| Pelletier 1983-1992, Mattocks 1986), terpenoids (Glasby 1982, Connolly and Hill 1991), and flavonoids (Harborne et al. 1975, Harborne 1988). The number of identified constituents of unprocessed food plants is at least 12,200; undoubtedly the actual number is far greater (Farns-worth 1994).
Geography and environment cause a variability in the concentration of these minor non-nutrient constituents, especially the essential oils and alkaloids, at least as great as that of the micronutrients. Salvia officinalis (sage) grows luxuriantly in many temperate areas of the world. |
| Examples of these chemicals are volatile oils, waxes, pigments, alkaloids, sterols, flavonoids, toxins, and hormones. Most plants contain one or a few minor constitutive naturally occurring chemicals of toxicologic or pharmacologic interest. This report intentionally focuses on the minority of these chemicals that are known or are suspected to cause, enhance, or inhibit cancer in humans. However, because of inherent low toxicity or low concentration, the vast majority of these naturally occurring chemicals are known or can reasonably be presumed not to pose a toxic threat. |
Muhammed Majeed, Ph.D. Vladimir Badmaev, M.D., Ph.D. Uma Shivakumar, Ph.D. R. Rajendran, M.S.
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| Some vitamins, minerals, and natural compounds such as phenolics, flavonoids and carotenoids, have the ability to counteract free radical damage by scavenging or neutralizing the free radicals. These diversified groups of nutrients, micronutrients and food supplements belong to a category of biologically important substances known as "antioxidants."
Curcuminoids are natural phenolic compounds, with potent antioxidant properties. Several research groups have recently provided convincing evidence for the antioxidant properties of curcuminoids. |
Earl Mindell
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 These vegetables contain flavonoids, vitamin C, selenium, and sulfur compounds that have been shown to have potent cancer-fighting properties—particularly in helping cells dispose of carcinogens. They may also help prevent heart attack and stroke by lowering cholesterol and blood pressure and preventing blood clots. Additionally, they benefit the liver by helping activate detoxification enzyme systems, and may be helpful, too, in the prevention of allergies and asthma. |
The Life Extension Editorial Staff
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 In The Healing Power of Herbs, Dr. Michael Murray states that oral administration of bilberry reduced blood glucose levels in normal and depancreatized dogs, even when glucose was simultaneously injected (Murray 1995). Italian researchers reported that bilberry consistently decreased blood glucose levels by 26% and triglycerides by 39% in animal models (Cignarella et al. 1996).
Myrtillin appears the most active antidiabetic component in bilberry. An injection of myrtillin, although somewhat weaker than insulin, can be used without threat of toxicity, even at 50 times the recommended dose. |
Dr. Mary Dan Eades
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 In the past, phytochemicals were classified as vitamins: flavonoids were known as vitamin P, indoles and glucosi-nolates were called vitamin U, and so on. But they lost their status as vitamins because specific deficiency symptoms could not be established. Today, phytochemicals are classified according to their functions as well as individual physical and chemical characteristics of the molecules.
Terpenes
Terpenes make up one of the largest classes of phytochemicals. They are found in green foods, soy products, and grains. Terpenes have a role as antioxidants. |
| Quercetin is a bioflavonoid that is used to treat and prevent asthma symptoms. The flavonoids occur widely in plants, both edible portions and flowers, giving them their colors: the flavonoid citron gives the yellow color to lemon peel, for example.
Food Sources—The compounds concentrate in the peelings or skin of most fruits and vegetables, and beverages such as tea, coffee, wine, and beer contain significant amounts. Other sources in-:lude apricots, cherries, grapefruit, grapes, lemons, oranges, prunes, tnd rose hips. |
| In the event of supplementation of excess vitamin C, you can increase your intake of the flavonoids by choosing a supplement that contains them. Except for specific conditions as listed in this text, you need not take extra amounts of bioflavonoid.
Symptoms of Deficiency—None. The substance is not essential.
Symptoms of Toxicity—None specified in the medical literature.
- Biotin -
Important Facts—Water-soluble vitamin.
You can store some of this sulfur-containing vitamin of the B-complex group in your liver, even though the vitamin is technically water soluble. |
| Nutritional value—Essential oils, glycosides, resins, rutin and other flavonoids, tannins. This herb was named for the plant's blooms, which appear around St. John's Day, June 24. Also, when the buds and flowers are squeezed, they exude a red pigment, which was associated with the blood of St. John the Baptist. The medicinal benefits of St. John's wort have been cited by herbalists for at least 400 years. It is generally used for the treatment of nervous disorders, depression, neuralgia, kidney problems, wounds, and bums. |
| Nutritional value—Choline, citric acid, flavonoids, folic acid, inositol, pantothenic acid, purines, sugar, vitamins B,, B2, B3, B6, B,2, and C. This herb is a traditional heart tonic that nourishes the blood and improves circulation.
Medicinal uses—Because hawthorn dilates the coronary blood vessels, lowers cholesterol levels, and restores heart muscle, it is useful in treating cardiovascular disorders such as arrhythmia, angina, heart disease, and high blood pressure. According to Varro Tyler, Ph.D. |
| They are much like flavonoids in the way they block enzymes that promote tumor growth. Soy products are high in isofiavones, and it has been shown that people who consume high amounts of soy foods significantly lower their risk of breast, uterine, and prostate cancer.
Glucosinates
These phytochemicals are found in cruciferous vegetables and help detoxify the liver. They also regulate white blood cells and cytokines. White blood cells scavenge the immune system while cytokines act as messengers, coordinating the activities of all immune cells. |
Janet Zand, LAc, OMD, Allan N. Spreed, MD, CNC, James B. LaValle, RPh, ND
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 Or you can take a cup of chamomile, passionflower, and/or valerian tea, as needed.
¦ Chaste tree berry (also known by its Latin name, Vitex agnus-castus) balances hormones by promoting the production of progesterone and reining in the production of estrogen. It is effective in helping to reduce excessive bleeding during the perimenopausal period, as well as in minimizing symptoms. During menopause and peri-menopause, when both estrogen and progesterone levels drop, this herb combines well with dong quai to relieve menopausal symptoms. |
Andrew Chevallier
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 History & Folklore Club moss has been used medicinally since at least the Middle
LYTHRUM SALICARIA
Ages. The whole plant was employed as a diuretic to aid in the flushing out of kidney stones. Being strongly water-resistant, the spores are still used to coat tablets. The spores ignite explosively and have been used in making fireworks.
Medicinal Actions & Uses Club moss is diuretic, sedative, and antispasmodic, and it is particularly useful for treating chronic urinary complaints. The herb may also be taken for indigestion and gastritis. |
| History & Folklore Boldo is a traditional remedy used by the Araucanian people in Chile as a tonic. The berries were also eaten as a food. Medicinal Actions & Uses Boldo stimulates liver activity and bile flow and is chiefly valued as a remedy for gallstones and liver or gallbladder pain. It is normally taken for a few weeks at a time, either as a tincture or infusion. Boldo is also a mild urinary antiseptic and demulcent, and may be taken for infections such as cystitis. In the Anglo-American tradition, boldo is combined with barberry (Berberis vulgaris, p. |
| Sparteine reduces the heart rate, and the isoflavones are estrogenic. History & Folklore Both the common and species names of this plant indicate its usefulness as a sweeper (scopa means "broom" in Latin). Broom's medicinal value is not mentioned in classical writings, but it does appear in medieval herbals. The 12th-century Physicians of Myddfai recommended broom as a means to treat suppressed urine: "Seek broom seed, and grind into fine powder, mix with drink and let it be drank. Do this till you are quite well. |
Stephanie Beling
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 The orange fruits—both the ordinary orange and more offbeat specimens like papaya and apricot—are particularly rich in carotenoids, the best known of which is beta carotene.
The Beta Carotene Controversy
Yellow as well as orange fruits contain large stores of beta carotene. Beta carotene is a precursor of Vitamin A; that is, the livers of most mammals manufacture Vitamin A from the beta carotene found in plants. Beta carotene is also one of the trendiest antioxidant discoveries of the 1980s. |
Andrew Chevallier
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| The tropane alkaloids are similar to those found in deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna, p. 66), acting to reduce secretions and relax smooth muscle.
History & Folklore Thornapple has a long history of medicinal use. If taken in sufficient doses, it causes hallucinations; the Delphic oracle in ancient Greece and the Inca in South America may have used it as an aid to making prophecies. Though it is hallucinogenic, thornapple has traditionally been used to treat insanity. |
| CHELIDONIUM MAJUS
History & Folklore Roman chamomile has long been valued as a medicinal plant in Britain. Although called Roman chamomile, this herb was not cultivated in Rome until the 16th century, probably arriving there from Britain.
Medicinal Actions & Uses A remedy for the digestive system, Roman chamomile is often used interchangeably with German chamomile M,
(ChamotniUa recutita, '^j? p. 76). However, an infusion of Roman chamomile has a more pronounced bitter action than its German namesake. |
| Marrubiin is strongly expectorant and bitter.
History & Folklore Horehound has been a remedy for chest problems since ancient times, perhaps most frequently taken
Dried herb as a syrup made with honey or sugar. The Greek physician Dioscorides (ad 40-90) recommended a decoction of the herb for tuberculosis, asthma, and coughs. In 1597, the herbalist John Gerard praised horehound as "a most singular remedy against the cough and wheezing. |
Simon Mills and Kerry Bone
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 Iridoid glycosides, including aucubin (0.3%), agnuside (0.6%)."
PHARMACODYNAMICS
It is important to bear in mind that the menstrual cycle is unique to the human female and that animal models as cited below may have limited applicability.
OH
OH 0
Casticin
Hormonal activity
Prolactin secretion from the anterior pituitary is inhibited by dopamine and stimulated by thyroxin-releas-ing hormone (TRH) released from the hypothalamus. Chaste tree and a synthetic dopamine agonist (lisuride) significantly inhibited basal and TRH-stimu-lated prolactin secretion in isolated rat pituitary cells. |
Susun S. Weed
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 Preparation & Daily Dose: Used without limit.
Fresh flower oil/ointment: used freely.
Tincture of fresh flowers: 25-75 drops; or as needed, as often as every 15 minutes for acute muscle spasms, headaches, pain. Toxicity: Antiviral constituents in St. Joan's wort react with sunlight, occasionally causing hypersensitivity to the sun. The antiviral effect of the oil is said to be heightened by sunbathing. Works Well With: Skullcap. |
Textbook of Natural Medicine 2nd Edition Volume 1Michael T. Murray, ND
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| HISTORY AND FOLK USE
Valerian's primary traditional use has been as a sedative for the relief of insomnia, anxiety, and conditions associated with pain. Specific conditions for which it was used include migraine, insomnia, hysteria, fatigue, intestinal cramps, and other nervous conditions. |
Robert S. McCaleb, Evelyn Leigh, and Krista Morien
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 References
1. Murray M. The Healing Power of Herbs. Rocklin, CA: Prima Publishing, 1995.
2. Hoffmann D. Hawthorn—the heart helper. Alternative and Complementary Therapies April/May 1995; 191-192.
3. Hobbs C, Foster S. Hawthorn: a literature review. HerbalGram 1990; 2: 19-33.
4. Bensky D, Gamble A. Chinese Herbal Materia Medica. Seattle: Eastland Press, 1986.
5. Blumenthal M, Busse W, Goldberg A, et al., eds. The Complete German Commission E Monographs. Austin, TX: The American Botanical Council; Boston: Integrative Medicine Communications, 1998.
6. Sticher O, Meier B. |
Textbook of Natural Medicine 2nd Edition Volume 1Michael T. Murray, ND
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| The total flavonoid content (calculated as quercetin) for E. angustifolia and E. purpurea was 0.48 and 0.38% respectively.2,3,9,10
Caffeic acid derivatives
Caffeic acid serves as the backbone for a number of important medicinal plant compounds in other plants as well as Echinacea sp. (see Fig. 82.1). The first compound believed to be unique to Echinacea was echinacoside, a compound eventually shown to be composed of caffeic acid, a caffeic acid derivative (similar to catechol), glucose, and rhamnose, all attached to a central glucose molecule (see Figs 82.2 and 82.3). |
Textbook of Natural Medicine 2nd Edition Volume 2Michael T. Murray, ND
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| REFERENCES
1. Kaplan H, Sadock B. Modern synopsis of comprehensive textbook of psychiatry/IV. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins. 1985: p 558-574
2. Kramer P. Insomnia: importance of the differential diagnosis. Psychosomatics 1982; 23: 129-137
3. Reimund E. The free radical flux theory of sleep. Med Hypoth 1994; 43: 231-233
4. Growdon J. Neurotransmitters in the diet. In: Wurtman R, Wurtman J, eds. Nutrition and the brain, vol. 3. New York, NY: Raven Press. 1979: p 117-182
5. Hartman E. L-tryptophan: a rational hypnotic with clinical potential. Am J Psychiatry 1977; 134: 366-370
6. |
Susun S. Weed
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| Preparation & Daily Dose: Used 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off.
Infusion of dried inner bark: up to 1 cup/250 ml, in sips.
Infusion externally: as compress or bath; use as needed. Toxicity: Overuse of tannins-such as drinking 30 or more cups of black tea a day—can cause cancer. Works Well With: Comfrey leaves.
Results & Notes: The tannins in oak bark infusion bind to weeping sores and quickly form a "false skin" which prevents bacterial
Materia ivieaica
281 infections, making this a very important ally for women with severe lymphedema. Oak bark generally prompts a rapid response. |
Schuyler W. Lininger, Jr. DC
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 The European literature involving passion flower recommends it primarily for antianxiety treatment; in this context, it is often combined with valerian (p. 467), lemon balm (p. 440), and other herbs with sedative properties.
How Much Is Usually Taken?
The recommended intake of the dried herb is 4 to 8 grams 3 times per day.3 To make a tea, 0.5 to 2.5 grams of the herb can be steeped with boiling water for 10 to 15 minutes and drunk 2 to 3 times per day. Alternatively, 2 to 4 ml of passion flower tincture can be taken per day. |
Simon Mills and Kerry Bone
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| OPC. Two trials were open, five were double-blind and one was a comparative trial with the drug captopril. A significant effect was observed for subjective findings in all but one trial, for pressure-rate product in four trials and for work tolerance in three trials.67 The internal cardiac work performed is represented by the heart rate-blood pressure product. When the pressure-rate product is reduced there is decreased workload for the heart. Six of these trials are outlined below (references 68~73). |
Dr. Cass Ingram
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 BromaZyme — take 2 capsules several times daily.
Foods that help
• onion juice (yellow onions are best) — drink as much as can be consumed
• raw garlic — eat as many cloves as can be stomached
• raw honey — eat it by the cupful
• carob molasses — well digested and an ideal source of nourishment for fighting the infection, 1 or 2 teaspoons daily
Eczema
This condition is a type of chronic inflammation of the skin. For years no one was sure what caused it. Many presumed it was due to allergies or sensitivity to chemicals in soap, etc. |
| Foods that help
• tangerines and grapefruit (and their juices, eat the inner rind)
• watercress, arugula, and spinach
• frozen unpasteurized orange juice (this is usually made from ripe oranges, which are higher in vitamin C than the so-called fresh ones)
• rose hip tea or, preferably, Essence of Rose Petal tea
Burns
Burns are among the most traumatic of all injuries, both physically and mentally. If a burn covers a small surface area, like a bit of the finger, the trauma is tolerable. |
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