[LMB] AKICIF: herbology OT:

[CatMtn at aol.com]

In a message dated 7/6/2006 11:27:31 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
tadler at yeshivanet.com writes:

also,  what about herbs people used to use as medication?  i know willow bark 
 tea was used to bring down fever, was it also used as headache tea?  what  
was good for arthritis?  what kinds of stuff were used in   poltices? 


M:
 
Willow bark tea was also used as a hangover cure, so I'd assume it would be  
used for headaches.  Garlic was used as a vermifuge; in fact the first  
recorded medical experiment was about the use of garlic for worms, according to  my 
old History of Biology text.  I forget the date, but it was at least  2000 
years ago.  I think it was also used to treat infections.  
 
Foxglove (digitalis) was used for cardiac insufficiency, and autumn crocus  
(Colchicum) for gout.
 
I can't think of anything else right now except Agarita (Mahonia  trifoliata) 
for conjunctivitis, but since it's a southwestern US plant, that  might not 
be too useful.
 
Mary