http://www.wildfoodandrecipes.co.uk/p/wild-food-seasonal-calender-wild-food.htm Link to the time of year each herb grows in the wild...Handy if you are a gather of wild herbs.
The seed contains lignan lactones, such as trachelogenin, that also contribute to the bitterness of the herb. Lignans are phytoestrogen precursors for the key mammalian lignans: enterolactone and enterodiol that are present in humans and animals.
The plant also contains: up to 0.3% essential oil which includes n-paraffin (C-9 - C-13), aromatic aldehydes (cinnamaldehyde, benzaldehyde, cuminaldehyde); phenylpropanes; benzoic acid); monoterpenes (citronellol, fenchone, p-cymene, citral, and others); and flavonoids.
Beneficial Qualities
Cleansing of the blood (depurative)
Strengthening nerves (nervine)
Stimulating metabolism
*Antibiotic, antiviral properties
Cleansing the liver and kidneys
Stimulating the secretion of uric acid (diuretic)
Stimulating the secretion of gastric juices
Historically known to help aid acid indigestion (heartburn remedy)
Reduces flatulence (carminative)
Helps counteract diarrhea
Generally strengthening as a tonic
Bitter (stimulant, especially good for liver and ovaries)
Antiseptic
Expectorant
Promotes healing of wounds
Stimulates transpiration (sudorific)
Stimulates appetite
Induces the flow of mother's milk (galactogogue)
Stimulates menstruation (emmenagogue)
May induce vomiting, but only when used in high doses (emetic)
Reducing outbreaks of herpes, sores, boils, scabies
Vertigo, deafness
Liver and gall challenges
Depression and amnesia
Mild headaches
Digestive disorders, constipation, diarrhea
Loss of appetite, anorexia nervosa
Stomach and intestinal complaints, hemorrhoids
Reducing accumulation of phlegm in the lungs
Side Effects:
Persons who are allergic to daisy family plants [Family. Asteraceae] may experience allergy symptoms to Blessed Thistle. High doses (over 5 grams of the herb per cup of infusion) may cause vomiting and diarrhea. The therapeutic dose is safe.
Overview:
Blessed Thistle is a low growing annual plant, up to 40cm, with Thistle-like appearance. Through its bitter properties, Blessed Thistle increases the flow of gastric juices helping with dyspepsia, indigestion, and headaches associated with liver congestion. British and German Pharmacopoeias recognize that 'bitters', including Blessed Thistle, stimulate bile flow and cleanse the liver. In Europe, Blessed Thistle, as a "bitter vegetable drug" is considered to be a medicinal agent used to stimulate appetite, aid digestion, and promote health. Studies confirm that bitters increase gastric juice and bile acid secretions by increasing the flow of saliva through stimulation of specific receptors on the mucous membrane lining of the mouth.
Traditionally in most countries, including England, Germany, Russia, China, India, and Africa, 'bitters' are used to strengthen and tonify the body. Blessed Thistle extracts also have anti-bacterial activity. Research on Blessed Thistle herb has demonstrated antibiotic properties for: 1) cnicin, 2) the essential oil, and 3) the polyacetylenes contained in the herb. The essential oil has bacteriostatic action and may help against Staphylococcus aureus, S. faecalis, but not E. coli. Research on Blessed Thistle has demonstrated that cnicin has considerable activity for stimulating cellular regeneration, detoxification, and cleansing. Cnicin also has antinflammatory activity.
Blessed Thistle may be used to stimulate secretion of saliva, increase appetite, and even facilitate digestion or stimulate the flow of bile. It has been used as a component in alternative remedies, and has antibacterial and anti fungal activity. (seeds are best)
Milk thistle is medicinally priced for supporting healthy liver function.
The "weed" I’m going to focus on today is milk thistle, as this herb has a long history of safe and effective medicinal use dating back thousands of years. Dioscorides, a first century Greek physician, gave milk thistle the name Silybum marianum. Silybum relates to a number of edible thistles and marianum honors the symbolic associations to the Virgin Mary.
The main part of the plant used in modern day herbal medicine is the seeds. Good quality seeds are black and shiny. This particular plant, native to the Mediterranean, was brought to the United States by the early settlers as a food source and also used for liver health. Milk thistle is now found growing wild in most parts of the United States as the North American Indians used this herb.
Numerous, very well-designed clinical trials have validated the therapeutic efficacy of milk thistle in improving and supporting healthy liver function. The German equivalent of the FDA considers milk thistle seeds as an acceptable treatment for liver health.
If you are taking a pharmaceutical drug, drinking a little too much, or have been exposed to environmental toxins, you may just want to provide that poor, over-worked liver with a little nutritional support. Milk thistle is an excellent choice.
Health Benefits, Liver Disease, After the fall; God gave weeds to torment man, however theirs always the blessing too, toward healthful uses.
Wild Harvest Herbs grows, harvests and produces their own medicinal herbal products, many of which use the herbs grown on their certified Biodynamic® and Organic farm in Sandy, Oregon http://www.oregonswildharvest.com (I like their biodynamic farming technique's.) I've lived in Oregon and like the lava soil and weather there to grow any crops.
The most common so-called weeds may just be what we all need to be eating on a daily basis to restore or to maintain health.
These plants grow and flourish on this earth not only to provide us with a source of food, but also as a means to heal our bodies. So the next time you see someone spraying an herbicide on dandelion, plantain, burdock or milk thistle, take a moment and think: Why are these plants so tough? Why do they keep coming back year after year? Why have these plants all been here for thousands of years? You can find these plants growing everywhere—even out of the cracks of cement on busy highways. The movement of the GMO spraying may interfer with this for our children and plants nutrients and there procreation may be altered.
Read more on a great way to raise herbs/plants: http://www.oregonswildharvest.com/biodynamic_farm/biodynamic_history
You will need; tincture
¼ cup of Cinnamon
1/8 cup of Cloves Cloves (or Cardamon if you dislike Cloves)
¼ cup of Gentian
1/8 cup of Ginger
1/8 cup of Orange Peel
1/8 cup of Milk Thistle
1 bottle of Vodka (750 ml) (shorter shelf life use ACV)
The scientific approach to making this is to extract each herb individually according to the correct alcohol/water mixture. However, for the sake of simplicity, here is a short-cut that will suffice:
Add the herbs to the vodka using a funnel
Replace the lid
Shake thoroughly for 1 minute
Allow to steep for at least 2 weeks- shake on a daily basis
After 2 weeks, you will notice that the vodka has changed color; Strain the herbs from the liquid and discard them
Return the liquid to the bottle
Cocktail time! Replace in any recipe using Angustora bitters, or create your own. Do your research too, this herb may have to be so old...Burdock does and ginsing i.e.
http://transitionalvgetarianrecipes.blogspot.com/
Plants are endowed with important nutrients and potent healing compounds. When you brew plants in water, the resulting beverage, herbal tea, is imbued with those constituents, carrying them into your body, where they are quickly absorbed.
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