What is a medicinal plant?

A medicinal plant is a plant used for its beneficial properties on health and well-being. Spices and culinary herbs such as sage, basil , thyme , peppermint are part of it. We also find many vegetables and tubers daily in our diet such as cabbage, garlic, onion. The plants can be used in many forms such as herbal teas and decoctions , In cutaneous application with poultices and ointments. Nowadays we also find plants to swallow in food supplements in the form of capsules and tablets. There are currently 148 species of plants sold outside pharmacies. From there to think that plants are harmless because natural, there is only one step ... it is better to avoid crossing.

The true power of plants

In herbal tea, in capsules, or macerated in alcohol, the plants are active. More and more studies are showing their effectiveness and some plants even take drugs for certain ailments, such as nausea or viral infections . The other side of the coin: this activity sometimes comes at odds with possible medical treatments. For example, St. John's wort , effective against mild depression, may decrease the effect of anticoagulants or birth control pills. Other plants, on the other hand, can lead to unintentional overdose, such as ginger with oral anticoagulants. Conclusion: if you already take medication every day, it is better to ask the pharmacist to go ahead before ritualizing the balm tea at the end of the evening (it doubles with antidepressants and anxiolytics).

Plants: beware of hazardous associations

It is often ignored but some plants must not be associated with each other either. Thus, if cranberry (or cranberry) is amazing to prevent recurrence of cystitis , it goes very badly with garlic or ginkgo biloba, which is used in particular to thin the blood. This duo (taken at high doses) becomes "explosive" and may cause haemorrhage.

Herbal medicine not for everyone

Although attractive because the side effects are often less, herbal medicine has some contraindications. Thus, people allergic to aspirin are equally sensitive to plants containing salicylate derivatives (such as willow or queen-meadow). Epileptics must avoid aromatic plants and, in case of breast cancer or any other hormone-dependent cancer, estrogenic plants, such as soy or borage , are contraindicated. Caution also in case of pregnancy. Even if many plants remain authorized, some are toxic, for example irritating laxative plants (aloe, buckthorn ...), which can trigger uterine contractions.

To learn more: Grow and use the medicinal plants of Rosemary Gladstar (Marabout edition)