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Phytotherapy
contents
- Historical review
- Naturwissenschaftlich oriented herbal medicine
- doctrine of signatures
- Active substance groups of the plants
- alkaloids
- saponins
- glycosides
- tannins
- bitters
- flavonoids
- coumarins
- mucilage
- Essential oils
- Various types of preparation for medicinal teas
- Infusion
- Decoction
- Cold extract (maceration)
- Scope of application of phytotherapy
Historical review
Phytotherapy is one of the oldest healing methods of natural medicine. Its origin dates back to the Stone Age. In China and India, medicinal plants were cultivated as early as the sixth millennium BC. In the 17th century BC, an Egyptian papyrus mentioned 700 different substances, including plants such as anise, cumin, linseed and hemp. A five-volume pharmacology, Materia Medica, written circa 100 AD by the Greek physician Pedanios Dioskurides, describes about 1000 medicinal plants and was the basis of all pharmacopoeias until the 16th century.
The herbal medicine has been proven for centuries in the treatment of various diseases. Image: hjschneider / fotolia.com Plants such as yarrow, licorice, squill and willow bark, which today are used more than ever in phytotherapy, have also been used by Galen (129 - 201 AD). Claudius Galenus (Galen) established rules for the different types of drug preparation. The term galenics - the science of producing medicines - goes back to him as well. The heyday of phytotherapy began in the 15th century. Paracelsus wrote the work "Herbarius" and at the end of the 16th century one of the largest works of Western herbal medicine was published by James Theodorus Tabernaemontanus, a pupil of Hyronimus Bock. This book contained more than 3000 plant descriptions and about 2400 pictures. The last edition dates from 1731.
Modern phytotherapy began in the 18th century with the discovery of morphine. At that time, the pharmacist Friedrich Wilhelm Sertürner (1783-1841) from opium isolated this substance, which is still important in medicine today.
Naturwissenschaftlich oriented herbal medicine
The scientifically oriented herbal medicine uses the plants according to their various individual ingredients and their associated effects. In a single medicinal plant are several single active ingredients. For example, chamomile contains flavonoids, mucilages and essential oils, among others.
doctrine of signatures
With the help of the doctrine of signatures the plant as a whole is considered. Not their ingredients are in the foreground, but their external signs, their shape, color, where and how they grow. To understand this is better with the help of an example. Everyone knows the daisy, the tirelessly flowering, lovely flowers. This flower conveys intactness, innocence and childishness. But the daisies also radiate motherliness, as evidenced by the flower wreath protecting the flower basket during rain or in the evening. This flower, also called Maßliebchen, or Tausendschön, grows under the most adverse circumstances, gets up again and again and blooms. In the case of injuries, both externally and internally and mentally, the plant helps to restore lost integrity.
Active substance groups of the plants
Each medicinal plant contains various ingredients, which in turn are assigned to so-called active ingredient groups. Each group of drugs has specific areas of activity. Those who work scientifically in phytotherapy apply the different plants, depending on their composition.
alkaloids
Alkaloids are nitrogenous ingredients of plants. They arise as degradation product. The hotter and wetter the environment, the more alkaloids are produced. The use of alkaloids is not without its dangers, as they have a very strong effect and can be fatal if incorrectly dosed. Here the right amount and form of preparation is very important. Thus, the belladonna is very poisonous and must never be used in its purest form, but it is used successfully in homeopathy, that is, it is potentiated. Alkaloids mainly affect the nervous system.
saponins
The term saponins is derived from the Latin word sapo = soap, as saponins, mixed with water, foam. The majority of saponins protect the plants from fungal attack. They have anti-inflammatory, anti-inflammatory, antiviral and antibiotic properties. Ivy leaves, for example, which are buried many cough medicine, liquefy the bronchial secretions and thus facilitate the coughing.
glycosides
Glycosides are composed of different substances, but have one common feature: they all contain a sugar compound. Because they are so different, they also have a diverse range of impact. Thus, cardiac glycosides, which are contained for example in the lily of the valley, act on the heart. Flavone glycosides, such as those found in ginkgo, promote blood circulation and triterpene glycosides, for example, in the rootstock of Cimicifuga (black cohosh), similar to estrogen.
tannins
Tannins help to tan the leather. They are able to combine protein molecules with each other, which changes the property of the proteins and thus displaces the bound water. The tannins have astringent (astringent), antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and hemostatic. Examples include the bloodroot, lady's mantle, oak leaves and walnut leaves.
bitters
As the name implies, bitter substances have a bitter taste, which has an appetizing and digestive effect. More saliva is produced and the digestive juices are made to flow. Bitter substances should be absorbed by the mucous membranes in the mouth to be effective. Examples of bitter plants include gentian, centaury, blessed thistle and angelica root. Taken before eating, these appitizing, digestive effects after eating.
flavonoids
Flavonoids are color pigments that are found in the cell sap of the plants. These occur mainly in yellow flowers (lat. Flavus = yellow), but also in all aboveground plant parts. They exert on the plants a protection against radiation damage. This protective effect can also be used in phytotherapy. For example, it has been discovered that goldenrod and calendula can protect the skin from radiation damage. Due to their antioxidant properties, flavonoids are considered to be particularly beneficial to health today, although this does not only apply to the prevention of radiation damage. For example, the flavonoids of milk thistle protect the liver cells.
The so-called isoflavonoids are derived from the flavonoids and are now on everyone's lips. They have a hormonal effect and are contained in soybeans, red clover, brooms, lentils and much more. Especially against menopausal complaints and hormone-related cancers they are attributed a positive effect.
coumarins
Cumarins are common in the plant kingdom. In the fresh plant, these are usually odorless, however, they smell of freshly mown grass after the drying process. Cumarins have an inhibitory effect on blood clotting. In higher doses this could possibly damage the liver. Well-known coumarin plants are woodruff, clover and Mariengras.
mucilage
Mucic substances are so-called polysaccharides, which can swell in water and thus get a gel-like substance. Two types of mucilage are distinguished - water-soluble and insoluble. The water-soluble act by forming a protective film on the skin and / or mucous membrane. This anti-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory effect is especially needed in the treatment of cough, sore throat and gastrointestinal inflammation.
Essential oils
Essential oils are oily substances that completely volatilize on evaporation and have a different aroma depending on the plant. Alone the scent says a lot about a plant. Essential oils have a wide range of applications. For example, fennel has a distracting effect, lavender soothing, anti-inflammatory camomile and marjoram antibiotic. The scent is an important feature in phytotherapy. If the patient rejects a certain aroma, the plant is not suitable for treatment, but if it triggers a sense of well-being, this is an indication for the application.
Various types of preparation for medicinal teas
In phytotherapy there are different types of preparation for the different healing teas. Depending on the ingredients, the tea is infused with hot water, prepared with cold water and then boiled or even used as a cold extract.
Infusion
The infusion corresponds to the infusion of the dried teas with hot water. This type of preparation is mainly used for sensitive plant parts, such as flowers, leaves and seeds, but also for plants where a cooking process would destroy the ingredients.
Decoction
At the time of decoction, add the amount of tea to cold water, bring it to a boil and cook for one to three or fifteen to twenty minutes, depending on the recipe. Hard drugs such as bark, roots and wood with poorly soluble components are subjected to this preparation.
Cold extract (maceration)
This type of preparation is to be selected if hot water would liberate undesired accompanying substances, as would be the case, for example, with the bearberry tannins. The amount of plant is mixed with water and should then be covered for six to eight hours. Then the whole thing is poured off. For slime drugs this type of preparation is necessary.
Scope of application of phytotherapy
The medicinal plants used in phytotherapy are used as remedies. A self-medication is foreseeable, since each "herb" can also have side effects. In many naturopathic practices, phytotherapy is successfully used in a wide variety of diseases. The plants are administered in tea mixtures, as fresh plant juices, in original tinctures or tinctures, in bath additives, for compresses and compresses, as dragees, tablets or in the form of suppositories. The plants, depending on the ingredients, have a variety of effects. Blends are carefully put together so that the individual remedies can support each other and thus enhance the effect. This requires a sound knowledge. Phytotherapy is successfully used for respiratory diseases, colds, for the development of defenses, for sleep disorders, for complaints in the genitourinary tract, in gynecology and much more.
Important for the effect of the individual plants is the time of harvest, the quality, processing and storage. Even pregnant women, nursing women and children can benefit from phytotherapy. Here, however, an experienced therapist and / or a detailed consultation in the pharmacy is absolutely necessary. Even if "only" tea recipes are used, caution is advised. The plants used for this are medicinal plants. The same tea mix should therefore never be drunk for longer than four to six weeks without interruption. Then you have to take a break or change the recipe. (Sw)
: JPW.Peters / pixelio.de