Terminology                     chemical constituents of plants | herbal preparations
                                              medical terminology

I was taught a different definition of Adaptogen to that shown in the terminology list:  An adaptogen is a substance that increases resistance to stress (adaptogen = increases the ability to adapt to stress).  The term adaptogen is a relatively new one and was devised to explain the action of those few herbs having this effect (the ginsengs, withania, etc.).  Not saying my version is more accurate than the one that's shown - just another perspective.
Carole Bryant

Aldehydes: highly reactive organic compounds that are anti-inflammatory,
antiseptic, calming and sedative. found in lemon scented plants like
lemongrass, melissa, and citronella.

Alcohols: anti-bacterial and anti-viral. The sesquiterpenols stimulate
immune response. They increase oxygenation around the pineal and
pituitary glands. Linalol is antibacterial and boosts the immune system.

Esters: result from the reaction of an alcohol with an acid. They are
known to produce a relaxing and soothing effect on the body. They have
strong anti-spasmodic and anti-fungal properties.

Flavanoids: provide beneficial effecs on the capillaries, increasing
blood flow and oxygenation of the cells and tissues.

Ketones: stimulate cell regeneration and promote the formation of
tissue. They also help to dissolve and discharge mucous of asthma, cold,
flu, and cough.

Phenols: deadly to bacteria and are anti-oxidant. Some phenols include
thymol, eugenol, and carvacrol. Can anyone tell us what plants these are
found in?? :-)

Terpenes: inhibit the accumulation of toxins in the human body and help
the liver and kidneys discharge built-up toxins. They are antiseptic,
anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-spasmodic, and
sedative.

Thujone: relieves respiratory distress and stimulates the immune system.

gloria

Herbal Preparations

There are many different ways of preparing herbs for use.  Preparation makes the medicinal part available and in high enough concentration to effect a healing change.  There are many ways of preparing herbs.  You select the method based on how you expect the herb to perform, ,  whether you will be using the herb internally or  externally, and the part of the herb you are using.

Internal preparations can be water based,  solvent based, or used fresh/dry/powdered.

Capsules
Contain the whole dried, pulverized, powdered form of the herb.  They are readily available from most health food stores.

Extract
Method used to remove the medicinal properties of a plant, usually volatile oils into an extracting medium or solvent.

Standardized Extract
This is usually a timcture or pill guaranteed to contain a specific quantitiy of the herb's main active ingredient.  Sometimes a purified amount of the active ingredient is added to increase the potency to the stated level. Some herbalists won't use herbs altered this way because only certain compounds are used and others are discarded.

Infusion.
Infusions are teas. Teas are extracts into water of the tender parts of the plant like leaves and flowers.  Usually they are prepared by pouring boiling water over fresh or dried herb. It takes three parts fresh herb to equal one part dry herb.  When using aromatic herbs whose volatile oils will be lost with the heat, then a cold infusion (like sun-tea) can be used.  It takes several hours for the medicinal properties to be infused into cold water.  Infusions must be discarded after 48 hours because of bacterial growth.

Decoction
When the plant parts  used are tough and fibrous then a decoction is used to release the oils. Roots, stems, barks, and seeds are prepared this way.  Decoctions are prepared by pulverizing the plant material to expose the surface area, the pulverized material is put in a stainless steel sauce pan to which water is added. The mixture is brought to a boil and then simmered for ten to fifteen minutes, strained, and then consumed.  A lid must be used to preserve the oils.

Tincture
A solvent is used to extract the medicinal properties of the herb in a tincture. Usually alcohol is the method of choice because the oils are readily absorbed into alcohol and alcohol also acts as a preservative. The shelf life of tinctures can be a year or more.

Pulverized and powdered herbs are placed in a glass container that has a tight-fitting lid.  60 proof alcohol , (everclear, vodka, clear grain alcohol) is poured over the herbs and the container is tightly sealed.  The mixture is shaken daily for two weeks then strained into a dark bottle through cheese cloth.  Dosages for tinctures are much less than for infusions or decoctions because the strength of the preparation is much stronger. Other solvents instead of alcohol are Apple cider vinegar or glycerine (in glycerine the term is glycerite)

Concentrated extracts are tinctures that have had most of the water or alcohol removed.  Double extract is a double strength tincture made by extracting fresh herbs into a tincture from a previous batch of herbs.

External preparations are herbs used for wounds, skin, bruises etc.  Many herbs that can be used externally may NOT be used internally.

Compress
Soak a soft cloth in a strong herbal tea, diluted tincture, essential oil, or aromatic water. Wring out the cloth and lay it on the skin.  Cover with hot water bottle or heating pad to retain heat.

Herbal Bath
Add strong herbal teas or essental oils to bath water.  Distribute well before getting into the water.  May also be used for foot or hand baths.  Essential oils are absorbed through the skin and the scented steam also has a therapeutic effect depending on the oil or herb used.

Linament
These are formulated to be easily absorbed throug the skin because they are used in massages. The preparation is made from herb and alcohol or herb with apple cider vinegar.  Cayenne is often used in linaments. St. John's Wort heals wounds.

Poultice
Pounding or blending (in blender) fresh plant into sticky paste which is spread on the injury and covered with a bandage to keep into place.  Sometimes poultices are made from clay and dried herbs and essential oils.

Salve
Petroleum jelly or oils are used as the base (olive or vegetable oils) Herbs with healing properties are added, beeswax is used to bind. Here's one from Kathi Keville's book 'Herbs for Health and Healing'  two ounces dried comfrey leaves, one ounce dried calendula flowers, two cups olive oil, one ounce pure beeswax, four drops each tea tree oil, and lavender essential oil.  Heat herbs in olive oil over low heat for about 5 hours.  Do not let oil boil or bubble.  A crock pot on lowest temp setting should work well. If the lowest setting is too hot, turn off the heat once it has warmed (it should keep worm for at least an hour) then repeat the processs twice.  After cooking, strain out the herbs while oil is still warm.  Place one and one fourth cups of the herb oil in a pan, add beeswax and heat just enough to melt the wa.  Add essential oils and stri.  Finally, pour the salve into widemouthed jars.  Store at room temp.

Medical Terminology

Here's a list of prefixes (word beginnings) suffixes (word endings) and root words to help you understand a word by breaking it apart.  For example if you saw a word like gastroderm, you would separated it into the two parts: gastro means stomach and derm means skin.  So, gastroderm would mean skin of the stomach.