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A SMALL BUT COMPREHENSIVE HERBS GLOSSARY
There have been lots of pharmaceutical studies to evaluate the active elements present in herbs to discover the reason as well as the manner in which they work. A relatively outmoded method is to classify the herbs by exploring the types of health conditions that they can aid in curing. Identifying the actions of the herbs and the manner in which they may be employed together forms the basis of a comprehensive approach.
For example, in a number of instances, the action of herbs is owing to certain chemical or a blend of chemicals present in them - the sedative herb valerian is a perfect example of this. Alternately, the action may also be owing to a multifaceted synergetic interaction between the different elements of the herbs. Nevertheless, the best way to comprehend the actions of the herbs is to consider them as characteristics all together, and to interpret the chemical basis of an herb in the form of a support while prescribing remedies.
In order to comprehend this methodology, we need to consider a few cases in point. For example, the aromatic herb peppermint possesses anti-catarrhal, anti-microbial, diaphoretic (a medication that induces perspiration), carminative (expelling gas from the stomach/ bowel), emmenagogue (a medicine that promotes menstrual discharge), nervine, febrifuge (a medicine that reduces fever) and stimulant properties. In addition, the herb boneset also possesses anti-catarrhal, febrifuge and diaphoretic properties. However, different from peppermint, boneset is a bitter herb possessing emetic, diuretic and tonic attributes. Therefore, if you require an anti-catarrhal herb which also possesses diuretic properties, you should use boneset for your condition. On the other hand, if you require an anti-catarrhal herb, you should use peppermint. Moreover, these two herbs may be used in combination to provide a more extensive result.
It is obvious that both these herbs have a very important role in treating an assortment of health conditions. Peppermint and boneset are not only useful for specific conditions, but also have a wide range of actions that actually make these two herbs all-inclusive remedies, which they really are. Each of these herbs also has its individual wide range of actions and, hence, it is important that you exercise caution while blending these herbs to deal with an assortment of related health conditions as well as to cure the reason and also the symptoms of these conditions.
A list of herbs and their respective actions is given in this page. The list has been prepared by putting the actions of the herbs together indicating the most effective representative in every category. However, it needs to be mentioned that the list has been prepared in an alphabetical order and not essentially in the order of their value. |
