Herbal Antibiotics: Natural Alternatives for Treating Drug-Resistant Bacteria (42 page)

Actions

Antibacterial (mild)

Anti-inflammatory

Cytotoxic (strongly anticancer)

Diaphoretic

Emetic (mild)

Febrifuge

Gastric bitter

Immunostimulant (increases phagocytosis four times better than echinacea)

Mucous membrane tonic

Peripheral circulatory stimulant

Smooth muscle relaxant

Family:
Compositae

Common Names:
Boneset, common boneset, throughwort, agueweed, feverwort, sweating plant—but no one has used those last three names since 1885. (And it's pronounced A-gyew-weed, not aaagh-weed, big fella.)

Species Used:
There are 36, or 60, or pi? numbers of species in the
Eupatorium
genus; taxonomists being troublesome again. Nearly all are native to the Americas,
Eupatorium cannabinum
being an exception. Many of the species in the genus are medicinal; however, for our purposes here,
Eupatorium perfoliatum
is the plant to use. The others do other things. For immune action, we want this one.

Aerial parts, in flower or just before flowering, depending.

May be taken as tea or tincture.

Cold tea:
1 ounce herb in 1 quart boiling water, let steep overnight, strain, and drink throughout the day. The cold infusion is better for the mucous membrane system and as a liver tonic.

Hot tea:
1 tsp herb in 8 ounces hot water, steep 15 minutes. Drink 4–6 ounces up to 4x per day. Boneset is only diaphoretic when hot and should be consumed hot for active infections or for recurring chills and fevers.

Fresh herb in flower:
1:2, 95 percent alcohol, 20–40 drops in hot water up to 3x daily.

Dry herb:
1:5, 60 percent alcohol, 30–50 drops in hot water up to 3x daily.

In acute viral or bacterial upper respiratory infections, take 10 drops of tincture in hot water every half hour up to 6x daily. In conditions where the acute stage has passed but there is continued chronic fatigue and relapse, take 10 drops of tincture in hot water 4x daily.

The hot infusion in quantity can cause vomiting, and in moderate doses mild nausea sometimes occurs. The cooler the tea the less nausea. Otherwise, no side effects or contraindications. However, boneset
may
be contraindicated in pregnancy.

None noted.

The plant is pervasive in the eastern half of the United States and Canada, from Texas, Oklahoma, North Dakota, et cetera on eastward. However, every place I've seen it grow has been wettish, humid, with good soil.

Boneset grows up to 3 feet tall, they say, but I've never seen it get that big; however, most of my experience of the plant has been in the tiny state of Vermont. Two feet seemed about average, just like with hominids. The plant grows in a straight stalk, the leaves going north/south, then east/west, then north/south again. The leaves continue on through the stalk, hence throughwort; it basically looks like the leaves were glued together at the wide end and the stalk just punched through them. Once seen, never forgotten.

The plant is a perennial and likes full or partial sun in moist to wet conditions, on the edges of swamps, along streams, in wet meadows,
in marshlands, basically any place mosquitos like to breed except maybe old tires. It spreads by seed; there are a lot of sources on the Internet.

If collected at flowering and allowed to dry, the plant will usually go to seed as it dries. It should be collected only in flower (August or September) if being tinctured fresh and
right now
. If you are going to use it as a tea, it should be picked just prior to flowering, hung upside down in a shaded place, and allowed to thoroughly air-dry.

Methylglucuronoxylan, astragalin, eufoliatin, eufoliatorin, eupatorin, euperfolin, euperfolitin, euperfolide, euccannabinolide, eupatoriopicrin, hyperoside, rutin, polysaccharides, and a bunch of other stuff. Many of those are sesquiterpene lactones, common in the eupatoriums.

Nope.

Not hardly.

Oh, yes, used. The plant, indigenous to North America, has been used by Native American peoples for millennia, specifically for intermittent fevers and chills, with pain in the bones, weakness, and debility. The American Eclectics used it for intermittent (e.g., malarial), typhoid, and remittent fevers, and for general debility, pneumonia, cough, epidemic influenza, colds, catarrh, and pains accompanying those conditions. It was one of their primary remedies.

The sesquiterpene lactones in boneset have a large range of actions. They are highly immunostimulatory and very active against cancers. They also possess antiplasmodial actions. The action is mild, but if the plant is added to a traditional antimalarial that is strong, such as cryptolepis, the effects are mutually supportive. A homeopathic formulation of boneset was found to significantly inhibit plasmodial replication (60 percent inhibition).

Clinical trials have shown that boneset stimulates phagocytosis better than echinacea, is analgesic (at least as effective as aspirin), and reduces cold and flu symptoms. In mice it has shown strong immunostimulant activity and cytotoxic action against cancer cells.

Despite boneset's long use and potent reputation, little research has occurred with the plant. In clinical practice, however, it is one of the most potent herbs for enhancing immune function, especially in periodic diseases like bartonellosis. It will reliably counter bacterial or viral immune suppression in diseases that present as periodics.

Family:
Compositae

Common Names:
These days “echinacea” pretty much is the name, though “purple coneflower” is exceptionally common among gardeners who don't know about the medicinal actions of plants.

Species Used:
All nine members of the genus can be used; however, the most common are
Echinacea angustifolia
and
E. purpurea
. I don't particularly think that
purpurea
is all that strong in comparison. I really haven't found it all that effective, in spite of what everyone says, and I avoid it if possible. I would strongly suggest the use of
angustifolia
if you can get it. (There is some evidence that
Echinacea pallida
is more potent than
angustifolia,
but I haven't worked with it personally.)

Root primarily, but the flower heads in seed are also potent. The Germans, however, use the
juice
of
purpurea
as their primary medicinal.

Actions

Analgesic

Antibacterial

Anti-inflammatory

Antiviral

Hyaluronidase inhibitor

Immune modulator

Immune stimulant

Sialagogue

Stimulates antibody production

The most potent medicinal forms of the plant are tincture of the root and the fresh juice of the aerial plant.

Note:
Echinacea extracts standardized for phenolic acid or echinocaside content have been found to be inactive as immunostimulants but do still retain their anti-inflammatory actions.

Juice the aerial parts of the plant, when in flower if possible. Take immediately or stabilize with 20–25 percent alcohol (see
page 227
). Take 1–3 teaspoons per day, or up to 6x daily in acute episodes.

E. angustifolia
dry root, 1:5, 70 percent alcohol. (Or fresh flower heads of
purpurea
if you must, 1:2, 95 percent alcohol.)

Note:
The tincture's effectiveness is much reduced if taken in water
(unless you are taking large doses for septicemia or collagen support) and I would strongly recommend against doing so, especially in the treatment of strep infections of the throat.

For strep throat/tonsillitis:
Direct contact with the tissue at the back of the throat with a tincture of echinacea (30 drops each hour minimum) liberally mixed with saliva is certain in these kinds of conditions. Echinacea actively stimulates saliva and numbs the tissue it comes into contact with, making it perfect for this (or any sore, swollen throat infections). I have found this reliably effective, again if treatment is assertive and consistent. In a number of cases (including a doubting physician who was ill himself) the throat had been positively cultured for strep; healing generally occurs within 24 hours.

As a mouth/gum wash for sores and ulcers:
The tincture, 30 drops, hold in mouth until saliva is well stimulated, swish it around to cover all surfaces well, hold for 30 seconds, swallow. Repeat 3x or 4x daily.

For onset of colds and flus:
Not less than 1 dropperful (30 drops) of tincture each hour until symptoms cease. (Note: Echinacea is more effective for cold and flu onset in combination with licorice root and red root.)

For septicemia, typhoid, diphtheria, and so on:
1 tsp
E. angustifolia
root tincture in very little water every half hour until the situation normalizes. If the tincture is held in the mouth for a minute or so, it will enter the bloodstream quite rapidly. Better outcomes will be achieved this way. If taken 30 minutes after piperine, its movement into the bloodstream will be very rapid.

For collagen tissue protection and repair:
¼–1 tsp tincture, 3x daily for extended periods (weeks).

For external wounds:
Because of its capacity to correct tissue abnormality, echinacea is perfect for this application. Its anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and cell-normalizing actions all come into powerful play for any external wounds. In the case of infected wounds, take the tincture, frequently, diluted in a bit of water. In severe cases take ½–1 teaspoon of
angustifolia
root tincture each half hour to hour.

For venomous stings and bites:
Mix the tincture with an equal amount of water and wash the affected area liberally every 30 minutes, and take 30 drops to 1 teaspoon of the tincture each half hour to hour depending on the type of bite/sting. For infected bites or stings, more; for venomous bites/stings, more; for simple bee or wasp stings, less. (You can also use a wash for this purpose: Boil 2 ounces ground flower heads or root in 8 ounces water for 15 minutes, let steep 1 hour, strain, and use to wash wounds and venomous bites and stings liberally, as often as needed.)

As a wound powder:
Powder the dried root (or seed heads) as finely as possible and sprinkle liberally over new or infected wounds. Best in combination with other herbs such as goldenseal, usnea, oak, and wormwood.

Poultice:
Mix powder with water until thick and place on affected area.

For abnormal Pap smear:
Echinacea can easily correct even stage three dysplasia. Whenever echinacea is placed directly on cells that are displaying abnormal properties, the cells tend to return to normal relatively quickly as long as the treatment is assertive and consistent. I have seen no other herb that comes even close to echinacea's reliability in this regard. Use as a suppository; see
page 355
for details.

Rarely: Joint pain may occur with large doses taken for extended periods of time. Increased shoe size may occur from large doses for extended periods. Current collagenosis? Don't take a lot for a long time.

Echinacea is not an immune tonic; it is an immune stimulant. Continued immune stimulation in instances of immune depletion to avoid necessary rest or more healthy lifestyle choices will always result in a more severe illness than if the original colds and flus were allowed to progress. Echinacea should not be used if you are getting sick a lot and are only using echinacea to stave off illness without using the time gained to heal the immune system itself through deep healing and recuperation.

None have been noted; however, echinacea decreases the action of the influx transporter OATP-B by 50 percent. It may decrease the absorption of OATP-B substrates. Phenobarbital, chloral hydrate, and meprobamate can inhibit the anti-inflammatory actions of echinacea.