Non-timber forest products Fact sheet no. 18

Transcription

1 Non-timber forest products Fact sheet no. 18 Produced by the Non-timber Forest Products Program at Virginia Tech in collaboration with: USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, SRS-4702, Blacksburg, Virginia; Top of the Ozarks Resource Conservation & Development, Inc., Houston, Missouri; & Missouri Department of Conservation, Jefferson City, Missouri. St. John s Wort Most of us have been frightened of the supernatural sometime in our lives. Beware! St. John s Wort is believed to be a plant with magical, supernatural powers that has been used in exorcisms and against witchcraft. The plant was used for the first time as a medicine during the Crusades when it was used to treat battle wounds. oblong-oval, glabrous, pale green in color, and have oil glands. The flowers have five yellow petals, which often have black dots on the margin. The plant s other common names are amber, goatweed, klamath weed, rosin rose, tipton weed, and touch-andheal. St. John s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) is a member of the St. John s Wort family (Hypericaceae). The generic name, Hypericum, is derived from two Greek words and means over the apparition. This is a reference to the ancient Greek belief that the fragrance of the plant was obnoxious to the evil spirits and would cause them to fly away. The plant was converted to a symbol of St. John the Baptist because it flowers about June 24 which is designated as St. John s Day. During the Middle Ages, St. John s Wort was thought to have remarkable healing and mystic powers if harvested on that day. St. John s Wort is an erect perennial that reaches up to 3 feet in height. The leaves are St. John s Wort Photo copyright Henriette Kress. 1

2 The dried herb, consisting of the flowering tops, including the leaves, unopened buds, and flowers, is used in medicine. Medicinal properties St. John s Wort was recommended as a diuretic, a wound-healer, and treatment for menstrual disorders way back in the first century by the Greek physicians Galen and Dioscorides. Derivatives from the plant can act as an anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, or disinfectant agent. It is used for the treatment of external ulcers and wounds (especially those involving damaged nerves). It is a remedy against disorders of the respiratory tracts and the gall bladder. Native Americans used a tea brewed from the plant for tuberculosis and other respiratory ailments. It is very effective against incontinence of urine at night in children and acts as a mild sedative for disturbed sleep. It has a favorable action on the secretion of the bile juices. It has been used to treat disorders of mood and temperament, especially melancholy and depression. It is also used in treatment of stomach cancer, herpes, and hemorrhoids. (Native American Ethnobotany by Moerman provides more information on different uses of medicinal plants by the different tribes.) The ethnobotanical uses of St. John s Wort include its use as an abortifacient, anodyne, antibiotic, astringent, bactericide, cholagogue, diuretic, emmenagogue, expectorant, resolvent, uterotonic, vermicide, and vermifuge. (Please refer to the Dictionary of Modern Herbalism by Mills for further information on these terms.) The medicinal properties of St John s Wort are attributed to several biologically active compounds including choline, pectin, rutin, sitosterol, hyperforin, hypericin, and pseudohypericin. St. John s Wort oil contains hyperforin, which is responsible for the oil s therapeutic properties. Hyperforin holds promise in its use as a primary component of salves and dressings for wounds. St. John s Wort can aid in healing and recovery by withstanding and inhibiting bacterial and viral growth. St. John s Wort is attracting much interest because of the compound hypericin. This compound was isolated from the plant in 1942 and has been used as an antidepressant and mood stabilizer for emotionally and mentally disturbed people. It tranquilizes by increasing the flow of blood to the stressed tissue. St. John s Wort is the key ingredient of the Central Nervous System formula. Hypericin s therapeutic ability is enhanced because of its photodynamic quality. The different qualities of hypericin are either initiated or enhanced by the presence of light. Some researchers warn against taking herbal tea made from the flowers of St John s Wort because of the photodynamic quality that may cause skin burns (photodermatitis). 2

3 Non-medicinal uses Hypericum dyes find major use in the coloring industry and are used for coloring fabrics. Before dyeing the fabric, a substance called mordant is applied to the fibers, which helps the dye adhere to the fibers. The type of mordant used will affect the end color of the fabric. Bright yellow dyes are obtained from plant tops and a chrome mordant. Flowers with a tin mordant result in an orange-red dye. To obtain a brownish-red dye, the stems of the plants are used with alum mordant. In Ireland, the purple dye from the flower heads and the yellow dye from plant tops are used. Alum is used as the mordant in case of the yellow dye. Natural habitat St John s Wort is native to Europe. The plant is naturalized in the eastern half of the United States, the Pacific Northwest, northern California, and central Nevada and Colorado. St. John s Wort can be found growing wild on roadsides, and in dry pastures and meadows, and is considered a weed. Cultivation St. John s Wort is a hardy perennial that can be grown in most moist soil in full sun. It is easily propagated by division. Perennial herbs are best started in greenhouses and then replanted in as row crops. Harvest, storage, and processing The flowering aerial parts of the plant are collected from June to September without the woody parts of the stalk. Miller (1998) mentions that the herb can be sun-cured within a temperature range of 90 F to 120 F. One should keep a watch for insects and mildew. He also mentions that the dried herbs should be baled and stored in an unheated warehouse. The ideal particle size of the herb when milled should be ¼ inch using the cut-andsift operation. During the processing one should avoid breathing the dust. The powder is greenish to yellowish-brown in color. The yellow color becomes more prominent with the increasing percentage of flowers and unopened buds. Red oil is made by infusing the flowers in olive oil in sunlight for two weeks. Any other vegetable oil can also be used instead of olive oil. The oil is in demand for its medicinal properties. Marketing St. John s Wort is marketed as a dietary supplement for calming effects in mild to moderate depression. It is advertised as promoting a positive mood and as nutritionally supporting a feeling of well being and normal positive outlook. It is marketed in the form of tablets, capsules, 3

4 extracts (both solid and liquid), tinctures, ointments, oils, lotions and teas. encouraging positive mood under brand name St. John s Good Mood. Another company, Yogi Tea, markets its tea using brand names Bedtime Tea and St. John s Wort Tea. References and information resources (Electronic source: Frontier Natural Products Co-op) St. John s Wort is marketed in the form of tablets and capsules by many manufacturers of medicinal products, including Bayer, Celestial Seasonings, Centrum, Frontier Herbs, Herbs Etc., Nature s Bounty, Nature s Herbs, Nature s Resource, Nature s Way, Nutraceutical Corp. (with the KAL, SOLARAY, and Veg Life lines of supplements), and Pharmaton. Most products for internal use are standardized to hypericin content. The unit of standardization for St. John s Wort is dianthrones and the products are standardized to 0.3% dianthrones. Ointments made from the plant are marketed as an astringent for bruises, skin irritations, insect bites, and wounds. St John s Wort oil is marketed for it therapeutic properties and is used for treatment of abrasions, wounds and first-degree burns. Many companies sell tea containing herbs. These teas differ in the herb used as an ingredient. The tea is generally sold in tea bags. A company, Traditional Medicinals, markets its tea containing St. John s Wort as (You may be able to find some of these or other publications in your local library. Another valuable resource is your local cooperative extension office.) Anonymous Toxic reactions to herbal teas. Nutrition and the M. D., 5 (8): 4. Balch, James F. and Phyllis A. Balch Prescription for nutritional healing: A practical A to Z reference to drug-free remedies using vitamins, minerals, herbs and food supplements. Avery. Garden City Park, New York. Duke, James A The Green Pharmacy. Rodale Press. Emmaus, Pennsylvania. Foster, S Medicinal Herbs: An Illustrated Guide. Interweave Press. Loveland, Colorado. Foster, S. and J. A. Duke A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants: Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York. Grieve, M A Modern Herbal. Dover Publications. New York. (Vol. I & II) 902 p. 4

5 Griggs, Barbara Green Pharmacy: A History of Herbal Medicine. Viking Press. New York. Hawken, C. M St. John s Wort. Woodland Publishing. Pleasant Grove, Utah. Hutchens, Alma R Indian Herbalogy of North America. Shambhala Publications, Inc., Boston. 382 p. Kresánek, Jaroslav Healing Plants. Arco Publishing. New York. Miller, R. A The Potential of Herbs as a Cash Crop. Acres U.S.A. Kansas City, Missouri. Mills, Simon The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism. Thorsons Publishing Group. New York. Moerman, Daniel E Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press. Portland, Oregon. Moore, Michael Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West. Museum of New Mexico Press. Santa Fe, New Mexico. Morton, J. F Major Medicinal Plants. Thomas Books. Springfield, Illinois. Ottariano, Steven G Medicinal Herbal Therapy: A Pharmacist s Viewpoint. Nicolin Fields Publishing. Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Reader s Digest Magic and Medicine of Plants. The Reader s Digest Association, Inc. Pleasantville, New York. Simon, James E., Alen F. Chadwick, and Lyle E. Craker Herbs: An Indexed Bibliography, : The Scientific Literature on Selected Herbs, and Aromatic and Medicinal Plants of the Temperate Zone. Archon Books. Hamden, Connecticut. Thomas, Margaret G. and David R. Schumann Income Opportunities in Special Forest Products: Self-Help Suggestions for Rural Entrepreneurs. Agriculture Information Bulletin AIB-666. U.S. Department of Agriculture. Washington, D.C. Electronic resources (The following two web sites can be queried for information on St. John s Wort) Phytochemical Database, USDA - ARS - NGRL, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Beltsville, Maryland A Modern Herbal by Mrs. M. Grieve (The following two web sites are for general interest in medicinal plants) The American Herbal Pharmacopoeia 5

6 The National Center for the Preservation of Medicinal Herbs (The following two web sites give information on St. John s Wort) Clothing of the Ancient Celts - Dyes PagaNet News back issue (V4: 16) - Urban Herbalist rb.html (The following are home pages for companies in the field of herbal medicine) Frontier Natural Products Co-op Nutraceutical Corp. Kress, H. St. John s Wort photo. ml This fact sheet was written and prepared by Soumitri Das, Laura Shillington, and Tom Hammett at the College of Natural Resources, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia. This is part of a series of fact sheets on non-timber forest products. The full set of fact sheets is available at the Non-timber Forest Products website: Please give us your comments on this fact sheet and suggestions for future fact sheets. Direct your comments to Tom Hammett, Department of Wood Science and Forest Products, 210 Cheatham Hall (0323), Virginia Tech, Blacksburg VA Phone: (540) himal@vt.edu. January 2001 The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in its programs on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, and marital or familial status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc) should contact USDA s TARGET Center at (voice and TDD). 6