Abbas Edun
BILBERRY
Vaccinium myrtillus is a perennial member of the Ericaceae (Heath) family;1 it is also known to botanists as V. angulosum, V. montanum and V. oreophilum. Some of its common names are Black Whortleberry, European Blueberry and Hurtleberry. In France, it is called Myrtille, and in Germany, Heidelbeere.
A common understory plant, dominant or co-dominant in a variety of coniferous forests in mountainous regions, its distribution is wide, but is restricted mostly by climate. It can be found growing east of the Cascades, extending southward from British Columbia (B.C.) to central Oregon and east to Montana. It is one of the most common plants throughout the Rocky Mountains from B.C. and Alberta to southwestern Colorado, northern New Mexico, Utah and southern Arizona. It also grows in Europe, Siberia and across the whole of northern Asia, the Barbary Coast,2 western Mongolia and Greenland.
Bilberry is a circumboreal shrub and grows well at high altitudes;3 it is abundant in damp woods, and on moors, heaths and sandy or rocky soil. Clumps of the plant can cover vast areas; it often carpets the acidic ground below spruce trees in a soft pattern of small, green leaves. It requires a well-drained, very acidic soil, with a pH in the range of 4.5 to six, rich in peat, but free of lime.4 The plant flourishes in full sun or light shade; however, it bears more fruit in a sunny location. It is hardy to zone three, and it can tolerate strong winds but not maritime exposure.
It is a deciduous plant with angular, green, branched stems that grow from a creeping rootstock and rarely exceeds two feet (60 cm.) in height. The stems are usually puberulent, and its short leathery leaves are ovate to elliptic-lanceolate and slightly dentate;5 at first they are rosy-colored, then yellowish-green and finally red in Autumn.
The wax-like drooping flowers are single in the axils on pedicels, and the calyx shallowly five lobed. The corolla is entire, pinkish and broadly urn-shaped. The anthers have dorsal awns and apical, pore-bearing tubes; the ovary is inferior. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and bloom from April to June;6 they secrete nectar freely and are relished by honey bees and other insects.
Bilberry contains arbutin, flavonol glycosides, iridoids, terpenes, pectins and organic plant acids. Other active constituents include hydroxycinnamic and hydroxybenzoic acids, tannins, sugars, thiamin, vitamins A, B1 and C. Minerals, especially iron, manganese, phosphorus, zinc, magnesium, potassium and selenium are also found in the plant.
The fruit is a rich source of the bioflavonoid complex antho-cyanosides; they are extremely potent antioxidants that reduce free radical damage, which can destroy cell membranes and allow pathogens to weaken the insides of cells and cause disease.7 Antho-cyanosides are used internally for (a) speeding up the regeneration of rhodopsin, the purple pigment that is used by the rods in the eye for night vision; (b) pathologically increased capillary permeability, especially in cases of diabetic retinopathy, varicose veins and hemorrhoids; and (c) epithelial regeneration with gastric ulcers. The fresh fruit has a slightly laxative effect upon the body, but when dried it is antibacterial and astringent, and a decoction is commonly used in the treatment of diarrhea.
The leaves contain glucoquinones, which reduce the level of sugar in the blood. And it has been claimed that, although they are not an alternative to conventional treatment, the leaves can be helpful in pre-diabetic conditions. A tea made from the dried ones is strongly astringent and diuretic, and is used as an antiseptic for the urinary tract.
A decoction of the leaves or bark is applied locally in the treatment of ulcers in the mouth and throat. Water distilled from the leaves is an excellent wash for soothing inflamed or sore eyes and for promoting the healing of wounds by the formation of scar tissue.
ASHWAGANDHA
Withania somnifera is a shrub or woody-based herb in the Solanaceae (Nightshade or Potato) family. Its other scientific (Latin) names are W. microphysalis, Physalis somnifera and P. flexuosa. Some of its common names are Winter Cherry, Poisonous Gooseberry and Vitania sonnifero.8
In its native India, W. somnifera is a kharif crop,9 found mainly in the northwestern region of Madhya Pradesh and also in limited areas of some other states. It grows abundantly in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands, the Cape of Good Hope and North America.
Ashwagandha is found in open woodlands, at the sides of roads, on disturbed ground and on the banks of rivers; it grows from sea level up to an altitude, in the Himalayas, of about 6,500 feet (2,000 m). During the period of its growth, it requires relatively dry weather. It can tolerate a low temperature of 10°C, but its normal range is between 20 and 38°C. Semi-tropical areas which receive between 500 and 750 mm. of rainfall are suitable for cultivation of the plant, and the development of its root is enhanced by light rain in Autumn or Winter.
As a result of the wide range of its growth, there are considerable morphological variations in terms of local species, including the root, stem, leaf and flower. Nevertheless, this article provides a general description of the plant.
It is a small, woody plant, about three to four feet tall. The roots are long, tuberous, brown, fleshy and aromatic. Branches extend radially in a star pattern from a grayish stem; they are covered with a dense matte of woolly hairs. The deep bluish-green leaves are simple, alternate, petiolate and broadly ovate to oblong; they are two to three inches in length and have wavy, entire margins.
The flowers are small and greenish-yellow, solitary or in four- to six-flowered axillary cymes. The corolla is bell-shaped, greenish-yellow and has five triangular lobes. There are five stamens, and the ovary has an inconspicuous disk at the base; the style is thread-like.
The floral structure favours self-pollination in cultivated plants because of a short stigma covered with anther lobes; this is in contrast to feral plants which have a long, projected stigma inviting cross-pollination by honey bees and other insects.10
The fruit is a globose berry, shiny and orange-red when ripe; it is surrounded, and much exceeded by the enlarged ovoid-acuminate calyx.11 The many seeds are discoid, kidney-shaped and yellow.
Withanolides, major chemical compounds, are a group of naturally occurring steroidal lactones found in the roots and leaves of the plant; they account for its extraordinary medicinal properties.12 Both in their action and appearance, they bear a resemblance to ginsenosides, the active constituents of Panax ginseng.13
Scopoletin is a coumarin compound found in several plants including Ashwagandha.14 It (a) has bacteriostatic activity against E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus; (b) has anti-inflammatory activity and can be used to treat bronchial illnesses and asthma; and (c) regulates blood pressure and the hormone serotonin, which helps to reduce anxiety and depression.15 Some of the other constituents of the plant are alkaloids, beta-sitosterol, chlorogenic acid, choline, flavonoids and tannin.16
Ashwagandha has been prized in Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years as a rasayana,17 and most of its traditional uses have been validated by modern research.18 It is more of a sedative than a stimulant, its calming, restorative action helping to relieve exhaustion and stress-related disorders such as arthritis, diabetes, general debility, hypertension, inflammation and tremors.
The plant is a revitalizing one that maintains proper nourishment of the tissues, particularly those of the muscles and bones. It restores the neuro-transmitters and is therefore useful for treating various mental disorders and loss of memory.
W. somnifera supports proper functioning of the adrenals and reproductive system. It (a) is a powerful aphrodisiac and is used as an adaptogen; (b) tones up the blood and improves circulation and absorption of nutrients from the cells; (c) enhances immunity, endurance and anti-peroxidation of the liver, and (d) stimulates thyroid activity, and is a natural nutrient for insomnia.
SWEET FENNEL
Foeniculum vulgare is an aromatic plant that belongs to the Umbelliferae family.19 It may be a biennial, a perennial or an annual.20 Also known to botanists as F. capillaceum, F. officinale and Anethum foeniculum, some of its foreign names are Bisbas, Ervadoce, Hinojo, Hui xiang, Saunf and Variyali . In France, it is called Fenouille, and in Germany, Fenchel.
Fennel is said to be indigenous to the Mediterranean region because of its use by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. However, it has been widely introduced and naturalized throughout the temperate and tropical regions of the world,21 and is especially at home on dry soils near the sea coast and on the banks of rivers. It prefers a soil pH of 6.0 to 6.7.
The stem is cylindrical, erect, smooth and has a soft pith. It grows from a solid, spindle-shaped taproot,22 and may become hollow as the plant ages. At maturity it may be as tall as five feet (1.5 metres).23 The leaves have a very long petiole and may attain a length of about 16 inches (40 cm). They are alternate, and divided three or four times into very fine segments, with the ultimate ones being flexible and thread-like.
Flowers occur at the ends of branches in large, compound flat-topped umbels.24 Each umbel may be five inches (12 cm) across and consists of smaller umbellets with 14 to 27 flowers on shorter stems.25 There are two styles swollen at the base that form a stylopodium.26
The fruit is a dry, ridged, two-sided capsule; it splits into halves at maturity, each containing one seed. They are covered by five longitudinal ridges, and temporarily attached to a very thin axial prolongation. Between the ridges there are furrows; special oil ducts known as vittae are situated under the latter.27
Pollination of the flowers is entomophilous; a nectar secreting disc situated at the top of the ovary is the main attraction for the insects. Honey bees are among the most common pollinators.28 Tasmanian farmers have been growing fennel since the 1980s to produce honey.29 It is characterized by a golden to reddish colour and has a pleasant aroma.
The Parsley family is rich in secondary metabolites including essential oils.30 The ripe fruit and seeds of F. vulgare usually contain about five percent of such oil with anethol as its principal ingredient.31
Fennel is one of the most important medicinal plants because it has been extensively used for a wide range of ailments.32 It is well-known to those who are familiar with the Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha systems of medicine.33 The herb has been used as an estrogenic agent for a very long time. Specifically, it has been reputed to increase libido and milk secretion, promote menstruation, facilitate birth and alleviate the symptoms of the male climacteric.34
HEMP AGRIMONY
Eupatorium cannabinum is a robust, herbaceous perennial member of the Asteraceae family;35 it is also known to botanists as E. ponticum. Its common names include Gravel Root, Raspberries and Cream, St. John’s Herb and Water Maudlin.36 In France, it is called Eupatoire chanvrine, and in Germany, Wasserdost; the Italian name is Canapa Aquatica.
It is very likely that the vegetational history of E. cannabinum commenced in Britain because some cypsela fragments were preserved in ancient deposits in English Interglacial, late Glacial and Neolithic beds.37 It is now found throughout the northern temperate zone in Europe and Siberia, as far east as western Asia, on the temperate Himalayas, in Japan38 and northern Africa.
Its floral region in North America is in the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. It thrives between zones five and nine,39 but it is occasionally found elsewhere as a garden escape. Usually a hygrophyte, E. cannabinum is common in bogs, on the banks of rivers, sides of ditches and at the base of cliffs on the seashore.
Erect round stems arise from a woody rhizome, reaching a height, at maturity, of about five feet (1.5 m.). They are reddish in colour, covered with downy hair and are woody below; they have a pleasant aromatic smell when cut. The leaves are lanceolate and palmately divided with sharp-toothed margins.40 They bear distinct, short hairs, and are sparingly sprinkled with small inconspicuous, resinous dots.
Eupatorium cannabinum is a dioecious plant which grows well in the sun. The flowers are hermaphrodite. Five or six small florets are grouped together into a capitulum which is subtended by two rows of involucral bracts with rounded tips and membranous margins. The capitula are borne in corymbose clusters. The corolla has five short, fused petals, is tubular and covered with scattered resinous points. There are five stamens with the anthers united into a tube around the style. The centre of the flower is occupied by two carpels fused together into a pistil; the style is solitary, the stigma two-lobed.
The scented flowers are pollinated by honey bees and other insects from July to early September. The achenes (fruits) are provided with a pappus, a crown of hairs of a sordid white colour, and are adapted for wind dispersal. The plant overwinters as a hemicryptophyte.41
Hemp Agrimony, described in herbals since the 10th century, was employed chiefly as a purifying and detoxifying herb. The plant has a long history of use as a gentle laxative that does not provoke irritation, although excessive doses can cause purging and vomiting. It also stimulates the removal of waste products via the kidneys. It is an herb which promotes digestion, improves the functions of the stomach and assists the flow of bile from the gallbladder into the duodenum. In Holland, it was used by peasants with swollen feet for jaundice.
Research has shown that E. cannabinum has been used as an expectorant and a diuretic, and it is said to have anti-cancer properties. It contains polysaccharides which provide immune system and heart health benefits plus the ingredients for DNA protection. It has been used as a remedy against intractable constipation and for decreasing the level of cholesterol.
P-cymene, an aromatic monoterpene and active constituent of the plant, is antiviral. The sesquiterpene lactones42 are antiseptic, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, cytostatic and cytotoxic. The herb also contains the flavonoids rutin, hyperoside and quercetin. Root cultures of E. cannabinum have been shown to contain many benzofuran derivatives. Psoralen, one such derivative, is used in the treatment of psoriasis and vitiligo.
A tincture, given in frequent small doses and well diluted with water, is used to induce sweating and to alleviate fever. A tea, made with boiling water poured on dry leaves is said to give prompt relief if taken hot at the onset of influenza or a bilious catarrh; it is also used for disorders of the liver, spleen and gallbladder.
The plant should only be used under professional supervision because it contains hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids which can cause veno-occlusive disease and liver failure.
References
1 Vaccinium is from the Latin “vacca” – a cow, and myrtillus means “myrtle-like.” The Heath family includes Buck Berry, Cranberry, Crowberry and Huckleberry.
2 Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya.
3 The name Bilberry is derived from the Danish word bollebar which means “dark berry.” The circumboreal region is a floristic one, as delineated by some geo-botanists, within the Holarctic Kingdom in Eurasia and North America.
4 When lime is present, the plant suffers from chlorosis, a yellowing or whitening of normally green tissue because of a decreased amount of chlorophyll, often as a result of disease or nutrient deficiency.
5 Puberulent: covered with very short fine straight erect hairs.
6 Unfortunately, V. myrtillus produces few of its tiny flowers and therefore often has no fruit. However, when there is fruit, it is a delicious black or blue berry.
7 Antioxidants are substances that stimulate circulation and help cells in the body to resist and repair any damage.
8 Winter Cherry is also a common name for Cardiospermum halicababum (Balloon Vine), Physalis alkekengi (Chinese Lantern), and Solanum capsicastrum (False Jerusalem Cherry). The name of W. somnifera in Urdu is Samm Al Ferakh.
9 It is usually harvested in the Autumn (kharif in Arabic).
10 Flowers of each gender may be considered as offering different rewards; females provide nectar and males pollen.
11 The calyx, consisting of fused sepals, is three to five millimeters. long in the flower, enlarging to 10–28 mm. in the fruit.
12 Singh, G. et al. 2010. Biological activities of W. somnifera. Annals of Biol. Res. 1 (3):56-63.
13 That is why Ashwagandha is known as the Ginseng of India. See Singh, N. and M. Gilca. 2010. Herbal Medicine – Science embraces tradition – a new insight into the ancient Ayurveda. Lambert Academic Publishing, Saarbrücken, Germany.
14 Cultivated plants are distinct from feral ones in their therapeutic properties but the same alkaloids are present in both of them. Coumarin: a white, crystalline, sweet-smelling compound (C9H6O2) found in many plants, especially tonka beans.
15 Singh, N. et al. 2011. An Overview on Ashwagandha. African Journal of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicines 8(5 Suppl):208-213. Rasayana is an herbal preparation that is used to rejuvenate, restore health and promote longevity and overall physical and emotional well-being.
16 Uddin, R. et al., 2012. Phytochemical and pharmacological profile of W. somnifera: A review. Journal of Applied Pharmaceutical Science 170-175.
17 Bhattacharya, S.K. et al. 2000. Anxiolytic-antidepressant activity of W. somnifera glycol-withanolides: an experimental study. Phytomedicine 7(6): 463-469.
18 Winters, M. 2006. Ancient medicine, modern use: W. somnifera and its potential role in integrative oncology. Altern. Med. Rev. 11(4):269-77.
19 Smith, K. V. 1978. The Illustrated Earth Garden Herbal. Melbourne, Thomas Nelson & Sons Ltd. The family is a large class of fragrant or aromatic plants that have flowers in umbels and include some economically important plants such as Anise, Caraway, Carrot, Dill and Parsley.
20 Piccaglia, R. and M. Marotti. 2001. Characterization of some Italian types of wild fennel. J Agric. Food Chem. 49:239–244.
21 Aprotosoaie, A.C. et al. 2010. The chemical profile of essential oils obtained from fennel fruits. Farmacia 58:46–53.
22 A large, central and dominant root from which smaller ones sprout laterally. Typically, it is somewhat straight and very thick, tapered towards the end and grows directly downward. It helps the plant to tolerate both drought and wind.
23 Sundararaj, D. D. et al. 1963. Preliminary observations on Fennel with special reference to floral biology. Madras Agricultural Journal. 50:235-238.
24 Morgan, D. 1981. Biological Sciences: the Web of Life. Canberra, Australian Academy of Science. An umbel is a floral arrangement in which the pedicels of the flowers originate from a common point, much like the ribs of an umbrella.
25 The total inflorescence is made up of a maximum of 30 umbellets.
26 Stylopodium is a glandular, conical expansion at the bottom of the style in plants belonging to the Umbelliferae family. The word was introduced by the German botanist Georg Franz Hoffmann in 1814.
27 Pandey, B.P. 2007. Botany for Degree Students, page 435. New Delhi, S. Chand & Co.
28 Chaudhary, O. P. et al. 2002. Foraging behaviour and pollination ecology of honey bees on fennel. Pcdgs. 6th A.A.A. Intl. Conf., Bangalore, India. They obtain both nectar and pollen from the flowers.
29 Tasmania is an island state of Australia. It is located 240 km to the south of the mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait.
30 Kubeczka, K. H. 1982. Chemical investigations of essential oils of umbellifers. Aromatic Plants 165–173. Springer, Dordrecht.
31 Anethol, known as anise camphor, is a white, crystalline powder having a sweet taste. Fennel oil also contains small amounts of estragole and fenchone.
32 The author of the present article has only mentioned a few of its uses.
33 Rahimi R. et al., 2013. Medicinal properties of Foeniculum vulgare Mill. in traditional Iranian medicine and modern phytotherapy. Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine 19(1):73–79.
34 Albert-Puleo, M. 1980. Fennel and anise as estrogenic agents. J. Ethnopharmacol. 2(4):337-44.
35 The daisy or sunflower family was formerly known as Compositae.
36 It is also called Holy Rope as it was thought to have been employed in the crucifixion of Jesus. The “Agio Schinio” or “Agios Cannavos” is said to be the only extant piece of that which the Romans used at the time. It is to be found in the Monastery of the Holy Cross (Timiou Stavrou, in Greek) located in the central square of Omodos village in the Troodis area of Cyprus.
37 The fruits are called cypselae. They are known to resist oxidation and are highly resistant to decay. Several tufa deposits have yielded many of them. Tufa is a soft, porous calcareous rock formed in springs, waterfalls and lakes in limestone regions. Radiocarbon dating suggests the age of those deposits as being close to the late-Glacial – Holocene transition.
38 Up to 12,000 feet (3,600 m.), and on the Khasi Hills, part of the Garo-Khasi range in the Indian state of Meghalaya, up to 6,500 feet (2,000 m.).
39 The extent of these is shown in the U.S. Plant Hardiness Zone Map.
40 Both the common and scientific names of the plant come from the similarity of the leaf pattern to that of the unrelated cannabis (hemp) plant of psychoactive fame.
41 A plant whose perennating buds are situated at or just below the soil surface during the time of year unfavorable to growth.
42 The major one is eupatoriopicrin which belongs to the germacranolide class of natural compounds.
