List of medicinal plants of the American West
Many plants that grow in the
herbal medicine
.
List of medicinal plants
- Broadleaf plantain (Plantago major) is one of the most abundant and widely distributed medicinal crops in the world. A poultice of the leaves can be applied to wounds, stings, and sores in order to facilitate healing and prevent infection.[medical citation needed] The active chemical constituents are aucubin (an anti-microbial agent), allantoin (which stimulates cellular growth and tissue regeneration), and mucilage (which reduces pain and discomfort).[medical citation needed] Plantain has astringent properties, and a tea made from the leaves can be ingested to treat diarrhea and soothe raw internal membranes.[medical citation needed]
- Tongva people to treat pain.[3]
- galactogogue.[4]
- urinary tract infections, for asthma, and as stimulant due to the presence of ephedrine and other compounds.[citation needed] The sale of dietary supplements containing ephedra has been banned in the United States due to the risk of serious adverse events or death.[5]
- Horsetail or Scouring Rush (Equisetum spp.) is used as a diuretic because of it contains high concentrations of oxalic acid and calcium oxalate and therefore can also be a throat irritant if brewed improperly.[6]
- topically to treat sunburn.[7]
- Willow Salix spp. used to treat headache and as an antipyretic due to the content of salicylic acid.[8]
- Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is used for various ailments including cramps, fevers, and toothache.[9]
See also
References
- PMID 16950583.
- ^ "Palliative Care Among Chumash People". Wild Food Plants. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-10-06. Retrieved 2007-07-14.
- ^ "Takape Kakaaka". Tongva Medicinal Plants. Retrieved 2007-07-14.
- ISBN 1-878762-51-6.
- ^ Sales of Supplements Containing Ephedrine Alkaloids (Ephedra) Prohibited Archived 2007-02-10 at the Wayback Machine. From the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Accessed September 12, 2007.
- PMID 4094471.
- ^ "Herbs and Spices". Commercial Vegetable Production Guides. Oregon State University. April 2, 2002. Archived from the original on July 6, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-14.
- PMID 11113017.
- ^ "Yarrow". Factsheets. Purdue Center for New Crops. December 2, 1997. Retrieved 2007-07-14.
Further reading
There are several books about western medicinal plants:
- Moerman, Daniel E. (2000). Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, Portland. ISBN 0-88192-453-9. A comprehensive collection of many plants with descriptions of their uses.
- Strike, Sandra S. (1994). "Aboriginal uses of California's Indigenous Plants". Ethnobotany of the California Indians. Volume 2. Koeltz Scientific Books USA, Champaign. ISBN 1-878762-51-6. Very thorough discussion of California medicinal plants.
- George R. Mead (1972). The Ethnobotany of the California Indians: A Compendium of the Plants, Their Users, and Their Uses. University of Northern Colorado Press, Greeley. A partial list of plants used in the west.
- S. Foster & C. Hobbs (2002). The Peterson Field Guide Series A Field Guide to Western Medicinal Plants and Herbs. Houghton Mifflin Co, New York. ISBN 0-395-83807-X. A field guide with photographs of each plant and descriptions of their uses.
- C. Garcia & J.D. Adams (2005). Healing with Medicinal Plants of the West - Cultural and Scientific Basis for their Use. Abedus Press, La Crescenta. Chumashhealer.
- Lowell J. Bean and Katherine Siva Saubel (1972). Temalpakh: Cahuilla Indian Knowledge and Usage of Plants. Malki Museum Press, Morongo Indian Reservation. A discussion of Cahuilla Indian plants and their uses. Saubel is a Cahuilla Indian.