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Almanac 2012 Winter: GOT GERMS? What does an essential oil have that an antibiotic doesn't? Almanac 2011 Fall: Leaf Compost & Comfrey Almanac 2011 Summer: Is Lavender Essential Oil Toxic? Almanac 2010 Fall: St. Johnswort Almanac 2010 Summer: Charcoal: Nature's Amazing Pulling Agent Almanac April 2009: Spring Field Notes Almanac 2008 Summer: Green Composting Almanac 2007 Fall: Food as Medicine *Authors note: This page is constantly being edited, the articles reworked and updated. Keep checking back and don't forget to refresh your browser! Did you know... " . . . over forty percent of prescription drugs sold in the U.S. contain ingredients derived from nature, and a full twenty-five percent of drugs contain at least one component derived directly, or through chemical modeling, from flowering plants. Plants have always served as important sources of medicine, whether as folk remedies or as pure chemical compounds". (Peterson, 1990, v).
Hot off the press is an excellent book on bacteria by biochemist and microbiologist Trudy M. Wassenaar (PhD), BACTERIA: The Benign, the Bad, and the Beautiful (2012) tracing the evolution of bacteria to the present day multi-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA. The rotting fruit littered the ground, camouflaged by the mass of Bishops weed; the drops well on their way to compost. Fortunately those drops were within throwing distance of the lower garlic and calendula beds, so there they went layered in between the chopped leaves and end of season comfrey. All this took place spontaneously, with great joy that we had a warm October and rain to moisten the beds. Now, a month or so later, staring with blank expectation at my bookshelf, I ran across a book I never had a chance to really read while raising two, then four teenagers, trying to juggle two cottage industries, bookwork, school, pets, livestock, and those horses breaking free on the first crisp autumn day...it's the pioneers that find the hole in the fence.
Years ago we posted an article on this site about comfrey, the calls from people asking us if we needed any, and our suggestion they use it as mulch over the newly seeded potato bed, and between their tomato plants. We have always used the hundreds of pounds of surplus comfrey generated by our crop to create wonderful soil, by mulching and composting comfrey where potatoes are to be planted. Mix it in with the grass clippings in the summer and the chopped leaves in the fall. In the spring layer it over the newly planted potato bed for disease and pest resistant potatoes. You can do this until the potatoes sprout, and again in the fall when cutting back the comfrey; cover the harvested beds with all that comfrey, and pile it with leaves.
The secret is in the high phosphorus content of comfrey, add to that, it's a rich and largely undiscovered source of protein. The plant is high in tannins, however not in contrast to the leaves of deciduous trees, especially oak and beech which are a source of nitrogen (0.8%) and contain the highest levels of tannins. The two balance eachother, the comfrey decomposes quickly, an energy drink for the plants, adding moisture to nourish the leaf mold that gradually turns the leaves to humus. This mix works even better with vegetable or fruit matter layered in between. Come spring, the bed depleted from the summer yield is on its way to a soil building compost as leaves take about a year to fully decompose, providing nitrogen along the way, giving sandy soils some substance and making heavy soils light. The real surprise this season was the addition of the apples on our "winter leaf and comfrey in-garden" compost beds. According to Lawrence Hill over 90% of the spores on apple and pear scab over-winter, and when mixed with chopped or shredded leaves, the spores give the worms a rich, on-going meal of "mushrooms on toast" (1977, 1975). If the farmer won't have the apples for "the jack" and the wife would rather toss them, the worms will have them for breakfast. Since we started layering the beds of all the phosphorous loving plants with cut, wilted comfrey, we have had fewer and fewer pests. The potato bed has been the most miraculous. We haven't seen a potato beetle in years. In addition our crop managed to come through the blight of 2010 that swept Vermont. © Lakon Herbals 10/1/2011, 1/4/2012 A customer recently called with concern that there might be lavender in one of the products she wanted to purchase saying she had heard a recent "scientific study" confirming that lavender was toxic and killed skin cells. After some digging we uncovered the source of the rumor, tracing all the reports to the following study Cytotoxicity of Lavender Oil and its Major Components to Human Skin Cells (Prasher et al, 2004) now being quoted as scientific proof that essential oil of lavender is cytotoxic (toxic to cells). Before panic sets in it is advised that anyone concerned obtain the study and read it in full, not just the abstract, or reviews that pull from the abstract. Unfortunately the problem is that many of these studies are only available to the consumer in the abstract, the full version must be purchased, and in some cases after subscribing to the journal, which in some cases you can only do if you are a member and know so and so and belong to such and such...(sigh) Consumers should always take studies with a grain of salt if they claim to obliterate or negate "time-honored" use and efficacy of an herb, folk remedy or essential oil, as they are more likely than not presenting from a bias. Curiously, one might find a disclaimer imbedded in the study contra to the stated results in the abstract and the title. Curiously, even though Prasher et al wrote the study to suggest that most aromatherapists, cosmecuetical companies and skin care formulas are using dangerously high percentages of lavender essential oil, which they found to kill skin cells, they also state that lavender and its constituents "[has] been shown to reduce carrageenin-induced oedema....anti-inflammatory...[and has been found to be]. . .potently analgesic...". With respect for the common lavender and the centuries old use of lavender essential oil as an effective cosmaceutical, it seems obvious to me that this claim that lavender essential oil is toxic is presenting from a bias for two reasons. Number one, laboratory testing of human skin cells even in a controlled environment (in vitro), washed and treated with a medium, in this case formaldehyde (Prasher et al, 2004), and then subjected to the test formula, the chemical component in question, is not the same as using a carefully formulated blend prepared by a knowledgeable practitioner or skin care formulator for use on a living, breathing, human being. Number two, the researchers suggest in no uncertain terms that lavender essential oil is often used undiluted to further alarm the public since their tests are based on solutions using 25 percent which is also quite high. To add insult to injury the claim "[U]nlike many other essential oils used in aromatherapy, lavender oil is often applied undiluted to the skin" (Prasher, Locke and Evans, 2004)is supported by only one source that of "J. Whitehouse, University of Westminster, London" (Prasher et al, 2004). An in house source.
In fact, most essential oils, lavender essential oil included, are rarely applied undiluted and are most often if not always diluted, at a concentration far less than .25%. With respect to the concern over lavender essential oil and its effect on skin cells, the study claims that concentrations of .25% or higher effected cell viability in vitro (within the glass) as opposed to in vivo (within the living), after dyeing them, washing them with 1% calcium chloride/5%formaldehyde solution, then another solution of acetic acid and ethanol (to remove the dye), than rapid "agitation" before testing for "uninjured cells" (Prasher et al. 2004). The very process leaves my skin cells rather...speechless.
This study made no sense to me especially given that lavender is a popular essential oil with a long history of therapeutic use, frequently prescribed as a bath oil or in a blend with a fatty oil and other essential oils. The very idea that it is used undiluted is even more absurd. A standard formula for the aromatherapy bath is 3-5 ml fatty oil, usually olive (0.16 oz) blended with 10-15 percent of the selected essential oil (total volume: less than one ounce). The mixture is dispersed, sometimes through an apparatus that partly vaporizes and partly condenses the blend before it is finely dispersed into the bath (average bath, 20+ gallons), (Shank, VOL 2 no.4, International Journal of Aromatherapy). A far cry from "often applied undiluted to the skin" (Prasher et al, 2004).
Conclusion
In an era in which money talks and many studies are funded by entities that have something to gain, we must learn to read with a percentage of discretion, I suggest .25%. We should insist that our scientific studies be balanced, not prejudiced. It is true that one needs a hypothesis to initiate and organize a research project, however, one also needs an open mind or risk a bias that can overtly imply that the researchers found the result they were looking for, rather than the result that was actually there. We must insist on neutrality from these research studies, or at least a modicum of respect for the vast field of knowledge and experience they are challenging.
In this case, the tone of the paper (Prasher et al, 2004) has an undermining effect, and demonstrates a lack of respect for the remarkable healing that so many have experienced through the use of lavender essential oil; not too mention the well-earned confidence and trust in the integrity of the traditional herbalist, the folk healer, the natural practitioner; pioneers of modern day medical phytochemistry.
References
Large, A. (1990). From Theory to Practice. International Journal of Aromatherapy. VOL - 2 no. 4. pp. 11, 23.
Prasher, A., Locke, I., Evans, C. (2004). Cytotoxicity of lavender oil and its major components to human skin cells. School of BioSciences, University of Westminster. London, UK: Blackwell Publishing.
Shank, J. (1990). Oil Dispersion in Bath Therapy. International Journal of Aromatherapy. VOL - 2 no. 4. pp. 9,10.
© Lakon Herbals. C/5/15/2011
Review of Recent Studies Abstract and Summary
With respect to the primary focus of the studies reveiwed in this paper, that of the anti-depressent activity of SJW, this review examines the broader attributes of SJW that have come to light through this extensive research. For example, in 2000, researchers at the University of Geissen, Germany suggested SJW as a first line treatment for mild to moderate depression, as effective as imipramine with fewer adverse effects (Decision News Media, 2000). Additional studies focusing on SJW as a broadband neurotransmitter reuptake inhibitor, specifically of serotonin, dopamine, and noradrenaline, with equal affinity for adenosine (Beerhues, 2006). While the studies have proven that SJW does have an affect on neurochemistry the mechanism of action is not clear due to variations in potency and lack of consistancy due to the lack of standardization of herbal extracts and consistancy, and harvesting and processing methods. In addition, the broader implications of this plants therapeutic effects are gradually being revealed.
In essence this review offers a summative comparative analysis of the highlights of recent clinical studies, with respect to the pharmacological influence of SJW extract on the neurochemical aspects of depression and anxiety, and its underlying potential adaptogenic and nutritional effect. Most important, insight into the variations and effectiveness of different preparations based on harvesting and processing methods.
Full text available on request.
© Lakon Herbals/All Rights Reserved. All text and articles are copyright protected under U.S. copyright law.
Several weeks ago on All Things Considered (NPR) an expert informed us that there is no treatment for Poison Ivy once the oil has been absorbed into the skin. This is not true. There is hope for even the most virulent rashes....
Three years ago (July 2007), I developed my first and only furious case of poison ivy. I must have scrapped the skin with a broken branch while weeding as the rash began with a six inch long scratch that grew into a leporous looking blister two inches in diameter with sub colonies sprinkled all over the inside of my forearm. In over 45 years of messing around in the woods I had never had a case worth mentioning. Never having been so affected by poison ivy I had no clue how to deal with it quickly. My medicine cabinet of herbs and homeopathic remedies were useless, even the stand by Rhus tox, and the allopathic approach did nothing as I am extremely sensitive to drugs, a fifth of the dosage of Prednisone made me nauseous. After what felt like weeks of mental confusion from prescription steriods and topical ointments I managed to focus on a little research...
I found that the phyto chemical, or compound that causes such a dramatic reaction, the skin on my arm from wrist to elbow now one big blister which I managed to cover with a patchwork of gauze and tape, was truly amazing. I also found that my case was tame in comparison. I had no idea there was an ongoing competiton for the grossest rash.
Thanks to a wonderful, technical, but not too technical, comprehensive article written by W.P. Armstrong the insight on how poison ivy rashes evolve helped me understand just how to deal with it. Within a few hours of using activated charcoal, I was on the mend. The key was to find a pulling agent capable of binding with the the oil bonded to the lower layers of the skin. The chemical structure that causes this reaction, urushiol produced in Toxicodendron diversilobum or Poison Oak, and T. radicans, Poison Ivy, once absorbed, binds itself beneath the surface layers of the skin, causing the well known and feared dramatic "allergic" reaction.
The long and short of it, actually, the long of it, is that the chemical structure of one urushiol catechol is a combination of a potent benzene ring with long side chains of carbon atoms that fuse with cellular proteins directly beneath the skin. Poison Oak, notoriously worse, has a slightly longer side chain of 17 carbon atom structures, compared to the 15 carbon atom chain found in Poison Ivy and Poison Sumac. These structures are known as phenolic compounds and are found in the resin canals of the plant. Once in contact with human skin, these relatively stable compounds become more active (Armstrong, 2010), or putting it another way, activate the immune response. Nothing new here you may be thinking. There is more...as mentioned, the compound functions as an endogenous (not produced by the body) antigen, not only triggering the bodies immune response by laying around on your skin, the long chain becomes attached to the proteins on the cellular membrane of the Langerhans cells, present in the thickest of the five layers of the epidermis. Now attached to the Langerhan cells - for the purpose of defense on the part of the bodies immune system - the compound is now a prisoner of war being held until it can be executed by killer T Cells or white blood cells. One would think that this shouldn't take too long, however, the process is complicated by the fact that as little as two micrograms of urushiol has been found to trigger an immune response. Most people who come in contact with poison ivy are getting a much greater dose given that 1000 micrograms of urushiol would fit on the head of a pin. Rubbing or brushing the plant or the contact area effectively spreads 1000's of micrograms of this antigen. Visualize thousands of prisoners of war locked to the cell membranes while armies of white blood cells amass to overtake them. It now makes no sense to try and apply more remedies to the skin, oils to dilute the phenolic chain are ineffective unless applied within minutes and potent enough to dissolve it. However, bearing in mind that urushiol is so stable that it was once a major ingredient in one of the hardest finishes known to mankind, Japanese Laquer, the idea of putting anything on it, suddenly seems like a joke.
Once understood, the complexity of the oil combined with the skins immune response, which involves attaching to it, it was clear that the best treatment might be those proposed by our grandparents, substances that have a pulling effect. After trying the usual range of poultices immediately at hand, such as baking soda, mud, red meat, none of which worked, I decided to try charcoal. I ordered a 16 oz bottle of activated charcoal powder. The area was too large for a poultice so I made a thick charcoal soup and soaked my arm in it, in the hot sun as heat further activates the pulling quality. Within 24 hours the rash was on the wane, the redness and itching gone within a couple of hours. In two days I felt safe to go without my tangle of gauze bandages and tape.
Since then we keep a bottle of activated charcoal powder on hand, in the home medicine cabinet and in our travel first aid kit. It came in handy this past week while harvesting Saint Johnswort in the fields behind our home in Vermont, my hand resting for one fatal moment on a flower occupied by a bumble bee. The charcoal took the swelling down in a matter of seconds, literally, pulling the antigen in the bees venom out of my skin. I used it only once and found that 24 hours later another immunue reaction began to take place, but the swelling went down within a few minutes using a cold compress.
© Lakon Herbals, July 13th 2010
Armstrong, W. P. (2010). Poison oak, more than just scratching the surface.
Spring has just begun to arrive in Vermont and it seems to be right on schedule. Black flies started coming out the second week of April right along with the trout lily, coltsfoot, and the wild blue hyacinth. Our first harvest of the year begins in April with the Balm of Gilead (Populus tacamahaca) for the salve and liniment. The window of opportunity is quite small, but we always seem to make it through, as the salicin rich buds can leaf out in a day of hot spring temps. A member of the willow family (salicaceae), the buds are covered with a sticky and aromatic resin the chemical prototype of modern day aspirin, only with the added benefit that it does not have the same blood thinning properties of the synthetic version. On the same weather patterns as the lower mid-Atlantic states, spring seemed to bolt into bloom, one day the ground still frozen, the next the dirt warm and soft enough to be worked. We always count our blessings to have a reason to leave the early garden beds and wander into the woods, quiet, moist, a living palate of soft shades of brown and light green, sprinkled with small dabs of the delicate woodland flowers amidst the deep burgundy of the trillium and the elusive and chthonic blue cohosh flower. Back on the subject of the salicylic acid rich Balm of Gilead, this year my research projects in phytochemistry will be on the salicylic rich flora, naked aspirin as William calls it. The value of which has been sadly underestimated in recent decades. Simultaneous to this project I will also be working on some of the latest studies of St. Johnswort, and the GABA agonist compound Hyperflorin. Stay tuned for the promising results of this study showing St. Johnsworts mode of action in resolving the excitotoxicity associated with neurochemical imbalances as a result of psychological trauma and co-occurring addictive disorders. |
