I'm working on breakfast right now.  My daughter keeps asking for bubbles.  She gets pretty crazy playing with them but it is fun.  I bought her a hair bow and now she insists on wearing it.  She wasn't sure if she liked it or not but I showed her in the mirror, now it's life.  LOL I got a lot done on that cayenne paper yesterday.  I have all the studies selected - meaning if I put more in, I won't have room for anything else...  Today, I'll write the rest and get it posted so I can get the essays and quizzes done.  The draft for my ebola paper is due in 2 weeks and I'm even further behind on that than I was on the cayenne paper when I started working on it.  I also have more material in my home on the herb than the virus.  We've gotten breakfast done and she want's bubbles again but I need to get to work on these papers. I tried to show her how to blow them yesterday but she put it on her lips to blow so we'll wait on that for a while.  It says age 3 and up; she is almost there.  Of course, the age is just a suggestion based on maturity of the child.  I think she'll be fine by the time she turns 3 but time will tell. 

Here is day 1 of Burdock!

Active Constituents: Acetylenic compounds, phenolic acids, and inulin. An essential oil would contain .1% sesquiterpenes and sesquiterpene lactones.  Hoffman (2003) says Lignans (arctigenin, arctin, and martairesinol); polyacetylenes; carbohydrates; inulin; mucilage; pectin; sugars; organic acids, fatty acids, and phenolic acids (p. 528). Chevallier (2016) adds bitter tannins and volatile oils (p. 65)

Therapeutic Actions: Diuretic, diaphoretic (Weiss and Fintelmann, 2000).  Hoffman (2003) says alterative, diuretic, bitter. Chevallier (2016) adds detoxifying, antibiotic, antiseptic, and anti-inflammatory (p. 65).

Indications: The commission E Monograph states burdock root can be used for gastrointestinal issues, gout, arthritis, as a diaphoretic and diuretic and blood purifying (alterative).  Externally, it can be used for ichthyosis, psoriasis, impure skin, and skin diseases.  Weiss and Fintelmann (2000) say if used, it should be added as a component in antidyscratic teas because it's too weak to be effective on its own.  Mills and Bone (2010) say the typical use is skin eruptions like eczema and psoriasis, as well as rheumatism, cystitis, and gout. Historically it has treated arthritis, diabetes, and hair loss. It is an important ingredient in anti-cancer remedies.  Research is still ongoing (Ulbricht, 2010, 174). Chevallier (2016) adds the seeds is used to detoxify which helps in fevers and infections such as measles and mumps, as well as skin eruptions (p. 65).

Safety: contact dermatitis with people who have allergies

Have a great day!

I'm getting a very late start today.  I ran diagnostics on my hard drive this morning and it took half the day.  The good news is it found no issues!  The kids are both down for afternoon naps.   While i was waiting on my hard drive I went and finished grocery shopping. While there, I bought some bubbles.  She was in heaven popping them but then she decided to grab her brother by the hair and pull  him back.  I put the lid on and put them up which caused another melt-down.  Yeah, a nap was needed.  It's all good.  The books I ordered from Amazon are here.  Only waiting on one more shipment, that back order from the school store.  I'll add these books to the sources page when I can.  I have not even looked to see what's due this week for my herbs class.  The other 2 are 2-week modules so I already know on those.  It was funny when the delivery driver brought my packages to the door yesterday.  My daughter was excited there were boxes, then excited because there were books.  Yes, she is my child.  LOL  She had to look through one of them. It had color pictures and one of the flowers had 2 bees on it.  My child loves flowers. My son is till deciding on things to like other than things he can take apart.  LOL I found a perfect toy for him today and will get it for him when I can and put it up until he's old enough.  It's an engine you can take apart, ages 3 and up.  Only a year and a half and he can have it. I've got toys in this house for higher ages than that as well.  yes, the clearance aisle is our friend.  :)

On to the constituents of yarrow!

Well, that was quick.  None of the remaining 4 are in Ganora. I have them in my list as "answer when I find them".  Tomorrow I will start talking about burdock. Have a great day!

Constituents:  azulene,  sabinene, achillein, achilleic;  achillene

I got hardly anything done with school yesterday.  I think I read a paragraph in a study...  My daughter was being very cranky and needed cuddles. Her nap got interrupted so she got better sleep last night.  My son did not, though.  Poor little guy kept having bad dreams.  I have no idea what makes a child whimper in the night but mommy's touch seems to help.  I have breakfast and dishes done. I have no clue what to do for dinner tonight.  We have so much food in the fridge, it will probably be leftovers!  LOL  I did a good thing yesterday.  I popped into my new social media home, pocketnet and they were being hateful and instead of getting drawn into their negativity, I left them to their thoughts and did something more productive and positive. If you're interested in checking it out, I'll leave the link below. I have decided to delete my Facebook account.  I know I'm just one person but they get money for the number of users and I can't support a platform that shuts down a voice because they go against the political views of the company.  We can't have a conversation about issues if the issues are silenced.  We can't fix a problem if we bury it.  My son is making me giggle again today.  He insists because his work truck comes apart, his bus should as well.  He get so angry when he can't take the wheels off and such!

On to a more fun topic of the constituents of yarrow!

Cineol: is anti-bacterial and is effective against gram-positive organisms.  It is also anti-fungal and cytotoxic against cancer in humans such as hepatocellular carcinoma and breast adenocarcinoma MCF7.  (Ganora, 2009, p. 135) Ganora listed 4 viruses it knocks out pretty easily but I don't want spelling errors.  Essentially it beats up the flu and pneumonia. 

Borneol is used mainly to make esters, used in cosmetics.  It can also be found in some perfumes and can be toxic to the nervous system of mammals (Hoffman, 2003, p. 64).

Camphor can irritate the skin. It is also a rubefacient. It cools the skin and has anesthetic and antipruritic actions. Hoffman says here this is used as a moth repellent and having worked with this, I can believe it!  It's also used as a preservative in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.  (Hoffman, 2003, p. 65, 86)  I have used this to help with sinus issues.  My recipe was equal parts camphor, menthol crystals and eucalyptus leaves.  Put in how water, inhale the steam.  Clears you right up!

Chamazulene has anti-inflammatory and anti-pyretic properties (Hoffman, 2003, p. 68).

Linalool can be used as an antiseptic, sedative and is fungistatic. It can be found in perfumes (Hoffman, 2003, p. 64).

Thujone may cause convulsions if ingested. Thankfully, he adds 30mg/kg of weight is a toxic level and this is cumulative so ingesting this could be a bad thing.  It also causes lesions in the brain's cortex.  He does point out if you make a tea (water extract), you won't get the toxic dose.  (Hoffman, 2003, p. 66, 199, 530).

Constituents:  azulene,  sabinene, achillein, achilleic;  achillene

https://pocketnet.app/index?ref=PKUNcFKQ2J1tP6dAeY8rZeF2ge3dqQkBpf&msocialshare=true

I finished cutting back that oak tree yesterday though I will monitor it for dead branches as they arise.  My daughter stepped in an ant hill while I was working on it and the back of her leg looks like hell.  She had trouble sleeping last night because she was so itchy.  I was itchy for another reason.  There is a huge bush in the back yard that is WAY out of control and I'm slowly working on that too.  The leaves touched my skin a few times yesterday and my skin instantly became red and itchy.  I looked it up this morning and I THINK it's a lilac bush.  The flowers in all the pictures are healthy and the ones out there are NOT because it's not able to grow right.  The poor plant drops seed pods and new plants spring up right there are the base.  The new plants are intertwining around the existing plant and causing problems.  I'm cutting it back to the main plant.  There are also blackberries trying to grow back there.  I'm going to need to harvest me some blackberry roots...  I need to get breakfast done, bills paid and groceries bought so I can continue working on that paper.

On to the actions of Yarrow!

Hemostatics: Stop hemorrhaging and are classified as astringents (Griffin, 1997, p. 10)

Anti-bacterial means it kills bacteria, generally associated with infections. 

Anti-viral means it works against viruses, often the flu.

I can't believe anti-bacterial and anti-viral were not previously defined according to my list!  These are very common actions.  That's it for today.  Have a great day!

Constituents: The volatile oil contains azulene, cineol, borneol, linalool, camphor, sabinene, and traces of thujone and chamazulene; achillein and achilleic;  alkaloids (achillene)

I got to sleep in this morning!  My son, shockingly, slept the longest.  They both fell asleep on my last night.  Hubby had to rescue me or we would have just stayed right there on the couch!  LOL  I got breakfast done already, still need to get the diapers out of the drier.  Washed dishes already.  I was too tired to clean the kitchen last night so it was nasty this morning.  Cleaning was required before cooking could be accomplished. I made some headway on my paper yesterday but not as much as I'd have liked.  A lot to do and that clock keeps ticking down.  I'm going to make this one short.  Below is the first post on Yarrow.  Another name for this herb is milfoil so you may see that as well.  Have a great day!

Constituents: The volatile oil contains azulene, cineol, borneol, and traces of thujone and chamazulene. The leaves and flowers also contain achillein and achilleic acid as well as tannin. (Petersen, 2018, p 21) Chevallier (2016) adds volatile oil (linalool, camphor, sabinene, azulene); sesquiterpene lactones, flavonoids, alkaloids (achillene), triterpenes, phytosterols, tannins (p. 56).

Therapeutic Actions: Anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, expectorant. (Petersen, 2018, P 22) Hemostatic (Griffin, 1997, p. 358) Chevallier (2016) adds antispasmodic, astringent, bitter tonic, increases sweating, lowers blood pressure, reduces fever, mild diuretic/urinary antiseptic, stops internal bleeding, promotes menstruation, anti-inflammatory (p. 56).

Indications: Yarrow can be used as an antiviral and help with fevers. It can be used to detoxify the blood stream as well as for angina and hypertension. Yarrow also can be used for bronchitis, colds, fevers, heart and the circulatory system, nosebleeds, and wounds and cuts (Petersen, 2018, p 21). Chevallier (2016) add reduces heavy menstrual bleeding and eases the pain. Combined with other herbs it can aid digestion (p. 56).

Safety/Contraindications: There are none known at this time. (Petersen, 2018, p 23)

Yesterday was a pretty good day.  I went out and got pictures of the bugs on a tree in the yard. I have not identified them yet but it seems the less stress the tree is under, the less bug I find on it.  I took my daughter outside and she went straight for the tree, as usual.  I stood back and looked at it and realized the limbs were not supposed to drop as only the ones on the bottom did.  I decided to reach in and clip a branch that was hanging low and the part attached to the tree sprung up out of reach.  I took that as a "do the rest".  I have it half done.  I found a birds nest in another tree and showed it to my daughter but she's too little to understand. She did find more flowers to pick.  She's loving exploring the back yard.  This is a good thing!  She wants to go into the woods but I need to cut a lot more back before I allow that.  Somewhere in there is a rabbit.  We went to go to the store yesterday evening and I put my daughter's shoes on her.  My son saw and stuck out his foot so he got to wear his new shoes to the store.  He's much better at walking in shoes than she was when she first started.  His Cars shoes have stuff on the bottom to keep him from slipping. He needs more experience before I put his Lion King shoes back on his feet.  They don't have any non-skid.  He fell on the kitchen floor and couldn't get back up!  Poor little guy was screaming in frustration!  We'll just leave those alone for now...  LOL  I wonder if he'd like being outside now with his shoes.  I might give that a try here later today.  My goals are to get that quiz done then work on my paper. 

On to the constituents of slippery elm!

Carbohydrates are very water-soluble. They evaporate from alcohol and most are oil-phobic (Ganora, 2009, p. 44, 49, 63, 73).

Martairesinol (Lignan) is not oil-soluble (Ganora, 2009, p. 66, 112).

Organic acids are generally water-soluble but more so in the neutral to basic range (Ganora, 2009, p. 42, 44, 63, 73, 74, 81, 82, 83).

Polyacetylenes are alcohol-solvent between 40-60% (Ganora, 2009, p. 44, 64, 85, 97, 98).

Active Constituents:  Lignans (arctigenin, arctin)

That's pretty good.  Only 2 lignans not defined!  I need to get the kids taken care of and begin my day.  Have a great day!

Been a busy day so far and I haven't done any school work! Yet.  My first shipment of books arrived today, 12 of them.  I added them to the references section on the Herbal Lists page (the section at the bottom). Turns out I got a second copy of something.  I'll set it aside for now. Hubby sprung for doughnuts for breakfast (yes, that is the correct spelling, not that lazy spelling).  The kids bathed in the filling. Then I fed them lunch and they bathed in soup.  So, I bathed them in water and soap. I win.  LOL  I still need to get my lunch.  I'm formulating my post for the week for pharmacognosy.  I have that and a quiz left to do then I can turn to my cayenne paper.  That will give me a week to focus on that and then do the 2 essays that are due in a week and a half. Oh, I went ahead and added those herbariums to the site so if you're a subscriber, you can access them.  This is something to laugh at now that it's over with...  While the kids were in the tub playing, I went into the laundry room to get the clothes folded.  When I came out, my son had my mouse pad so I took it from  him.  I go into the bathroom and my daughter hands me my mouse... For my computer...  yeah..  To the makers of Tzumi mice, you people ROCK!  LOL  I shook it out, turned it off and let it sit while I got the kids dressed.  By the time I came back to my computer, it was ready to use again.

Now on to the constituents of slipper elm.

Sesquiterpenes: Constituents are often classified based on structure and this particular one makes that hard...  There are over 200 structure types. The 3 main structures are acyclic, monocytclic, and bicyclic. Some of these act as pheromones for communication between plants. Some provide a defensive role (Hoffman, 2003, p. 67).

Sesquiterpene lactones: these can kill sheep and goats - are highly irritating to their nose, eyes, and gastrointestinal tracts. Other lactones break down the toxins through metabolism. These can help with cancer but can also be cytotoxic so they are often avoided (Hoffman, 2003, p. 70, 174, 199, 370).

Lignans tend to have antibacterial, antifungal, and antifeedant properties (Hoffman, 2003, p. 112-4, 143, 175).

Fatty acids are vital to the body for lipids and Vitamin F which builds and maintains cell membranes (Hoffman, 2003, p. 54-7). Basically, any decent plant-based fat will have this as a constituent and possibly be broken down into the various forms of fat.

That's if for Hoffman.  Now to get a drink and get that discussion post done!  Have a great day!

Active Constituents:  Lignans (arctigenin, arctin, and martairesinol); polyacetylenes; carbohydrates; organic acids

I'd like to say thank you to the neighbors for their fireworks last nigh.  My daughter who woke up crying twice really appreciated it.  My son who woke crying at midnight quite enjoyed them.  My husband is  combat vet.  Yeah, he enjoyed them to...  While many people look forward to celebrating Independence Day, I dread it.  My children are cranky today from lack of sleep, though breakfast did pick them up a bit.  I see naps in both of their futures.  We did enjoy a nice meal.  I found huge T-bone steaks at the grocery store, marked down so they jumped in my card.  I'll be eating steak for a week...  LOL  My daughter didn't know what to do with daddy wanting to eat at the table but she realized that was his intent and asked him to come back and sit in her chair and she sat on the table, smiling because daddy was eating with us.  She has always enjoyed her meals at the table. Once they can quit climbing on the chairs and using them to get into things they have not business being in, I'll bring the rest of the chairs out...  LOL 

I went back and looked at the herbs I've discussed and it turned out yarrow was before my daughter hit that delete button so the remaining herbs for first semester are burdock, yarrow and flaxseed.  I'll get to those after I finish with slippery elm.  I had to download the flaxseed herbarium from here because it was missing from my folder!  I also turned in my herbarium already for this semester and he already graded it.  I'll be able to  upload those herbs when I decide to.  I want to review what else is due to determine if posting them would cause me to have to cite myself.  I know there is one more lab due but I think I want to do a new lab rather than use one of the ones in my herbarium.  I went "easy" with them by going tincture, infusion, or tea, single herb, for the most part.  I'll think of something interesting for my next lab. 

Anyway, on to slippery elm!

Diaphoretics: Served as a warm tea, they promote sweating, Served cold, they act as diuretics. These focus on the respiratory system, including sinuses.  There are 2 types: Stimulating drain the lymphatic system to target those swollen glands. Relaxing reduces fevers and skin toxins. They help with acute symptoms. (Griffin, 1997, p. 8)

Antibiotics: Inhibit the growth or destroy bacteria/viruses/fungi while boosting the immune system (Griffin, 1997, p. 7)

Detoxifying: Essentially, the food we eat, the environment we live in (not just during these modern days) have things in there our body can't process or use.  These things may cause harm if left in the body so a form of detox is needed. The body does this naturally but some herbs help with this process.  There are also modified genes these days that interfere with these actions so detox, bitter, tonic, and diuretics may be your friend based on what is needed.

Bitter: Somehow this is not already defined though I've talked about it. The title for the section of bitters is "Digestive System Tonics".  One of the things these herbs that have a bitter taste do is stimulate the digestive system. Bitters actually have a whole-body effect as a classification.  The taste buds trigger a response in the body (other than that shudder). Bitter herbs stimulate the appetite, the release of digestive juices, aid the liver in detoxing the body and increasing the flow of bile, help regulate pancreas hormones, and help the gut wall repair damage.  They also help the heart and circulation. Some are even anti-depressants. Coffee is a bitter.  You're welcome. For people like me who don't like bitter, the list above should be a thought-provoker in why we should "acquire the taste".  (Hoffman, 2003, p. 243, 410, 498-501).

Active Constituents: Acetylenic compounds, sesquiterpenes and sesquiterpene lactones, Lignans (arctigenin, arctin, and martairesinol); polyacetylenes; carbohydrates; sugars; organic acids, fatty acids

That's it for now.  I have a lot of school work to do.  Have a great day!

I need to go back and look at what I've talked about in terms of herbs.  I know I've done yarrow because I talked about it with my mother but it wasn't checked off.  Plus I have an herbarium posted for flaxseed but the one on my computer is blank...  Odd. I updated burdock, slippery elm and yarrow and have them posted.  I also added my latest books to the references section so I can refer to them if I need/choose to.  I haven't gone to look at what is due this week, yet.  The kids are having a great day.  My daughter woke up asking for daddy.  He heard her and came in and got  her.  Very happy little girl today!  My son is napping.  He was exhausted and has slept through lunch time but I'm waiting for him to get up before I cook, anyway.  My computer fell off this "desk" last night and I may have a hard drive problem again.  We are going to replace the cable and see what happens.  A new desk is on the list but so are other things.  It was just a good thing the kids weren't near when it happened.  I put too many books on top while I was working on stuff last night and caused it to become unbalanced.  I have to push this thing as far back as possible to keep the kids from pulling the plugs but it's on wheels...  I'm going to leave it here for now.  I want to see what's in store for the coming week.

For today, I'm going with slippery elm but I will go back and make sure I have not done this one yet before tomorrow. 

Active Constituents: Acetylenic compounds, phenolic acids, and inulin. An essential oil would contain .1% sesquiterpenes and sesquiterpene lactones.  Hoffman (2003) says Lignans (arctigenin, arctin, and martairesinol); polyacetylenes; carbohydrates; inulin; mucilage; pectin; sugars; organic acids, fatty acids, and phenolic acids (p. 528). Chevallier (2016) adds bitter tannins and volatile oils (p. 65)

Therapeutic Actions: Diuretic, diaphoretic (Weiss and Fintelmann, 2000).  Hoffman (2003) says alterative, diuretic, bitter. Chevallier (2016) adds detoxifying, antibiotic, antisceptic, and anti-inflammatory (p. 65).

Indications: The commission E Monograph states burdock root can be used for gastrointestinal issues, gout, arthritis, as a diaphoretic and diuretic and blood purifying (alterative).  Externally, it can be used for ichthyosis, psoriasis, impure skin, and skin diseases.  Weiss and Fintelmann (2000) say if used, it should be added as a component in antidyscratic teas because it's too weak to be effective on its own.  Mills and Bone (2010) say the typical use is skin eruptions like eczema and psoriasis, as well as rheumatism, cystitis, and gout. Historically it has treated arthritis, diabetes, and hair loss. It is an important ingredient in anti-cancer remedies.  Research is still ongoing (Ulbricht, 2010, 174). Chevallier (2016) adds the seeds is used to detoxify which helps in fevers and infections such as measles and mumps, as well as skin eruptions (p. 65).

Safety: contact dermatitis with people who have allergies

Have a great day!

No new herb today.  I should have one tomorrow.  I'm formulating my essay now as I type and then I'll get breakfast done and then type the essay.  Once I get that done, I can work on updating those other herbariums updated.  I don't know if I explained this but the requirement for the assignment is just write 1-3 or the constituents and actions of the herbs that we plan to address in our lab.  They require updating because I'm putting all of them.  It does no good to discuss the pros and cons of each herb if the list is not complete. I got my magnetic locks last night and they are installed.  They are a different brand than the previous locks and will cause an inconvenience because the key to the other locks doesn't work on these new ones.  However, ALL the cabinets in the house are locked against curious toddlers.  I do have to rearrange a cabinet in the laundry room so the door will close...  Should not be a big deal. She got on the counter again last night after install and was trying to open them.  THWARTED!  LOL I got an e-mail from the school store yesterday about my order.  Two books are on back order and 3 are out of print!  Keep in mind, these are books they recommend for classes...  They are refunding the money on the out of print books and I have found something similar to two of those books so once I get the money back, I can order the new books. The third book is on juicing.  I have not decided if I want to find an alternative for it or not.  In good news, hubby will be home today.  If he has not delivered that load yet, it will be soon.  Below is a note on membership to this site that I will also post below the title to this page so it can be seen after today.

Membership to this site is free. The ability to register yourself is an "upcoming feature".  I have no date of when they expect it to be available. For now, just send me a message or comment on a post that you would like to be a member and I'll send you an invite.  The feature does work on the more expensive packages but this is the only feature on those packages I'm using and probably plan to use.  The next one up opens up the ability for an online store.  I'm not selling anything unless I decided to sell books here once I start writing.

Time to work on breakfast and get the day going.  I need that essay off my plate!  Have a great day!