Registry
Herbs, spices and other natural ingredients from around the world, with their uses, preparation, and origins.
CautionAsia · Food · № 435
Benincasa hispida
Traditionally attributed effects: nourishing, tonic, laxative, diuretic; seeds expel worms; juice for coughing up blood and internal bleeding, for insanity, epilepsy and nervous diseases.
CautionEurope · Herb · № 106
Menyanthes trifoliata
A strong bitter traditionally used to stimulate appetite and digestion and for rheumatic complaints. Clinical evidence is lacking.
CautionAsia · Food · № 803
Eleocharis dulcis
Traditionally attributed effects: peeled water chestnuts go with carrot and Chinese dates into a sweetish pork soup that by tradition strengthens lungs and spleen, dissolves phlegm and soothes cough.
CautionEurope · Food · № 654
Nasturtium officinale
Traditionally attributed effects: rich in vitamin C, beta-carotene and vitamin E; used to support detoxification, cool body heat and support the lungs.
CautionAfrica · Food · № 389
Citrullus lanatus
A very juicy fruit that quenches thirst. Oil from the seeds is used in hair care. In Chinese medicine the fruit is considered cooling and diuretic.
CautionOceania · Food · № 173
Acacia spp. (o.a. A. holosericea, A. decurrens)
Roasted wattleseed is a protein- and fibre-rich bushfood. The bark of some species is rich in tannins and was used for wounds and diarrhoea. There is little clinical research.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 682
Isatis tinctoria (syn. I. indigotica)
Traditionally attributed effects: root (ban lan gen) and leaf (da qing ye) cool heat and 'toxin' in viral infections, sore throat and mumps.
CautionEurope · Herb · № 86
Plantago major
The leaf is traditionally bruised and applied to insect bites, small wounds and grazes, and taken as tea for coughs. Clinical evidence is limited.
CautionCentral America and the Caribbean · Herb · № 397
Acacia farnesiana
Traditionally attributed effects: astringent, soothing, cleansing; for bleeding gums, gonorrhoea; gum as a substitute for gum arabic.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 640
Polygonatum odoratum
Traditionally attributed effects: nourishes the stomach and promotes the production of body fluids; for fatigue, poor appetite, weak digestion and exhaustion.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 969
Tsuga heterophylla
A large conifer with a drooping top and short, flat needles. The bark is very rich in tannins; the young needles contain vitamin C.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 968
Rumex occidentalis (syn. R. aquaticus var. fenestratus)
A large dock with broad leaves and a yellow root. The root contains tannins and anthraquinones, which are mildly laxative.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 587
Larix occidentalis
Traditionally attributed effects: stimulating, prebiotic; improves digestion and gut flora, strengthens the immune system, studied in tumours, helps with middle ear infections in children.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 190
Thuja occidentalis
Traditionally attributed effects: expels worms, astringent, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, stimulates muscles, antiseptic.
CautionAfrica · Herb · № 373
Boswellia sacra
The resin is mainly used as incense and fragrance. Extracts of related Boswellia species have been studied for osteoarthritis, with modest and variable results.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 977
Lomatium californicum (syn. Leptotaenia californica)
An umbellifer with large, blue-green, celery-like leaves and a strongly scented root. Related to oshá; little studied.
CautionEurope · Herb · № 242
Ruta graveolens
Traditionally attributed effects: antiseptic, stimulating, promotes menstruation, expectorant, antispasmodic, expels worms (children); strengthens capillaries (rutin); for hysteria, flatulence and colic, incipient paralysis, indigestion; oil diuretic and skin-irritant.
CautionAfrica · Herb · № 921
Leonotis leonurus
A shrub of the mint family, two to three metres tall, with orange, tubular flowers in whorls around the square stems. Contains marrubiin and leonurine, as well as labdane compounds. Considered mildly calming; which substance causes the effect is not yet clear.
CautionAfrica · Herb · № 810
Artemisia afra
A bitter, aromatic herb widely used in southern Africa for coughs, colds, fever and flu.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 961
Monarda fistulosa
A mint with lilac flowers and strongly scented leaves, related to Oswego tea. The volatile oil is rich in carvacrol and thymol, which are antiseptic.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 332
Baptisia tinctoria
Traditionally attributed effects: antiseptic, antibacterial, fever-reducing, laxative.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 767
Ziziphus jujuba var. spinosa
Traditionally attributed effects: nourishes heart yin and calms the mind in insomnia and restlessness; curbs night sweats.
CautionEurope · Herb · № 194
Lonicera caprifolium, L. periclymenum
The sweet-scented flowers were used as tea or syrup for coughs. The berries are poisonous. In Chinese medicine the related Japanese honeysuckle (jin yin hua) is used for fever and sore throat.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 156
Prunus serotina
The dried bark was long used in cough syrups to calm irritating coughs. Modern clinical evidence is lacking.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 957
Mirabilis nyctaginea (syn. Allionia nyctaginea)
Related to the marvel of Peru (Mirabilis jalapa), with a thick taproot and small pink flowers that open in the afternoon. Taken internally the root is strongly laxative.
CautionNorth America · Food · № 965
Zizania palustris (en Z. aquatica)
An aquatic grass, not true rice. The long, dark grain contains more protein and fibre than white rice.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 952
Aralia nudicaulis
A low plant of the ivy family with a long, creeping, aromatic root; related to ginseng and no relative of true sarsaparilla (Smilax).
CautionAsia · Herb · № 517
Lobelia nicotianaefolia
Traditionally attributed effects: antiseptic, antifungal, antispasmodic (in combination with other remedies).
CautionEurope · Herb · № 838
Thymus serpyllum
An aromatic herb traditionally used for coughs and digestive complaints.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 159
Dioscorea villosa
Traditionally used for abdominal and uterine cramps. Wild yam cream is sold as 'natural progesterone', but the body cannot convert diosgenin into hormones; only a laboratory can.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 459
Centratherum anthelminticum
Traditionally attributed effects: expels worms (threadworms), tonic, stomachic, diuretic; for skin diseases and scorpion stings.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 634
Gaultheria procumbens
Traditionally attributed effects: expels wind and dampness and cools heat in hot, swollen joints and muscle pain, drains damp heat in the urinary tract and moves stagnant qi and blood in pain.
CautionSouth America · Herb · № 1005
Achyrocline satureioides (en verwante wollige composieten, o.a. Culcitium canescens)
A woolly, bitter-aromatic plant up to a metre tall with yellow flower heads. Contains flavonoids such as quercetin and luteolin; in the laboratory the extract acts against some viruses, but research in people is lacking.
CautionAsia · Herb · № 651
Atractylodes macrocephala
Traditionally attributed effects: strengthens the spleen and regulates the stomach; for diarrhoea and fluid retention, and traditionally to help prevent miscarriage.
CautionEurope · Herb · № 331
Lamium album
Traditionally attributed effects: astringent, antispasmodic, tonic for the reproductive organs.
CautionNorth America · Herb · № 598
Quercus alba
Traditionally attributed effects: strongly astringent; strengthens lax tissue (diarrhoea, inflamed gums, chronic nasal congestion, weak bladder), stops bleeding (nosebleeds, internal bleeding).
