up:

  Some of the herbs we looked at have a calming effect. One of these is hops, it should not be given to someone with depression as it will bring them even further down, whereas it can have a mellowing effect on a hyper child. I tfound this interesting as it explains why some people seem to get really low when they drink beer.
 The Wiesenbärenklau, Pointed Hogweed, on the other hand, will pep you up. Just don't confuse it with the Riesenbärenklau, Giant Hogweed, whose 'milk' can actually burn your skin due to its corrosive properties.

 

  And now that some of the content has been written down I am excited to get to work on the illustrations. I am thinking of a poster, although I may make separate plates to be worked up into a small booklet. And since October is Inktober in the illustration world, what better use of my drawing a day. Do you have a preference? Let me know in the comments.

 

This is not a sponsored post, but for any of my Austrian readers who are interested in this Kräuter Wanderung, you can book a spot by calling Dr. Faissal Keilani's Ordination in Graz.  http://www.akupunktur4you.at/. He and his wife, who was on the walk with us, speak, between the two of them, at least German, Englisch, Arabic, and Italian.

 Disclaimer: This post is written from a cultural and art perspective and is not intended to be used for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes.




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