The Complete Herbal Guide: A Natural Approach to Healing the Body - Heal Your Body Naturally and Maintain Optimal Health Using Alternative Medicine, Herbals, Vitamins, Fruits and Vegetables (58 page)

History:

In 1703, Charles Plumier named the genus after Pierre Magnol, the most illustrious botanist in France at that time. For the most part, the genus is North American, where it was originally included in many herbal remedies of the Native Americans. There are also several species that are native to China and Japan (
Magnolia officinalis, Magnolia hypoleuca, etc.)
, where it has been an important part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for over two thousand years. Several species were listed in the
United States Pharmacopoeia from
1820 through 1894 as a tonic, stimulant and diaphoretic. It was even used as a substitute for quinine when treating malaria.  Magnolia's wood, which is straight-grained, yellow in color, light, soft, easily worked and finishes well, is used for furniture, broom handles, bowls and light woodenware articles, and an essential oil from the flowers has been used in the manufacture of perfumes. Magnolia Bark is collected in the autumn, and the unopened flowers are harvested in the springtime and used in herbal medicines. Some of the constituents in Magnolia Bark include volatile oils (eudesmol, bornyl-acetate, etc.), alkaloids, tannin, magnolol, honokiol, zinc, copper, calcium, potassium, iron, magnesium and manganese.

Medical Uses:

Magnolia Bark has been used in Chinese herbal medicine for at least two thousand years as an aromatic, pungent and warming stimulant that treats various disorders of the digestive system and strengthens stomach function. It is a bitter relaxant herb that acts as a tonic and improves digestion, relieving stomach pains, gastroenteritis and flatulence. It calms diarrhea and vomiting associated with indigestion, stimulates poor appetite and alleviates fullness and distension of the abdomen.

As a mild diaphoretic, Magnolia Bark is said to increase perspiration and sweating and thus reduce fevers and cool the body. It has been historically used in cases of malarial fevers and fevers of a typhoid type.

Magnolia Bark is believed to have antiseptic, antibacterial, antifungal, antispasmodic, expectorant and anti-inflammatory properties.  As such, the bark is thought to relieve the pain and inflammation of rheumatism and gout, counteract yeast infections (such as leukorrhea) and combat upper respiratory tract infections and spasms, including asthma, coughs, profuse phlegm in the lungs, shortness of breath and fullness and pressure in the chest area.

In the fight against obesity and weight management, Magnolia Bark has recently been recognized as an efficient fat burner.
  It is said that the magnolol and honokiol in the herb effectively inhibit the body's production of cortisol, the substance that liberates fat from adipose cells and thus suppresses fat storage, particularly in the abdominal and belly area. Magnolia is also said to act as a mild laxative.

Magnolia Bark itself has been chewed as a substitute for tobacco and is said to "cure the habit."

Dosages:
Take one (1) capsule, one (1) to two (2) times each day with water at mealtimes.

Precautions:
Pregnant and nursing women should not use Magnolia Bark. Overuse (many times the recommended dosage) may cause vertigo and dizziness.

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Ma huang (
Ephedra sinica
) is a cone-bearing shrub, 30 to 50 cm in height, which is native to China but now found also in the Mediterranean region, India, Persia, and the western portion of South America. This species grows best in sandy or rocky deserts and mountains. Warm temperate latitude with less than 20 cm of annual rainfall are suitable for the growth of ma huang, i.e., ma huang is a xerophytic plant capable of growing under semiarid to arid conditions.

Plant Description:

The jointed green stems of ma huang are the chief photosynthetic organs of the plant. The plant has tiny, scale-like, opposite leaves that only function briefly when first formed, after which they lose their chlorophyll and turn a faded brown. The stems are tough, relatively flexible, and lack bark for several years.

Seeds for ma huang are planted in the early spring. During the first year of growth, the plants must be watered and kept entirely weed free. Stems are harvested usually after four years of plant growth, and during the blooming season, when alkaloid content is the highest.
Ephedra sinica
is not harvested during the summer months, because alkaloid content is reduced when stems are fully hydrated from summer rains.

Stems less than 1.25 cm in diameter are cut, dried in the sun for 15 days, and then artificially dried at 120 degrees F for three more hours. Afterwards, the stems are beaten with sticks to break their great jointing, and then screened to separate unwanted joints from the internodes. Packed in bags or covered in containers, the stems must be stored in a dry atmosphere awaiting shipment.

History:

We know that ephedras have been used at least for 5000 years in China, probably elsewhere. Beverages made with the ephedra plant have been referred to under many names, e.g., yellow river, mormon tea, and whorehouse tea. Ancient Chinese physicians prescribed ephedra tea and pills for the common cold, coughs, asthma, headaches, and hay fever. Ephedra comforts asthma patients by acting as a bronchial dilator. Honey is often added to the ephedra.

Ten species of
Ephedra
are known to exist in North America, and many were popular in folk medicine and as a daily beverage. After the Mormons had arrived in Utah, the native tribe introduced them to a species of
Ephedra
, and they used the stems as a substitute for coffee and tea. However, this was considered to be a bitter-tasting tonic beverage. In the Old West, the same species used by the Mormons gained a reputation as a cure for syphilis and gonorrhea, although this cure was never actually proven to work.

The stimulants, or uppers, ephedrine and pseudoephedrine are the two widely used alkaloids of ma huang. These alkaloids are found in highest concentrations in internodes, and in thin stems with fewer nodes (i.e., long internodes), especially less fibrous stems that snap most easily, and they are absent from roots. All the alkaloids are less potent than adrenaline, yet more effective than caffeine. Caffeine--contained in coffee, tea, cocoa, chocolate, yerba mate, and cola drinks--when combined with ma huang enhances the performance of ma huang, and the results are insomnia, irritability, and nervousness.

Medical Uses:

Ephedrine can be obtained in nonprescription forms. A 24-25 mg capsule containing ma huang comes in a hydrochloride or sulfate salt form. Typically, only 5 mg of ephedrine is contained within this capsule, but ephedrine alkaloid content is not regulated due to its difficulty in being measured as a constant amount. Extreme variability in ephedrine content is associated with different ephedrine species and their places of origin.

Many herbalists agree that the intact ma huang stem is much safer to use for medicinal purposes than its alkaloid extracts. As an example, pure ephedrine raises blood pressure, whereas ephedra stems reduces it. Comparing the alkaloid pseudoephedrine with the entire plant, the entire plant causes fewer heart symptoms. When comparing alkaloid to alkaloid for commercial cold preparations, pseudoephedrine is less risky than ephedrine.

Ma huang and its alkaloids have various medicinal uses, of which only some of the more widely used purposes will be mentioned here, but especially ma huang acts as a bronchial dilator to dry up the sinuses. Pseudoephedrine HCL, an isomer of ephedrine, is claimed to have a longer bronchial dilating effect than ephedrine. This use is especially helpful in treating hay fever, allergies, and asthma. Bronchial dilation also aids in decongesting the chest from the cold and flu. Synthetic ephedrine compounds are widely used in cold and allergy remedies, such as Sudafed.

Ma huang stimulates the nervous system to enhance mood, reduce fatigue, and to make a person alert enough to smell their coffee in the morning. Ma huang also has the ability to increase energy and endurance; it does this through increase of blood flow to the muscles, resulting in an increase of oxygen and nutrient supply to the muscles. Ephedrine also increases basal metabolic rate (BMR), so that the body is spurred to burn calories faster, and so ephedrine is part of the thermogenic process that can result in substantial weight loss. In thermogenesis, white fat stores are mobilized into the bloodstream, where they are carried to the brown fat to be burned up and dissipated as heat.

Administering ma huang causes uterine contractions, thus, menstruation can be initiated. However, during pregnancy, women are not advised to try ma huang. Ma huang can help smokers to quit smoking by decreasing cigarette cravings.

Because it has some effects like adrenaline, some athletics have been known to take ephedra products to enhance physical performance. One recent rumor claimed that downing many Sudafed tablets is a common practice for professional hockey players. Diego Maradona of the Argentina World Cup soccer team tested positive for ephedrine and was removed from competition by the Argentina Football Association, and ephedra is now on the United States Olympic Committee's list of banned substances.

Finally, ma huang and its alkaloids are marketed to produce euphoria and to increase sexual sensations, and for that reason, ma huang poses a large risk of addiction in adolescence.

The wide range of products that can be formed from ma huang make the plant and its alkaloids very marketable, and extracts of the alkaloids have been used in modern over-the-counter drugs since the 1920s. As just mentioned, ma huang is used to increase sexual sensation and to bring the user to a state of euphoria, and the plant is portrayed as a natural alternative to the street drugs "ecstasy" and "escalation." Combination products of multiple stimulants are also quite marketable. The kola nut caffeine and green tea extract are used in combination with ephedra to produce multiple stimulants.

As with a lot of other marketable stimulants, adverse side effects are not uncommon. The alkaloids of ma huang can cause rapid or irregular heartbeat, very similar to the effects of adrenaline. Blood pressure rises. Unfortunately, there have been reported cases of liver injury and hepatitis, and users experience aggressiveness, anxiety, and tremors. This leads to poor judgment, and thus potential injuries. Complications from these side effects can result in cerebral hemorrhage, cardiac arrest, and, of course, death. Prolonged use of the drug, which is not recommended, can be the cause of weakened adrenal glands, nervousness, and insomnia. Other side effects include nausea, vomiting, fever, depression, seizures, and headaches. It should be noted, however, that the low dosage of ephedrine in many ma huang products is not large enough to produce significant cardiovascular changes in everyone.

Precautions:

The United States Food and Drug Administration have described ephedra as an herb of "undefined safety." But because ephedra plants are considered nutritional supplements, products containing ma huang are not regulated for safety. Repeating from above, alkaloid content varies so greatly from plant to plant and for different ephedra species that it is very difficult to monitor the safety level of each batch. Probably as a result of no monitoring and poor warnings, at least fifteen fatalities have been linked to food products with ephedrine.

In 1993, ephedrine and pseudoephedrine were put on the list of the official regulated chemicals for the state of California. One major reason for this regulation was to help identify illicit drug labs by monitoring quantities and destinations of precursor chemicals. Ephedrine and pseudoephedrine are used as starting compounds, or "substitute precursors," in the illicit manufacturing of methamphetamines. Only 50% of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine are lost during methamphetamines synthesis; compared with other chemicals used in drug labs for the synthesis of methamphetamines, 50% is a low amount to be lost. The Controlled Substances Act states that all sales of single entity ephedrine products are liable for full record keeping and reporting requirements under the act. If the act is not kept, a person, or a group of people, may be fined $25,000 per violation, including up to ten years in prison.

Many people have the predisposition to believe that because a product is "natural" and available without a prescription that it is healthful and not harmful to the human body. Perhaps an extension of that reasoning, when victims are delivered to hospitals for liver injury, cerebral hemorrhage, and cardiac arrest, many will not reveal their use of such "natural" medicines unless prompted. It is important to remember that anything thought by the government as being of "undefined safety"--whether it has been in use for medicinal purposes for 5000 years or for five years--should always be researched extensively before it is put into your body.

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Maiden Hair
is the
world's most used treatment for memory loss and degenerative diseases of the brain and central nervous system
. Because Maiden Hair increases the circulation of blood and oxygen to all parts of the body, it is
effective overall tonic
that aids in the treatment of a variety of conditions, ranging from impotence to ringing in the ears, and that is only the beginning!

History:
Maiden Hair comes from one of the oldest living tree species on earth, the Gingko, a deciduous conifer, dating back over three hundred million years. Individual trees may live for a thousand years, as they are resistant to viruses, fungi, insects, pollution and even radiation, and they may reach to 122 feet in height. Native to China, Maiden Hair has been included in Chinese herbal medicine's repertoire for almost five thousand years, where it was used for respiratory tract ailments and for memory loss in older adults.  The trees were introduced to Europe in 1730 and the United States in 1784 as ornamentals.