The Earthwise Herbal Repertory

by Matthew Wood

  Herbs that assist the functioning of other remedies are known by many names. The term “adjuvant” is fairly broad, and can be used to refer to plants that act to “tweak” a formula, perhaps by directing it to a specific organ, changing the consistency of the herbal material, or integrating diverse effects. Adjuvants include accelorators and synergists.

  When an herb increases the effectiveness of another plant or a formula, it is called an “accelerator” in Southern folk medicine. Many of these are “diffusives” that stimulate the nerves or circulation, or both, to help the formula “get into all the corners.” Examples here are Lobelia, Capsicum (cayenne), and Zanthoxylum (prickly ash). Others help a medicine cross the small intestinal membrane. A good example here is the addition of 1 part Piper nigra (pepper) to 10 parts Curcuma (turmeric) in Ayurvedic medicine. This increases the effectiveness of turmeric many times over. Some accelerators increase actions in unknown ways.

  Plants that complement each other are known as “synergists”: the two plants together have more power than either one by itself. For instance, Crataegus (hawthorn berry) increases the coronary circulation, while hawthorn leaf and flower increase the peripheral circulation. Achillea (yarrow) increases the action of the veins; Zanthoxylum of the capillaries—so the two are synergists.

  These relationships can only be learned by experience, and are difficult to identify.

  Slightly different is the idea of one organ helping another. By strengthening or sedating one organ, we may affect another that depends upon or is being overshadowed by it. For instance, in order to help the heart, we might have to work with the kidneys and lungs as well. William LeSassier used the term “emissary” to describe an herb for an organ that also assists another organ.

  Samuel Thomson originated the use of “diffusives”—plants that strongly stimulate the nervous system, firstly for their specific effect, and secondly to help carry a formula deeper into the system. The term diffusive was coined by Dr. John Thatcher in 1810 and not by Thomson, who was functionally and medically illiterate (Wood 2000). The Thomsonian diffusives increase circulation to the periphery or stimulate the deep organs, or both. Eastern chai spices and Chinese “spleen yang tonics” increase circulation to the stomach and center of the body, so are similar to Western herbal carminatives and diffusives.

  Diffusives (Thomsonian and related Western herbs): • Achillea (diffusive to the blood and neurovascular system) • Betonica (diffusive through the nerves to head, stomach, periphery) • Capsicum (diffusive to the blood and neurovascular system, heart, and stomach) • Echinacea (diffusive to the lymph and veins) • Liriodendron (gently diffuses the pulmonary circulation and periphery by thinning the blood) • Lobelia (vagal, autonomic diffusive; directs other remedies to their appropriate place) • Myrica (diffusive to the mucosa; increases peripheral circulation) • Phytolacca (diffusive to the nerves, blood, lymph, glands) • Rosmarinus (diffusive to the neurovascular system, brain, spine) • Tsuga (diffusive to the kidneys, lower back, and down to the feet) • Turnera (diffusive to the nerves) • Zanthoxylum (diffusive to the nerves and capillary bed).

  Diffusives (Chai Spices, Spleen-Warming Herbs, and Analogs from Eastern Herbalism): • Angelica • Cinnamomum (warming and astringent; bark) • Comptonia (warming, astringent, sweet; Western herb with action like a chai spice) • Elletaria (warming, stimulating) • Eugenia (the cloves are warming and stimulating) • Illicium (warming and stimulating) • Piper (black and white; opens GI pores for increased absorption) • Zingiberis (the dried rhizome is extremely warming).

  Organ Affinities: • Achillea (peripheral circulation; veins) • Aesculus hip. (veins) • Acorus (trachea; brain) • Agrimonia (liver) • Alchemilla (pelvic-floor astringent) • Asclepias (synovium) • Astragalus (strengthens the periphery; not diffusive but nutritive) • BETONICA (brain and stomach nervine) • Bupleurum (liver) • Capsella (pelvic-floor stimulant) • CAPSICUM (heart-muscle and peripheral-circulation stimulant) • Carthamus (neurovascular; arterioles; congealed blood; the flowers in formulation, the oil in salves) • CEANOTHUS (broad action on the fluids and lymph system; spleen; neutral in temperature, so combines well with other herbs) • Chimaphila (lymphatics and kidneys) • Chionanthus (gall bladder) • Cimicifuga (brain and spine) • Collinsonia (“golden arc”) • CRATAEGUS (berry for coronary circulation; leaves and flowers for peripheral circulation) • Eupatorium purpureum (capillary bed) • Euphrasia (eye) • Helonias (uterus) • HYDRASTIS (stomach, intestines, mucosa and autonomic nervous system) • Illicium (maxillary sinus) • Lilium longiflorum (cervix) • Lobelia (autonomic) • Monarda fistulosa (senses) • Panax ginseng (male, warming) • Panax quinquefolius (female, moistening) • Podophyllum (gall bladder; very small dose) • Rosmarinus (cerebral and spinal circulation) • Smilacina (pelvic-floor relaxant, nutritive) • Solidago (kidneys, back, feet) • Stellaria (extracellular matrix) • Tsuga (kidneys, back, feet) • Verbascum (lungs) • Vinca (cerebral circulation) • Withania (muscles of the feet and calves) • Zanthoxylum (nervous system, capillary bed; tongue, throat; small dose).

  Note: Through organ affinity, these agents help deliver the effects of other herbal agents to an organ, tissue, or system. For example, Hydrastis is a neuromuscular tonic with an affinity to the autonomic nervous system, but not to the heart. So Capsicum is added to Hydrastis (equal parts), to lead its muscle-stimulating property to the heart. This simple formula comes from Ellingwood.

  Synergists: • Angelica (with Inula, Marrubium, Asclepias) • Apium (Taraxacum enhances) • Agrimonia (to coordinate GI functions) • Arctium (with Mahonia, to add water-soluble cleansing to fat-soluble) • Cimicifuga (Lobelia enhances action in muscular spasm) • Curcuma (add 10% Piper nigra—traditional Ayurvedic synergism) • Dipsacus (enhances Polygonatum, Smilacina) • Galium (with Viola—BHP) • GLYCYRRHIZA (general synergist for all remedies; also improves taste) • Gnaphalium (“brings together the ingredients in a formula”—Donahue) • Inula (with Angelica, Marrubium, Asclepias) • Juglans nigra (Stellaria enhances it for thyroid) • Lobelia (Zingiberis modifies “bad behavior” of this willful herb) • Mahonia (Arctium enhances) • Marrubium (with Inula) • Polygonatum (Althaea enhances it for moistening joints; Dipsacus enhances for large-joint repair) • Prunus serotina (cardiovascular and pulmonary synergist) • Salvia (lemon and honey are synergists in sage tea) • Smilacina (with Dipsacus for small joints) • Turnera (“volatilizes the formula”—Popham) • Verbascum (Lobelia enhances it in atrophy and spasm) • Veronica (with Apium, for depression) • Viola (with Galium—BHP) • Viscum (improved by addition of 5% Eleutherococcus—D. Winston) • Zanthoxylum (Achillea enhances its effects on the capillaries—Hedley) • ZINGIBERIS (lessens griping pains from cathartics, and moderates Lobelia).

  Note: These agents are called “accelerators” in Southern folk medicine. I am sure there are many more synergistic plants beyond those listed here. Each herbalist probably collects his or her own “batch,” but they are seldom mentioned in literature.

  Synergistic Effects of Oils Used Externally: • Almond oil (mildly warming; makes a good base for massage oils) • Bear grease (slightly cooling; externally, good for injuries and arthritis; internally, used for infertility) • Coconut oil (the most cooling of commonly available oils; combines well with cooling agents) • Emu oil (muscles, joints, nerves, skin rash) • Ghee (clarified butter; nutritive effect) • Goose fat (slightly cooling, watery oil traditional in old European herbalism) • Grapeseed (the most penetrating oil besides skunk oil; beneficial for the skin, hair, connective tissue) • Lanolin (warming, good for carrying agents through the skin, but sticky, so not good on fur or hair) • Lard (warming; a good base for use on skin, good for carrying agents through the skin) • Mineral oil (does not deteriorate as easily as plant oils, and does not cause hair/fur matting in animals—Doyle) • Olive oil (mildly warming; widely available and traditional; has healing properties of its own) • Peanut oil (very warming; an excellent remedy for arthritis,
as a warming massage oil; introduced by George Washington Carver and recommended by Edgar Cayce; not for people with peanut allergy) • Rabbit tallow (on the solar plexus for nutrition) • Safflower oil (a good base for a bruise liniment because it is good in itself for clearing congealed blood—Wood) • Sesame oil (mildly warming; nutritive and good for pulling toxins; placed under the tongue) • Skunk oil (the lard, not from the scent glands; the most penetrating oil known) • Sunflower oil (mildly warming, detoxifying, and drawing for use in oil-pulling; placed under the tongue).

  A PLANTAIN SALVE FROM EDGAR CAYCE

  This very unusual recipe comes from the famous twentieth-century psychic Edgar Cayce. It is notable both because of its source and unique approach. Notice the use of clarified butter or ghee.

  “Plantago—fresh root and stalk [this presumably includes the leaves]—six ounces, added to half a gallon of water, cooked down to a jelly formation, until colored black, add unsalted oil of butter fat [ghee] until it makes a salve.”

  —EDGAR CAYCE READING 46-1; AAWMAGAZINE.COM

  3. Organs and Systems

  Mind, Emotions, Will

  The old clinicians and philosophers separated the psychological functions into mind (rationality), feeling (emotion), and will (ability to act). This is a simple but useful model. It corresponds roughly with Sheldon’s three types and the three doshas: vata (rationality), pitta (will), and kapha (emotion).

  We often overlook the will today: people may get their mind and emotions in order, but they are not healthy until they can act upon their aims and desires. The section on will is shorter than the others, as I added it late in compilation.

  Western herbalists often now use the Chinese term shen, which means “mind” or “spirit.” The shen is “stored in the heart.” Shen gives a sense of purpose, equilibrium of emotions and thoughts, inspiration, rationality, and yet emotional meaning, fulfillment, and balance. In a sense, the shen unites the mind, emotions, and will into a single effective entity. We have similar ideas in Western languages.

  Psychotherapist and herbalist Trilby Sedlacek gave a good overview in a class I attended:

  My general approach to psychological treatment with herbs is to use the basic nervines (Agrimonia, Avena, Betonica, Eschscholzia, Melissa, Piper methysticum, Passiflora, Tilia, Valeriana, Verbena hastata, etc.), adjusting the combination for each person. Dose: 10–15 drops, 2–4 times a day. I’ve gotten people out of psychiatric hospitals, reduced their psych meds, stabilized relationships.

  Thanks to Trilby Sedlacek, Sean Donahue, Janet Kent (see her publication Ease Your Mind, listed in bibliography), and Althea Northage Orr (see “The Use of Nervines and Other Herbs,” also listed in bibliography) for their contributions to this section.

  Mind

  Concentration, Lack of Focus, Attention Deficit, ADD, ADHD, Hyperactivity: • Achillea (restlessness) • Acorus • Aesculus hip. (obsessive/compulsive) • AMYGDALUS (hyperactivity, restless mind, insomnia) • Avena (nutritive tonic; long-term use) • BACOPA (anxiety, hyperactivity; shortens learning time; increases clarity and acuity; strengthens memory in the elderly) • BETONICA (strengthens brain, increases gut-level instinct) • Ceanothus (ADHD, pupils dilated—Easley) • CENTELLA (peripheral vasodilator increasing blood to the head; for fatigue of mind and body) • Chelidonium (mental torpor from liver toxicity; dullness) • Cnicus (poor circulation to brain) • CRATAEGUS (lack of focus, restless mind; excellent for ADD/ADHD—D. Winston) • Curcuma • Eleutherococcus • Eschscholzia (overactive nervous system) • Filipendula (irritable, restless) • Gingko • Hericium (Rogers) • HYPERICUM (“herb of choice” for ADD/ADHD—Hershoff and Rotelli) • Lavandula (after prolonged concentration) • MELISSA (nervousness; combines well with Tilia) • Mesembryanthemum (ADD, PTSD, anxiety—Rogers) • Nepeta (see “Bullying” in “Will” section, below) • Ocimum (D. Winston) • Oenothera • Panax quinquefolius • Passiflora (excess mental chatter; driven personality) • Prunus serotina • Pulsatilla (emotionally labile) • RHODIOLA • ROSMARINUS (senescent vacuity of thought from blood not rising to the head; see “low blood”) • SAMBUCUS (child doesn’t listen, overimaginative child, in their own world) • Schisandra (“gathers scattered shen [mental focus], astringes consciousness, returns consciousness to the heart”—Donahue) • Scutellaria (physically overstimulated, twitchy) • Thymus (overexcited; bathe in thyme) • TILIA (hyperactivity, nervous excitability; quick speech, mind that “flits from subject to subject”—Parton) • Valeriana (anxiety-producing upset stomach in children; aggressive behavior; sub-sedating dosage) • Vinca minor • Vitis (seed extract) • Withania (overstimulation) • Urtica.

  Concentration, Lack of (due to senescence): • ACORUS • Avena (“work with that myelin sheath”—Sedlacek) • BACOPA (Alzheimer’s Disease) • BETONICA (old age, weakness; fresh leaf) • CENTELLA (senility, fatigue of mind and body) • Cnicus (poor circulation to brain; senility, lost memory or concentration) • CRATAEGUS (lack of focus, restless mind) • GINGKO • Hericium (Rogers) • LAVANDULA • Lycopodium (premature senility) • OCIMUM • Panax ginseng • ROSMARINUS (senescent loss of concentration and memory; see “low blood”) • TILIA (mind “flits from subject to subject”—Parton) • Trigonella (“loss of memory for words, confused ideas and other mental defects from functional causes”—Ellingwood) • Vinca (decreased circulation—Weiss).

  Dull or Diminished Mental Function: • Betonica (senescence, weakness) • Chelidonium (mental torpor, liver toxicity) • Dipsacus (brain fog of Lyme Disease) • Hericium (Rogers) • Hydrastis (“dull, lethargic, melancholic and depressed type”—Parton; “sharpens the wits”—Boericke) • Mitchella (with edema before menses) • Ocimum (brain fog) • Phytolacca (apathy; “loss of personal delicacy, disregard of surrounding objects; indifferent to life”—Boericke) • Rosmarinus (mental haze) • Salvia (fever with diminished consciousness).

  Prolonged Mental Strain, Working Too Hard: • AVENA • BORAGO • Lavandula (exhaustion from excessive practice of meditation, qi gung, etc.—Ryan) • Leonurus (tired brain—Parton) • Passiflora (insomnia, overwork, worry; has a quieting effect on the nervous system) • VERBENA (prolonged overapplication of will creating sickness).

  Memory Lapse, Loss: • Allium ursinum • Arctium (tea of dried burs) • Avena • Bacopa • Betonica (spaciness; senescence) • CENTELLA • Collinsonia (senescence—Stacy Jones) • Crataegus • Equisetum (use with Veronica) • Euphrasia (infusion) • Gingko • Lycopodium (premature aging; can’t grasp the right word) • Ocimum • Paeonia • Panax ginseng • ROSMARINUS (age, poor circulation; helps to remember good memories, and forget bad ones—LeSassier) • Salvia • SCHISANDRA • Veronica • VINCA • WITHANIA (neurasthenia, depletion, senescence).

  Emotions

  Depression: • Achillea (“cut to the bone”) • Agrimonia • ALBIZIA (D. Winston) • Apium (languid, debilitated) • ARTEMISIA ABSINTHIUM (brutalized, deadened, insensitive; gregarious façade or flat affect; 1 drop a week to slowly work depression out of the system—Wood; confirmed—Donahue) • Artemisia vulgaris • Astragalus • Avena (with nervous exhaustion) • BUPLEURUM (repressed anger) • CALENDULA (seasonal affective disorder; worse in darkness, cloudy weather; children fear the dark) • CANNABIS (painful, spasmodic diseases) • CEANOTHUS (artistic funk, melancholy) • Centella • Chelidonium (hepatic congestion) • Chelone • Cichorium • CIMICIFUGA (stuck inside self, brooding, withdrawn; in abusive relationship; PMS; nervous exhaustion; can combine with Hypericum) • Cnicus • COLA (“depressive states associated with general muscular weakness”—BHP) • CRATAEGUS (slow-acting; despair, unforgiveness, heartache; poultice of flowers on heart—Schnell) • Equisetum (deep lack of confidence; sitz bath) • Eleutherococcus • Gentiana (self-doubt) • Gingko (in the elderly) • Humulus (flat affect in teenagers—Schnell) • Hydrastis (for the “dull, lethargic, melancholic and depressed type”—Parton) • HYPERICUM (Seasonal Affective Disorder, stuck in a rut; nervous exhaustion and depression, sadness, apa
thy, low self-esteem, anger, guilt, shame, isolation, exhaustion, fear; sour disposition and sour stomach—D. Winston) • IRIS (mood swings, depression) • LACTUCA (harsh experience, losing track of goal) • LAVANDULA (stagnation; broken heart; “old lingering cobwebs of depression; with digestive dysfunction” or “depressed without reason”—Schnell) • Leonurus • Melissa (depression, nervousness, Seasonal Affective Disorder) • Nigella (hormonal imbalance) • OCIMUM (“stagnant depression … unable to move on”—D. Winston) • Panax ginseng • Papaver somnifera (menopausal; with arteriosclerotic changes in the brain—Weiss) • Piper methysticum • Populus • Pulsatilla (emotional instability; nervousness) • Prunus serotina (broken heart; irregular pulse) • Psilocybe (to reawaken mind and senses) • RHODIOLA (heavy-hearted, depressed, fatigued) • ROSA (self-judgment—Bennett) • ROSMARINUS (stagnant depression, general debility, cardiovascular weakness) • Quercus (alcoholism; never gives up but never succeeds; flower essence or bark) • Salvia (physiological support) • Schisandra • Scutellaria (overstimulation, edginess) • Selenicereus (apprehension, depression, cardiac disorder, broken heart) • SILPHIUM INTEGRIFOLIUM (needs a new vision or renewal—Schnell) • Sinapis • TARAXACUM (manic/depressive disorder; depression; with mapped tongue; root—Wood) • Thymus • Tilia (“major loss”—Bennett) • Turnera (loss of spirits, libido; depression in elders) • Urtica (physiological support) • Verbena (menopause) • Veronica (with Apium) • Veronicastrum (with liver pains; 1-drop dose) • Withania.