Borage Oil

Borage oil is basically derived from the seeds of the borage plant (borago officinalis), which is a huge plant with blue color, star shaped flowers that is mostly found in parts of Europe and North Africa and is also naturalized in many places in North America.

All parts of the borage plant, from its stubbly stems to its blue star shaped blooms, have been used in many parts of the world for over centuries for its healing qualities. Aside from that, the borage plant is also used as a flavoring for foods. In fact, as early as the 1600s, it is reported that most Europeans blended the borage leaves and flowers into a wine that was reputed for reliving boredom and dispelling sadness.

However, the modern science has only found tidbits of evidence to support the claim that the herb itself has any therapeutic effects, many findings emerged that the borage oil that comes from the seed of the plant appear to aid in healing a number of conditions. From then on, the borage oil is said to be useful for treating rheumatoid arthritis as well as sorts of menstrual problems.

Numerous researches have found out that borage oil, just like the evening primrose oil and black currant seed oil, contains a powerful fatty acid known as gamma linolenic acid or GLA which contributes a large part in the medicinal effects of the borage oil. It is then considered that the borage oil owes its healing capabilities to the presence of such essential fatty acid which is also an omega-6 fatty acid. But unlike the evening primrose oil, the borage oil boasts more than twice as much GLA.

The said GLA in the borage oil is then processed for great results. Once the process is done, the GLA is then transformed into hormone-like substance that has either the ability to block inflammation or promote it. In the borage oil, the GLA is said to comfort inflammation, which then makes it the best solution for arthritis and some other inflammatory conditions.

Borage oil is more specifically used to lessen the aches and pains of rheumatoid arthritis, and it gives relief to the discomforts that are caused by PMS, endometriosis, and fibrocystic breasts for the reason that the borage oil blocks the production of inflammatory substances known as prostaglandins which are greatly emitted during menstruation. With that, the borage oil then reduces some of the breast tenderness that most women fell before their menstrual periods and so it calms the endometriosis-related inflammation.

Along with that, the borage oil is helpful for reducing the symptoms of eczema and psoriasis, as well as it clears up acne and rosacea. It also alleviate inflammation related with lupus, prevent nerve damage due to diabetes, fight damage from multiple sclerosis, ease cough, soothe throat disorders, treat Alzheimer’s-related memory deficiencies, reduce stress and high blood pressures, nourish nails, scalp, and hair, treat gout, and counter impotence and female infertility.

With its multiple uses and functions, borage oil is now popular in the form of softgel, oil, and capsule. Many experts suggested that taking the borage oil products with food may boost GLA absorption and lessen the unpleasant side effects. But the careful inspection of the dosage information contained in the label for borage oil still remains the best step to take before taking the supplement.

Buckthorn Bark

Buckthorn is basically a wonder shrub that is indigenous to Europe and western parts of Asia. This particular shrub is believed to have contributed a large part in the field of medicine and science. In fact, for the past centuries and until now, some medicinal preparations of buckthorn bark are developed from the European buckthorn shrub, which is widely known as black dogwood (Rhamnus frangula). In Europe and western part of Asia, the buckthorn bark of the trunks and branches is dried and seasoned for some purposes.

A variety of buckthorn which provides a useful buckthorn bark grown throughout the northern California and British Columbia, which they usually called as California Buckthorn (Rhamnus pursiana), and which is also known as cascara sagrada. The buckthorn bark of this species is said to chemical and medicinal properties that is the same to that of the European buckthorn. The buckthorn bark of such species is also used in healing in parts of California and British Columbia.

The buckthorn bark has been greatly applied medicinally back from 1600s, when it was listed in a primary medical reference known as the London Pharmacopeia. Unlike some of the popular herbs with multiple uses which are later refined to a few or a single proven benefits, the buckthorn bark throughout the ages has been consistently applied by most people to provide relief to only one ailment. That is basically to relieve constipation and its by-products like hemorrhoids and anal irritation.

However, the medicinal uses of the buckthorn bark is not only limited to that, there are also some studies which demonstrate that the buckthorn bark and leaves also give a bright yellow-red dye that has been applied for many centuries to provide color to the textiles.

The buckthorn bark generally contains anthraquinones, which are compounds that have a strong purgative and laxative impact on the body. Since the fact that those compounds contained in the buckthorn bark are so powerful, the buckthorn bark, prior to its being processed into laxative products, is aged for a year, or it is heated and dried for periods.

As it is mentioned earlier, the buckthorn bark is useful for easing constipation. One of the supports for that are basically the findings that the bark enhances the colon’s ability to spontaneously contract. Aside from that, they also decrease the water absorption by the intestines, which then means more liquid is left in the colon. As such, a larger volume and softer stools are being produced, which in turn eases the constipation.

Along with that, the buckthorn bark is used to treat hemorrhoids and anal fissures for the reason that it is an effective stool softener which in turn make the bowel movements more comfortable for those who have hemorrhoids and anal fissures, or even those who are recovering from recto-anal surgery. There is also some times in which the buckthorn bark is applied to cleanse the colon in preparation for gastrointestinal diagnostic procedures.

Although the buckthorn bark is largely applied for such purposes, the bark may also cause intestinal cramping, specifically is too large a does is taken. The overuse of the bark supplements may also cause a potassium deficiency that can affect the heartbeat-regulating drugs. So it is then better to take precautionary actions like a medical advice before taking it.

Blackberry

Bramble as it is commonly called, blackberry is a trailing perennial plant that thrives in every English hedge-row, or in dry or sandy soil in the northeastern and middle part of the United States and it is cultivated in many places in the world. Structurally, the blackberry has slender branches that highlight pointed and re-curved prickles with a finely hairy leaves with 3 to 5 leaflets. It has beautiful white five-petaled flowers that bloom from the month of June to September. And interestingly, the blackberry’s berries turn red as they ripen and they become a juicy and purplish blue black by midsummer.

But blackberry is more than just a beautiful plant with beautiful flowers. Blackberry has a variety of important uses and functions. Historically, from the time of Christ, the blackberry’s leaves are chewed for those with bleeding gums. And as a folk remedy, the blackberry has been used for diarrhea for a long period of time. It has been used by the ancient Greeks to treat gout which later led to the reputation of blackberry as being “goutberry’.

In addition, the blackberry is applied by some Chinese to treat kidney problems, urinary incontinence, and impotence. And the Romans chewed the leaves of this plant for bleeding gums and they drank a mixture of it for treating diarrhea. It is also used to soothe scalds as well as burns. Interestingly, the modern herbalist used blackberry as an astringent for the treatment of diarrhea.

However, aside from its being a cure for diarrhea, the contemporary herbalists also applied blackberry as an astringent for treating wounds, mouth sores, sore throat, and hemorrhoids. In fact, certain findings considered this herb as an unparalleled, gentle, and safe astringent remedy that has several uses, particularly in all situations.

It was traditionally applied by some Englishmen externally as a wash in a whole level of skin eruptions as well as burns. It will greatly stop the bleeding and so it can be applied in leucorrhea. Since the blackberry is also used in the form of tea, most of the herbalists thought that through the use of it, those who suffer from enteritis, acute appendicitis, and leucorrhea, may take some benefits from it. The blackberry has also expectorant properties that contribute a large part in the medicinal actions.

However, it is necessary to know that since the blackberry contains a high level of tannins, the blackberry root is not really applicable in case like cancer and from chronic gastrointestinal conditions like the colitis. Just use this herb for medicinal purposes with the proper medicinal amounts and under the guidance of a certified professional. And if you vomit or you experience nausea, it is right to stop taking it immediately and then to contact a doctor.

In terms of taking it, the German Commission E monograph recently suggests 4.5 grams of blackberry leaf every day. The blackberry teas is then prepared by means of adding 1.5 grams of leaves or powdered root to 250 ml of boiling water and letting it to saturate for 10 to 15 minutes. The usual amount of blackberry tea that should be taken every day is about three cups per day.

Butcher’s Broom

When dealing with butcher’s broom, we are not basically talking about the literal meaning as the “broom of the butcher”. Instead, we are talking about a wonder evergreen bush that has a crucial role in medical and scientific fields.

The butcher’s broom is an evergreen bush (Ruscus aculeatus) which is native to the Mediterranean region. Its spines were once popular for making brooms, as the name implies. For some centuries, many people from the Mediterranean region consumed the butcher’s broom as a vegetable, which is said to be closely related to the asparagus.

The butcher’s broom holds its reputations as a folk medicine for so many years. In fact, the herb is also applied as a folk medicine for years in Europe, specifically for treating constipation, kidney stones, urinary tract infections, and some other gastrointestinal complaints. In those places, it is a typical preparation that the fleshy root of the butcher’s broom is boiled and drunk as a tea.

With the advent of the twentieth century, the butcher’s broom’s use as a folk remedy started to fade until some reports from France during the 1950s changed such level of thinking about the butcher’s broom as an ancient herb. Most of the investigators at that time found out that dogs and hamsters treated with an extract of the herb’s underground stem were able to feel a narrowing of their blood vessels.

Due to such event, and since such kind of action in the body has a significant implications for healing vessel diseases, the butcher’s broom is nowadays acclaimed and used to treat such sort of vessel disease.

Speaking of vessel disease, the butcher’s broom is typically used to treat varicose veins for the fact that the herb has vein-narrowing qualities that have been found to essentially relieve the discomforts of varicose veins as well as other circulatory conditions like chronic venous insufficiency.

The butcher’s broom is also applied to treat hemorrhoids since it produces suppositories and topical ointments that are particularly essential when it is dabbed into the itchy and painful hemorrhoids. With that, the burning sensation is such disease may subside as an effect.

With the narrowing of vessels that are observed in the small animal studies of butcher’s broom, the experts have attributed such action to the steroid-like compounds which are known as ruscogenins and neuroscogenins in the herb’s rootstock. Such compounds contained in the rootstock of this herb not only contract veins and strengthen and tone them but also lessen the inflammation.

The butcher’s broom, which is also known by the name box holly, knee holy, and pettigree, now thrives in many corners of the cosmos, including the southern part of the United States. Its dried root and rootstock are now applied in medicinal preparations for its chemical and medicinal properties. Greatly, the butcher’s broom products come in forms of tablet, suppository, ointment, liquid, and capsule.

In taking the butcher’s broom, many experts recommended to try taking it along with vitamin C to boost its effectiveness. In fact, numerous findings have shown that such combination greatly enhances the plant’s potency. But for anything other than hemorrhoids, it is best suggested to consult the doctor since the kind of circulation problems that are usually treated with butcher’s broom can be serious.