Subject: Alt.folklore.herbs - medicinal herb FAQ (v.1.12) Part 1/4

From: [email-masked] (Henriette Kress)
Date: 20 Jul 1995 15:23:19 GMT

Archive-name: medicinal-herbs/part1
SunSITE-archive-name: medicinal-herbs.faq.part1.v1.12
Posting-Frequency: monthly (on or about 20th)
Last-modified: 1995/07/20
Version: 1.12

A medicinal herbs FAQ / Resource list for the alt.folklore.herbs
newsgroup, available by ftp at sunsite.unc.edu under
pub/academic/medicine/alternative-healthcare/herbs/faqs/

Keeper:
  Henriette Kress ([email-masked])
Contributors so far (listed alphabetically):   ;)
  Aine Maclir ([email-masked])
  amethyst ([email-masked])
  Colette Gardiner ([email-masked])
  David Powner ([email-masked])
  Duane Weed ([email-masked])
  Elizabeth Toews ([email-masked])
  Eugenia Provence ([email-masked])
  Gloria Mercado-Martin ([email-masked])
  Howie Brounstein ([email-masked])
  Jonathan Treasure ([email-masked])
  Kathjokl ([email-masked])
  Kay Klier ([email-masked])
  Ken Rice ([email-masked])
  Kenneth R. Robertson ([email-masked])
  Lawrence London ([email-masked])
  Mark D. Gold ([email-masked])
  Paul Iannone ([email-masked])
  Rob McCaleb ([email-masked])
  Robert Gault ([email-masked])
  Ron Rushing ([email-masked])
  Steve Dyer ([email-masked])

==========
CONTENTS
-----
1  Introduction
* 1.1  Wishlist - ADDITION
2  Frequently asked questions and other useful stuff
  2.1  Single herbs
    2.1.1  Valeriana is not derived from Valium
    2.1.2  Yohimbine is not a MAO inhibitor
    2.1.3  Absinthe FAQ pointer
    2.1.4  St. John's Wort (Hypericum) and Photosensitivity
*   2.1.5  Ginseng - CHANGED
    2.1.6  Stevia Leaf - Too Good To Be Legal?
*   2.1.7  Poison Ivy / Oak / Sumac - ADDITION
*   2.1.8  Wild Yam / The Pill - NOT YET - Actually this topic is up 
           for grabs.
*   2.1.9  Feverfew and migraine - ADDITION
*   2.1.10 Fo Ti and Fo-Ti-Tieng - clearing up the confusion - NOT YET
  2.2  Herbs for specific things
*   2.2.1  Herbs for mosquitoes and other bothersome bugs - ADDITION
*   2.2.2  Herbs for Migraines - ADDITION
*   2.2.3  Herbal abortives, safety, dangers and effectiveness - 
           NOT YET - CONSTRUCTION SITE
  2.3  Processing herbs
*   2.3.1  Distilling things - ADDITION
  2.4  Pointers to related documents
    2.4.1  Tinnitus FAQ pointer
    2.4.2  Plants by Mail FAQ pointer
*   2.4.3  Carpal Tunnel Syndrome WWW page pointer - ADDITION
    2.4.4  Hint for Kombucha posters
    2.4.5  Hint for Essiac posters
    2.4.6  Thinking of growing herbs for sale?
*   2.4.7  Saw Palmetto and Prostata problems - ADDITION
3  General Info
  3.1  Introduction to side effects, safety and toxicity of medicinal
       herbs
  3.2  Wildcrafting Ethics
  3.3  Different schools of Herbal Healing
    3.3.1  Traditions in Western Herbal Medicine
*   3.3.2  East Asian traditional Healing - an introduction - 
           NOT YET
*   3.3.3  Ayurveda - an introduction - NOT YET
*   3.3.4  Pointers to homeopathy sites and stuff - ADDITION
  3.4  Commercial posts and how to get rid of them
* 3.5  The Ames Test - ADDITION
4  Good Printed Sources
* 4.1  Good Books on Herbal Medicine for the beginner - CHANGED
* 4.2  Good Books for further studies - CHANGED
* 4.3  Good Magazines - CHANGED
5  Other sources
  5.1  Napralert - on-line commercial database
  5.2  Medline - on-line commercial database
* 5.3  Good Herbprograms for the PC - CHANGED
  5.4  Good Herbprograms for the Macintosh
  5.5  Herbal CD-ROM
6  Teachings and stuff
  6.1  Apprenticeships offered lately
  6.2  Correspondence courses
  6.3  Other courses
7  Check these sites
  7.1  Medicinal Herb Archives at sunSITE.unc.edu 
* 7.2  Interesting WWW pages - CHANGED
8  Mailing lists
  8.1  The Herblist
  8.2  The Aromatherapy list
  8.3  The Holistic list
  8.4  The Kombucha list
  8.5  The Paracelsus Mailing list
  8.6  The OrMed Mailing list
* 8.7  The Homeopathy List - ADDITION
* 8.8  The Phytopharmacognosy List - ADDITION
9  Related newsgroups

==========
1  Introduction
-----
This is the fifth edition of the FAQ / Resource list.
Feel free to suggest additions, corrections and comments:
Email me at [email-masked].

==========
1.1  Wishlist
-----
The following topics are up for grabs:

Wanted for chapter 2.1 (Single herbs):
  Valeriana - the plant
  Yohimbe - the plant
  Fo Ti and Fo Ti Tieng - what they are
  Kava kava - the plant
  Raspberry and pregnancy
  Echinacea - the plant
  Wild Yam and contraception
  Guarana - the plant
  Ephedra (Ma Huang) - the plant, its uses and its dangers
  Pau d'arco - the plant
  Ginkgo biloba - the plant, its uses and its dangers
  Cat's Claw / Uncaria tomentosa - the plant

Wanted for chapter 2.2. (Herbs for specific things):
  Herbs for colds / flu / asthma / pneumonia
  Herbs to let you sleep
  Herbs for vivid dreams

Wanted for chapter 2.3 (Processing herbs):
  Tinctures and stuff
  Dried or fresh herbs?
  Distilling things

Wanted for chapter 3.3 (Different schools of herbal healing):
  Aromatheraphy - an introduction
  Bach Flower remedies - an introduction

Email me if you're interested in contributing. I'll reserve your
chosen topic for 2 postings, after which, if you haven't gotten
around to sending anything, it's up for grabs again.
Your contribution can be as long as you wish to make it; but it
should be GOOD.

I'd also like some kind of a peer review for this FAQ. Call it
feedback...

====================
2  Frequently asked questions and other useful stuff

==========
2.1  Single herbs

==========
2.1.1  Valeriana is not derived from Valium
-----
The best post to date on this subject was seen on AFH on 30 Apr 1994.
Sadly, I couldn't find this one in the archives, but luckily I'd saved
it way back when:

-----
A couple of posters have said that Valium is derived from valerian.

I'm pretty sure that Valium and the active principle of valerian are
totally unrelated chemically.  Valerian contains

       valeric acid  = propylacetic acid

Valeric acid modulates GABA receptors and it is known to be a CNS
depressant.

There is a synthetic CNS depressant, FDA-approved (U.S.) as an
anticonvulsant, which is derived from valerian.  It is

  valproic acid = 2-propylvaleric acid = di-n-propylacetic acid.

Like valeric acid, valproic acid modulates GABA.

Valium (diazepam) is a benzodiazepine, and neither of these compounds
look anything like a benzodiazepine.  (Diazepam is cyclic, and valeric
acid is not, e.g.)

All of the preceding can be verified from the Merck Index.

Another a.f.h.  subscriber in email cites a cyclic compound called
valtratum that is said to be an active component of valerian, and
gives as a reference _Farmakognosi_ by Gunnar Samuelsson, 1982.

Of course this doesn't prove that valerian doesn't contain a valium
analogue, but it does show that a substituted valeric acid (which
isn't related chemically to benzodiazepines) is a CNS depressant, and
that valeric acid is sufficient to account for the sedative properties
of valerian.

I would be genuinely pleased if someone could come up with a reference
which shows Valium to be derived from valerian, and which shows the
compound in valerian from which Valium is said to be derived.

No one was able to do so last time this came up in a.f.h.

On a related etymological note, the amino acid valine, which takes its
name from valerian, is 2-aminovaleric acid.

Peace,
Ash
--
 | Ash | K.A.Rice | [email-masked] | [email-masked]    |
                  | [email-masked] | [email-masked] |

==========
2.1.2  Yohimbine is not a MAO inhibitor
-----  by [email-masked] (Steve Dyer)

<someone> wrote:
>The problem with yohimbe is that its principle active ingredient
>(yohimbine) is an potent MAO inhibitor.

Yohimbine is NOT an MAO inhibitor.  This is one of the most frequently
regurgitated pieces of nonsense on the net (next to "Valium is derived
>from  Valerian".) The drug is an alpha-2 adrenergic antagonist. By
blocking presynaptic inhibitory neurons it actually acts as a
stimulant. 
It also can raise blood pressure, from the same mechanisms.

One might expect to see additive or supraadditive effects from taking
other sympathomimetic drugs simultaneously, so your advice to avoid
such is still good.

--
Steve Dyer
[email-masked]

==========
2.1.3 Absinthe FAQ pointer
-----
If you really are serious about Absinthe go get the alt.drugs FAQ on
the subject from hyperreal.com /drugs/faqs: FAQ-Absinthe.
Be warned - thujone IS dangerous, no matter what the FAQ says.

==========
2.1.4 St. John's Wort (Hypericum) and Photosensitivity
-----
Here's the question (on the herblist (see 8.1 below) in November
1994):
-----
As to Hypericum perforatum (St. John's Wort) causing photosensitivity
in humans, I have been unable to find a single study that verifies
this in vivo.  Lots of research on the effects of hypericin on cattle
and insects, but humans? This may be an example of assumptive jumping
>from  mammalian lab results to humans.  Anyone know a study that
indicates photosensitivity in humans do to Hypericum?

Cheers-
Peggy

-----
Here's the answer:

-----
>From  Howie Brounstein:

I don't know of any, Peggy.  I have not heard of one case of human
photosensitivity, even in the blond, blue-eyed, fair skinned ones,
>from  standard dosages of tincture.  Now I haven't asked any albinos
doing truckloads of hypericum a day - maybe they'd have a problem. 
I've known a few folks who definitely did not like the feeling they
got from St. John's Wort, but being slightly saner than the average
bear, they stopped taking it.  Perhaps they've shunned the sun if they
continued.  But albino cows definitely have a problem with St. John's
Wort.

And so the authorities that be in charge (of cows and bugs, anyway) in
Northern California has waged a war against the poor St. John, hapless
victim of human transport from Europe.  By releasing bugs from afar,
they strive to rid our pasture of this scourage from the old country. 
Alas, for I wonder - when there are only small populations left in the
area, will St. John become a rare and protected plant??

I do know that some common psychiatric pharmaceuticals DO cause
photosensitivity in humans...

And when you hold the leaves of the hypericum perforatum the light
of the sky you will see little holes, actually compartments
(perforations), that trap and use the energy of the sun to run a
biochemical factory, making hypericin, the red colored constituent
assumed to be one of the active ones.  Squueeezze that unopened flower
bud - just a hint of yellow petals peaking so cautiously from its
sepal safety - sqqqueeeezze and you will delight to find a drop of
redness so strong as to dye the fingers.

Now when I teach my students about this Wort, we general use flower
buds and the stems and small leaves attached to them to prepare oils
and tinctures. This appears to work just fine, producing extracts of
wondrous redfulness. But those who wish for an herbal nectar of
delight of greater strength, they sit for hours collecting just flower
petals in some Zen like quest. Well, what good's an herbalist without
patience :) ...Certainly they are rewarded with extract of unequalled
value (not found in Cheapside).

Now I'm not one to believe new herbal scientific data until I see the
experiment reproduced by other researchers (especially if they have
different sources of funding).  Recently I saw an article (was it
Medical Herbalism?) that stated two research teams at about the same
time released results of this Wort being antiviral against enveloped
virus that include herpes, etc.  But of interest to me was the notion
that sunlight increased the Wort's anti-viral effects - that sun again
- somehow, in some mysterious way linked to this plant and it's
effects.  Without exposure to sunlight the herbs anti-viral effect
dropped markedly.

I don't have all that much experience with bipolar and other mental
disorders and Hypericum, although I believe that consistent dosages
long term is the way to go ...and careful with self medication.  With
many of these kinds of problems you may not be able to tell if it's
working, especially since you started taking it and you feel great, I
mean really good, as you swing up into a manic phase and over one edge
or the other.  Have someone who can help you gauge your illness
objectively (ha) or at least tell you if you've fallen off the fence.
It can be hard to tell from the inside.

So ideally the Wort would take away the highs and lows and make the
emotional rollercoaster of todays hectic society more even.  As
opposed to the muscle relaxing tranquilizing effects of Valerian,
Skullcap, Pedicularis, and such.  I don't know about clinical studies,
but in my experience the Wort works for some and not others for simple
depression and light rollercoaster rides that do not incapacitate the
riders.  And it even works as a muscle relaxant in some people.  Not
the "sure and steady" herb that works effectively for everyone (like
that bitter Hore Hound that makes everyone gag ...I mean cough.)

And this even tempered plant grows in disturbed places, roadsides,
lots, loves it when its been bulldozed a year or so ago.  A calming
herb that grows all over disturbed areas ...hmmmmm.  Perhaps one
shouldn't focus on the oddities and quirks of nature and coincidence,
but I think it's cool.

The Wort Oil is good for skin irritations and such. I seen it help
when the calendula, comfrey, penstemon and other herbs won't work.  It
also helps cuts and external physical injuries in general.  But in my
eyes it seems to have an affinity for the nerves, and it seems to be
specific for injuries accompanied by nerve trauma, like I cut my arm
and my finger goes numb. I wouldn't claim it reconnects severed
nerves, but it will aid in healing them if traumatized.  But don't be
mislead by symptoms - put the oil on the arm injury, not the numb
finger.

Howie Brounstein
C&W Herbs
Eugene, Oregon

-----
>From  Peggy to above:

>But of interest to me was the notion that sunlight increased the
 Wort's anti-viral effects...  <snip> Without exposure to sunlight the
 herbs anti-viral effect dropped markedly.

Yes, and another really neat thing is that the hypericin (and its
phototoxicity in predator insects) is activated, in the presence of
oxygen, at the same wavelength that is given off by the Hypericum
leaves in the sun. (540-610 nm).  Some insects that ingest Hypericum
have adapted by tying together leaves and feeding inside the ties,
therefore protecting themselves from the effects of the hypericin.
(Sandberg, SL, et al. "Leaf-tying by tortricid larvae as an adaptation
for feeding on phototoxic Hypericum perforatum." JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL
ECOLOGY, 1989 15(3):875-886.)

Cheers-
Peggy

-----
>From  Jonathan Treasure:

Photoxicity of Hypericum in a small proportion of the (blonde)
population has been clinically noted especially with topical
application whether published or not.  Here is an extract from a
report from this years' Convention of Naturopathic Physicians in the
US which adds some interesting information about the incidence of
Phototoxicity in Puerto Rican AIDS sufferers

begins
One doctor at the conference who treats a lot of AIDS patients said 
she had seen frequent cases of phototoxocity in dark skinned Puerto 
Ricans, especially with higher doses and long term administration.  
AIDS patients started taking hypericum when is was found that the 
hypericin had an anti-HIV effect in mice.  Use has persisted in spite 
of later discovery that it doesn't help HIV in humans.  Most AIDS 
patients feel much better when taking hypericum, probably because of 
the antidepressant effect -- depression is probably the least often 
mentioned symptom of AIDS.

Another doctor showed us her legs at the conference -- she had used a
hypericum ultrasound gel to treat a sprained ankle.  The ultrasound
drives the contents of the gel directly into the tissues.  She later
worked in the direct sunlight, and soon had second degree burns, 
complete with blisters, whenever the sunlight fell on the gel-treated 
skin.  Six weeks later we could still see the shadow on the back of 
the leg where the sunlight didn't fall, and the shadow of a sandal 
strap across the front of the ankle.  There was scarring from the 
blisters.  By the way, she said the only thing that would help the 
severe pain was aloe vera gel.
end

Jonathan
([email-masked])

-----
>From  Peggy to above:

Thank you for the reply.  I suspected that incidents of phototox could 
be found somewhere, just couldn't come up with them.  I understand 
that Hypericin's anti-viral activities (in vitro) are dependent on 
"light-dose" (wavelength and duration), drug-dosage, and the presence 
of oxygen.  It makes sense, then that phototoxicity was found at the 
higher, long-term usages (in addition to other factors).  Thank you, 
again.

Cheers-
Peggy

-----
>From  Howie Brounstein to above:

Still, I believe that the average user treating depression shouldn't 
shy away from trying this Wort.  The chemical alternatives have their 
dangers, too, including photosensitivity.  I'll avoid ultrasound/ 
hypericum treatments.

Howie

-----
>From  Michael Moore:

I have retailed and wholesaled herbs for 20 years and have taught and
written about green stuff for 16 years (...and breathed and micturated 
for almost 54), and I have only run across 1 person to have shown 
signs of photosensitization from Hypericum.  He was a student of mine 
in an 8-month program a few years ago.  He was what my grandma used to 
call "Black Irish" (I guess as opposed to a Dirty-Blond Irish like 
myself) and had the semi-transparent skin and jet-black hair of people 
like Liam or Patrick Clancy.  Since he suffered from some mild 
hereditary neuropeptide imbalances that showed up as a fairly classic 
long-cycle bipolarity, he was quite taken with the use of the fresh 
tincture of both Hypericum perf. and H. formosum which we gathered 
during a couple of field trips.

As he related a year later, he took a fly-fishing vacation after the 
class, returning to a place in the San Juans of Colorado (8,500 feet) 
that the class had visited.  He had been going through a depressive 
period ("Got Those OLD Relationship Blues...scooby do-WOP... 
<beat>...<beat>...scooby-dooby...do-WOP!"), and was taking up to an 
ounce of the Hypericum tincture (1:2, fresh plant) a day...a truly 
excessive amount (it's an Irish thing, y'know?).  He broke out in 
hives that lasted nearly a month.  He casually announced that he had 
been taking a pharmaceutical anti-depressant for nearly a decade...I 
hadn't even noticed.  I guess I am too likely to take people as they 
are without a second thought.
<snip>

I figure the photosensitivity resulted from
A.  Racial sensitivity
B.  High altitude
C.  VERY high dosage
D.  (he was a Pisces)
 --and especially--
E.  Synergy with antidepressant meds (that he declined to identify)

Several years later another man (a customer) had a lip herpes 
outbreak, possibly the result of playing tennis in the sunlight while 
using Hypericum to help some back pain.  He had had sun reactions 
before, so it is hard to speculate further.
He too was Black Irish.

In both instances the herbs were taken internally and the media was a 
fresh tincture...appropriate, since the dry herb is nearly inert.  The 
student was using high quantities along with medication and the 
customer showed little more than passing and perhaps serendipitous 
symptoms, and I have had GALLONS of my Hypericum tincture and oil go 
through my grubbies over a couple of decades (usually used by folks 
going through a stretch of somato-psychic flakiness and often 
manifesting a peculiar, if temporary, lack of judgement regarding 
emotions, dosages, and self-monitoring).  I consider Hypericum to be 
safe...this is based on personally observing hundreds of people who 
have used quality Hypericum preparations (...mine).
I would need a BIG study to convince me otherwise...or I would need to
start getting negative feedback.

This is not an idle statement.  Like the Wandering Homeopath, 
travelling the world seeking provings (you mean you haven't heard THAT 
legend? Well, the way I hear it, old Dr. Kent had retired to practice 
in Montana and one day this Basque sheepherder came into his 
office...) I have always tried my best to keep track of potential 
side-effects of herbs.  I use herbs constitutionally, and any synergy 
or contraindication I encounter helps me to understand the secondary 
effects of a remedy so I can try to fit herbs and people together more 
reliably.

Secondary effects are my grist (am I mixing metaphors again??).  I 
can't work on Susun Weed's precepts level, that the body takes what it 
needs from what you offer it, anymore than I can work with a 
phytopharmaceutical model that ignores the multi-systemic effects of a 
plant while focusing only on a specific band of pharmacokinetics ... 
better even (they say) to refine (reduce) DOWN to single constituents 
so as to better exaggerate the band and diminish the "unwanted" 
whispers.  Sort of like taking a lovely image and running it through 
Photoshop plugins until you only have some raggedy and stark black-
and-white outlines that bear little resemblance to the source.  As 
most herbs, only using Hypericum for its anti-anxiety effects is to 
ignore the subtle shades and colors it causes as it moves INTO, 
THROUGH and OUT of the body.  This three-dimensional hologram of 
effects is what makes herbs superior to drugs...  in a wholistic 
model...and makes drugs superior to herbs in a medical model.  To view 
herbs primarily as safer "little sister" analogs to drug therapies 
developed FOR the medical model is to be blind to the greater value 
they have in vitalist wholism, and to avoid the greater task and 
difficulty (and even glory) we face trying to build (rebuild) models 
of health and disease derived from balance and imbalance.
<snip>

Michael
[email-masked]

-----
>From  Jonathan Treasure:

Well...  I just got 88 pages of bumpf from NAPRALERT on Hypericum and 
there isn't a single mention of phototoxicity - so it seems that apart 
>from  a couple of anecdotal cases its not an issue as Michael Peggy 
Howie et aial say ...  just keep away from the ultra sound gel in the 
solarium.

Further to the Wort being a lover of roadsides etc. Howie, it was 
widely distributed through Europe in Roman times by marching 
legionaries, who also used it soothe their sore feet.  (another 
anecdote not in NAPRALERT)

jonathan
([email-masked])

==========
2.1.5  Ginseng
-----

Ginseng comes from the Chinese "jen shen," which means "man root", so 
named because some roots have limb like branches resembling arms and 
legs. Because the root has a humanlike shape, it is considered by the 
Orientals to be an overall body tonic.  The root is not harvested 
until it is two or more years old; the older the root, the higher its 
value.  It is held in high esteem in China where it has been valued 
for thousands of years, sometimes commanding a higher price than gold. 
An ancient Chinese Herbalist is quoted as saying, "Person would rather 
take handful of ginseng then cartload of gold and jewels."  There are 
three main herbs that fall under the label ginseng. Although all forms 
of ginseng have similar properties, there are some subtle differences.

GINSENG, KOREAN (Panax) is the most widely used and studied ginseng in 
the world.  As an adaptogen herb, it is believed to help "balance" the 
body. Ginseng's botanical name, Panax, is derived from the Greek 
goddess, Panacea, the one who "heals all.".  Ancient Chinese records 
dated from 25 AD mention this plant as a superior herb for increasing 
overall strength and endurance, and for promoting health and well-
being throughout the body.   Korean Ginseng is said to be hotter than 
either the American or Siberian Ginseng.

There are two types of Panax - red and white - which reflect 
differences in the processing of the root, the red ginseng is 
considered to be of superior quality. David Mowrey in his book, "next 
Generation Herbal Medicine, has compiled a "Top Twenty" listing for 
Korean Ginseng based on the "mass of clinical data and 3,000 years of 
ancient Chinese medicine":

1.  Tumours                     11.  Stress
2.  Diabetes                    12.  Asthma
3.  Radiation sickness          13.  Headaches
4.  Neurosis                    14.  Anemia
5.  Hypotension                 15.  Indigestion
6.  Hypertension                16.  Impotence
7.  Joint swellings and pain    17.  Depression
8.  Cardiac arrythmiea          18.  Nervous - Anxiety
9.  Atherosclerosis             19.  Mental disorders
10. Fatigue - exhaustion        20.  Heart disease

GINSENG, SIBERIAN (Eleutherococcus senticosus) is a member of the 
ginseng family, though it is of a different genus than other popular 
ginsengs such as the Panax variety.  Natural resources of Siberian 
Ginseng can be found in eastern Russian and northern Japan. What makes 
Eleutherococcus particularly interesting is that it is a completely 
novel plant, unknown in traditional medicine, and discovered by fairly 
recent research when the Russians were hunting for a homegrown 
substitute for expensive ginseng they were importing from China and 
Korea. Screening other members of the same Araliaceae family, they put 
this dark-berried plant through their standard mouse-stamina test and 
noted that mice fortified with it swam half as far again as the 
control mice. Interest sharpened, more tests were done at the U.S.S.R. 
Academy of Science's Institute of Biologically Active Substances, and 
the decisive test was personally supervised by the Institute's
Director, Professor I. I. Brekhman. He watched the performance of a 
large group of athletes running a 10 mile race, and saw that those who 
had taken the plant clocked up an average time of 5 minutes less than 
the runners who had swallowed a placebo. By 1962, Eleutherococcus was 
officially entered in the Russian pharmacopoeia.

Summary of Benefits of Siberian Ginseng:
- Increases physical indurance under stress
- Prevents reduction of endurance after exposure to heartstressing 
  activity
- Protects against reduced cellular oxygen
- Protects against excessive heat and excessive cold conditions
- Protects against radiation exposure
- Protects against viral and microbial infections
- Augments sexual function
- Helps prevent tumor metastasis
- Favors normalization of neurotransmitter metabolism
- Promotes normal endocrine function
- Functions as a detoxifier, reducing the effect of toxic chemical
  compounds
- Improves visual acuity, color perception and hearing acuity
- Increases output per person-hour in work settings requiring
  attention and nervous tension

GINSENG, WILD AMERICAN (Panax quinquefolius) grows in the northeast 
U.S. and Canada.  In the U.S. it is found from Michigan and Wisconsin, 
south to northern Florida, Alabama, Louisiana and Oaklahoma. A heavy 
concentration lies in the Appalachian Mountains, although wild 
American ginseng is considered endangered. Ginseng was valued by the 
native American Indians long before the white men began to popularize 
it. It gained wide acclaim in the 1700's, when a French Jesuit priest 
returned to Paris with a sample he had found in southern Canada. 
Sensing the potential profits from the plant, Jesuits sent 
missionaries to Canada to find more of it, and for several years the 
Jesuits shipped tons of American ginseng to China. In 1784 George 
Wahington reported meeting pack horses carrying ginseng.  Daniel Boone 
and Davy Crockett are said to have made large sums of money in ginseng 
trafficking. American ginseng became a lucrative crop, and not unlike 
the gold during the gold rush of California, the wild ginseng was 
almost wiped out along the Eastern seaboard due to overharvesting. 
American ginseng is considered to have more cooling properties than 
its Asian counterparts. It is only used after the roots are at least 
four years old. Despite its being very difficult to cultivate, some 
farmers have succeeded. Eighty percent of U.S. ginseng is grown in 
Marathon County, Wisconsin. Most American ginseng is exported to Asian 
countries.

Elizabeth Troews

-----
On the herblist Aug 1994:

>Could someone be kind enough to summarize the possible adverse
effects of ginseng? I've been taking a popular brand for a month now
and am generally happy with the effect on a chronic sinus problem and
energy levels, but beginning to feel kind of strung out ... i am
drinking caffeine and wonder if this could be a problem. Also need to
know about possible adverse interactions with prescription drugs such
as blood pressure medications.

Woah...."Ginseng Abuse Syndrome" is even recognised by the AMA. You do
not mention what kind of Ginseng or how much. I will defer to the TCM
people on this list to give wither you from the Chinese view but ...
surely you're not really doing coffee and ginseng? Oh dear oh dear ...
tut tut.

1. It is nonsensical to take caffeine and ginseng together regularly.
You will stress your adrenals (*get strung out*) and possibly raise
your *stress threshold* to a danger point .

2. Ginseng should be used with extreme caution in hypertensive
situations especially if under medication.

3. Sinusitis? Not the *usual* prescription. Pass.

4. Toxic signs - not uniformly predictable but can include
hypertension, euphoria, nervousness, skin eruptions, morning diarrhea.

5. Contraindications - nervous anxiety, nervous tension, hypertension,
disturbed menstruation, stimulant or rec. drug abuse, good vitality in
younger persons.

Most recommend taking as a tonic for a period then alternating without
eg 3 weeks on 2 weeks off.

Jonathan Treasure

-----
> the Peterson guide I have on edible wild plants recommends wild
american ginseng as a trail nibble...

If you did happen to find a Wild American ginseng, you should leave it
right where it is! Shame on Peterson. The plant is rare, and probably
endangered throughout its range.

Paul  ||  [email-masked]

-----
On alt.folklore.herbs June 1995:
> I've heard the ads for ginseng pills-- are they worth the money?
> If so, are all brands the same?

Hello, you definitely want to buy from a reputable company.  According 
to Professer Wang at the University of Alberta researchers found that 
many prepackaged ginseng products had a major shortcoming designed to 
fool the consumer. You guessed it ... no ginseng.

Elizabeth Toews

==========
2.1.6  Stevia Leaf - Too Good To Be Legal?
-----  by Rob McCaleb, Herb Research Foundation

For hundreds of years, people in Paraguay and Brazil have used a sweet
leaf to sweeten bitter herbal teas including mate.  For nearly 20
years, Japanese consumers by the millions have used extracts of the
same plant as a safe, natural, non-caloric sweetener.  The plant is
stevia, formally known as Stevia rebaudiana, and today it is under
wholesale attack by the U.S.  Food and Drug Administration.

Stevia is a fairly unassuming perennial shrub of the aster family
(Asteraceae), native to the northern regions of South America.  It has
now been grown commercially in Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Central
America, the United States, Israel, Thailand and China.  The leaves
contain several chemicals called glycosides, which taste sweet, but do
not provide calories.  The major glycoside is called stevioside, and 
is
one of the major sweeteners in use in Japan and Korea.  Stevia and its 
extracts have captured over 40% of the Japanese market.  Major
multinational food companies like Coca Cola and Beatrice foods,
convinced of its safety, use stevia extracts to sweeten foods for sale
in Japan, Brazil, and other countries where it is approved.
Europeans first learned of stevia when the Spanish Conquistadors of
the Sixteenth Century sent word to Spain that the natives of South
America had used the plant to sweeten herbal tea since "ancient
times".

The saga of American interest in stevia began around the turn of the
Twentieth Century when researchers in Brazil started hearing about "a
plant with leaves so sweet that a part of one would sweeten a whole
gourd full of mate." The plant had been described in 1899 by
Dr. M. S. Bertoni.  In 1921 the American Trade Commissioner to
Paraguay commented in a letter "Although known to science for thirty
years and used by the Indians for a much longer period nothing has
been done commercially with the plant.  This has been due to a lack of
interest on the part of capital and to the difficulty of cultivation."

Dr. Bertoni wrote some of the earliest articles on the plant in 1905
and 1918.  In the latter article he notes:

"The principal importance of Ka he'e (stevia) is due to the
possibility of substituting it for saccharine.  It presents these
great advantages over saccharine:

1. It is not toxic but, on the contrary, it is healthful, as shown by
   long experience and according to the studies of Dr. Rebaudi.
2. It is a sweetening agent of great power.
3. It can be employed directly in its natural state, (pulverized
   leaves).
4. It is much cheaper than saccharine."

Unfortunately, this last point may have been the undoing of stevia.
Noncaloric sweeteners are a big business in the U.S., as are caloric
sweeteners like sugar and the sugar-alcohols, sorbitol, mannitol and
xylitol.  It is small wonder that the powerful sweetener interests
here, do not want the natural, inexpensive, and non-patentable stevia
approved in the U.S.
In the 1970s, the Japanese government approved the plant, and food
manufacturers began using stevia extracts to sweeten everything from
sweet soy sauce and pickles to diet Coke.  Researchers found the
extract interesting, resulting in dozens of well-designed studies of
its safety, chemistry and stability for use in different food
products.
Various writers have praised the taste of the extracts, which has much
less of the bitter aftertaste prevalent in most noncaloric sweeteners.
In addition to Japan, other governments have approved stevia and
stevioside, including those of Brazil, China and South Korea, among
others.  Unfortunately, the US was destined to be a different story.
Stevia has been safely used in this country for over ten years, but a
few years ago, the trouble began.

FDA ATTACK ON STEVIA

Around 1987, FDA inspectors began visiting herb companies who were
selling stevia, telling them to stop using it because it is an
"unapproved food additive".  By mid 1990 several companies had been
visited.  In one case FDA's inspector reportedly told a company
president they were trying to get people to stop using stevia "because
Nutra Sweet complained to FDA." The Herb Research Foundation(HRF),
which has extensive scientific files on stevia, became concerned and
filed a Freedom of Information Act request with FDA for information
about contacts between Nutra Sweet and FDA about stevia.  It took over
a year to get any information from the FDA, but the identity of the
company who prompted the FDA action was masked by the agency.

In May, 1991 FDA acted by imposing an import alert on stevia to
prevent it from being imported into the US.  They also began formally
warning companies to stop using the "illegal" herb.
By the beginning of 1991, the American Herbal Products Association
(AHPA) was working to defend stevia.  At their general meeting at
Natural Products Expo West, members of the industry pledged most of
the needed funds to support work to convince FDA of the safety of
stevia.  AHPA contracted HRF to produce a professional review of the
stevia literature.  The review was conducted by Doug Kinghorn, PhD.,
one of the world's leading authorities on stevia and other natural
non-nutritive sweeteners.  Dr. Kinghorn's report was peer-reviewed by
several other plant safety experts and concluded that historical and
current common use of stevia, and the scientific evidence all support
the safety of this plant for use in foods.  Based on this report, and
other evidence, AHPA filed a petition with FDA in late October asking
FDA's "acquiescence and concurrence" that stevia leaf is exempt from
food additive regulations and can be used in foods.

FDA, apparently attempting to regulate this herb as they would a new
food additive, contends that there is inadequate evidence to approve
stevia.  However, because of its use in Japan, there is much more
scientific evidence of stevia's safety than for most foods and
additives.  The extent of evidence FDA is demanding for the approval
of stevia, far exceeds that which has been required to approve even
new synthetic food chemicals like aspartame (Nutra Sweet).

AHPA's petition points out that FDA's food additive laws were meant to
protect consumers from synthetic chemicals added to food.  FDA is
trying, in the case of stevia to claim that stevia is the same as a
chemical food additive.  But as the AHPA petition points out,
Congress did not intend food additive legislation to regulate natural
constituents of food itself.  In fact, Congressman Delaney said in
1956, "There is hardly a food sold in the market today which has not
had some chemicals used on or in it at some stage in its production,
processing, packaging, transportation or storage." He stressed that
his proposed bill was to assure the safety of "new chemicals that are
being used in our daily food supply," and when asked if the
regulations would apply to whole foods, he replied "No, to food
chemicals only." AHPA contends that stevia is a food, which is
already recognized as safe because of its long history of food use.
Foods which have a long history of safe use are exempted by law from
the extensive laboratory tests required of new food chemicals.  The
AHPA petition, however, supports the safe use of stevia with both the
historical record, and references to the numerous toxicology studies
conducted during the approval process in Japan, and studies by
interested researchers in other countries.

To date, the FDA still refuses to allow stevia to be sold in the U.S.
but the recently-enacted Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act
of 1994 may prevent the FDA from treating stevia and other natural
herbs as "food additives."

[email-masked]     --  [also [email-masked]]

==========
2.1.7  Poison Ivy / Oak / Sumac
-----
(Mostly pulled from rec.gardens archives 1992 - 1994, some pulled from 
alt.folklore.herbs archives 1993 -, some taken off bionet.plants June 
1995). (If you wrote some text I've included here but you aren't 
mentioned please email - I'll be happy to mention you in the next 
version.)

-----
How to recognize PI/PS/PO

courtesy Kay Klier ([email-masked]):
POISON IVY (Toxicodendron radicans = Rhus radicans = Rhus 
   toxicodendron) Found in a wide range of habitats, but in the 
   midwest often seen in disturbed woods, roadsides, and flood  
   plains.  Most widespread of PI, PS, and PO.
Small, slightly woody plant, or shrubby, or vining.   LEAVES 
   ALTERNATE (= 1 leaf per node), TRIFOLIOLATE (=3 leaflets), with 
   pedicel (leafstalk) and the CENTRAL LEAFLET WITH PETIOLULE 
   (=leaflet stalk).  The lateral two leaflets are not distinctly 
   stalked.  Leaflets are a variety of shapes, but generally ovate or 
   obovate (roughly apple-leaf shaped).  Leaflets may be smooth-edged 
   (entire), irregularly toothed, or shallowly lobed.  Leaves of one  
   variant look like small oak-leaves (but look again!). 
   Leaves apple-green and shiny in the spring, deep green and often 
   dusty in the summer, turning a glorious reddish orange in the 
   fall.  Flowers tiny, whitish, in clusters; fruits white berries in 
   late summer or fall.
Closest look-alike:  Box-elder seedlings (Acer negundo), which has 
   OPPOSITE, trifoliolate leaves; the lateral two leaflets are often 
   slightly stalked. Older box-elders generally have 5 leaflets per 
   leaf.

POISON SUMAC (Toxicodendron vernix = Rhus vernix)   Shrub, to perhaps 
   15-20 ft tall, often branched from the base.  LEAVES ALTERNATE 
   WITH 7-13 LEAFLETS, lateral leaflets without a petiolule (leaflet 
   stalk), TERMINAL LEAFLET WITH A STALK.  MIDRIB OF THE LEAF WITHOUT 
   A PAIR OF WINGS OF TISSUE THAT RUN BETWEEN LEAFLET PAIRS.  More 
   small, whitish berries in a long cluster. Usually in wetlands, 
   Maine to Minnesota, south to Texas and Florida.
Closest look-alikes: Staghorn sumac, Rhus typhina, which has clusters 
   of fuzzy, red fruits and toothed leaflets, and likes dry soils; 
   Smooth sumac, Rhus glabra, with bright red fruits and slightly 
   toothed leaves; much drier soil than PS.

POISON OAK: (Toxicodendron diversiloba = Rhus diversiloba).   
   Reputedly the worst of the bunch.  Erect shrub, usually about 
   3-6 ft tall (to 12 ft!), bushy, with ALTERNATE LEAVES OF THREE 
   LEAFLETS, the LEAFLETS generally lobed slightly or as much as an 
   oak leaf; CENTRAL LEAFLET STALKED.  Leaves generally bright, shiny 
   green above, paler below.  Fruits are small whitish berries. 
   Common on the west coast, esp. low places, thickets and wooded 
   slopes. Occasionally a 5-leafleted form is found.

Steve Hix ([email-masked]), in response to above: 
>POISON OAK description...
If it were only that simple! In addition to that form, you can find 
   poison oak growing as a vine (very like wild grape, but with 
   smooth bark) up to six inches in diameter disappearing up into the 
   tree tops near streams, or in thickets that look a *lot* like 
   blackberry without spines, or sometimes as collections of leafless 
   single branches (later the leaves appear, shiny and red, changing 
   to oily green, and so on).
   Fortunately, it doesn't seem to grow much above 5000' elevation.

-----
How to avoid the rash

Difficult if you live near PO/PI/PS...
... the best way not to get the rash is to learn to recognize the 
plant(s) and avoid it (them) after that.

But:
- You can even get a dose if a bunch of the leaves get dumped into a 
  stream or pond ... the oil ends up floating on the surface of the 
  water.
- Dogs / cats / horses can get it on their coats and you'll get it 
  from them when you pet them barehanded.
- If you burn these plants and inhale the smoke you'll get a bad case 
  of internal PI.

-----
Why does it give you a rash? / Spreading the oil about

courtesy Ron Rushing <[email-masked]>:
The irritant in poison ivy, poison sumac, and poison oak is urushiol.  
   The rash you get is an allergic reaction.  Everything I say below 
   about poison ivy should also apply to poison oak and sumac.
If you brush up against a healthy undamaged plant, you won't usually 
   get urushiol on you.  You usually have to come in contact with a 
   damaged leaf.  Almost all plants have damaged leaves - either from 
   insects, weather, or from your stepping on them.
The oil is easily transferred from one place to another.  For example, 
   I got some on my shoelaces once, and I kept getting poison ivy on 
   my hands for a couple of months. Once it is on your hands, it can, 
   and will, end up anywhere on you body.
The rash from poison ivy can take up to 72 hours to appear after 
   exposure, and is often spread on the body by taking showers while 
   the oils are still on the skin.
Once you get the oil on clothing, it can sit for months and still 
   cause a rash upon contact with your skin.  For example,lets say you 
   get some poison ivy oil on your boots, then put the boots away for 
   the winter. Next spring you get out the boots and go for a walk - 
   but not in the woods. A few days later, voila - your hands are 
   breaking out from putting on your boots and tying the laces.
As long as you've washed the original oil off your skin, the exudate 
   from the blisters should not re-infect your skin.  It's just 
   exudate, and does not contain urushiol.

courtesy [email-masked] (K. R. Robertson):
Washing with strong soap merely removes excess poison from the skin, 
   but will not remove any which has already reacted, because the 
   poison is believed to form a complex with skin proteins and 
   therefore is not removable short of removing the skin!  Even so, it 
   is difficult to wash off this insoluble poison completely.
Eating a leaf of poison-ivy may have disastrous results.  One may 
   surpass his normal level of immunity by the first bite; in this 
   case he is in for an internal case of poison-ivy, occasionally 
   known to be fatal.
The mechanism of sensitivity is not thoroughly understood.  It does 
   not behave like protein sensitivities such as hay fever.  It is a 
   hypersensitivity of the delayed type, whose mechanism is related to 
   that of organ transplant rejection.
(Originally prepared by William T. Gillis, 1973, Revised by Kenneth R. 
Robertson, 1993, Illinois Natural History)

courtesy [email-masked] (Robert Gault):
The active ingredient in poison ivy and other plants in the same 
   family is 3-n-Pentadecylcatechol, common name urushiol, which is a 
   chemical in the phenol family.
Dermatitis (skin inflamation and blistering) is spread by the act of 
   scratching which redistributes the urushiol over the body. While 
   the normal treatment for poision ivy does not include the 
   suggestion below, a reasonable approach would be to convert the 
   urushiol into a water soluable material. Phenols are acids so 
   washing with a weak base like diluted house hold ammonia or a paste 
   of baking soda should do the trick.

courtesy Kay Klier ([email-masked]):
People who react to any of the species of PI/PO/PS will undoubtedly 
   react to the others; further, they may cross-react with mango 
   (Mangifera indica), cashew (Anacardium occidentale), and Chinese or 
   Japanese Lacquer (Rhus verniciflua).  (the cellulose-based spray 
   paint that is called lacquer is not involved in this... just "real" 
   lacquer, like carved lacquer boxes, etc.).
Generally speaking, it's not a good idea to sit under any member of 
   the Anacardiaceae in the rain... they all tend to have a leaf toxin 
   that falls on innocent bystanders below.
Most people are NOT sensitive to PI/PO/PS at birth, but become 
   sensitized through repeated exposures.  Some people are apparently 
   immune throughout their lives, but I really don't know how to test 
   that claim... ;-)
There is a barrier cream and a cleanup wash called Technu commonly 
   used by those who are sensitized to PI/PO/PS.  Works quite well.

-----