Semester 3, Week 7, Day 6

Feeling a bit tired right now.  Both kids took late naps last night so it was late to bed. My son climbed in the drier with clean clothes yesterday with a cupcake in his hand, my daughter dumped out half a bottle of dish soap on herself, the counter and the floor...  I had to deal with a "troll" on PocketNet yesterday as well (my current social media home).  I have a real problem when people add their own bias into the words I say then say I'm the one who said it.  I am never to blame for your prejudice.  EVER. Today has been going much better but a little hurried.  I had 2 lectures today.  I had to cook breakfast in between the 2 but the kids got fed and I got to hear important information from my teacher.  The kids are happily playing and enjoying themselves except for the young lady that keeps trying to empty my kitchen cabinets...    I see more magnetic locks in the future. I did let her sit on the stool while I cooked breakfast so she could watch it cook.  That made her happy.  I'm waiting impatiently for my shipment from school to get here.  I'm assuming it's next semester's books so that is always fun!  Who doesn't like brand new books!  I do need to get a hold of my student advisor and let her know of my plan for one additional semester so we can get that in the system.  Right now, I'm trying to focus on the things I need for this semester.  I'll probably handle that once this semester ends and before the next one begins. I feel I have learned so much this semester and it's only half over!  Great things. 

The next herb I will discuss is marshmallow. I'm actually getting tired of going over the ones I've already discussed but I want them all here for anyone who is interested in the data. I realized yesterday that the thing I need to do once I finish school is write a book.  No, it's not going to be on my life.  I have experienced things people would never believe. I'm going to do an herbarium book.  It occurred to me that one of the things that bugs me is I have to go to all these different books to find what I'm looking for on each herb.  The herbarium puts all that information in one place. Sort of.  I'm still a bit off that the botany information isn't in the herb books.  If a person wants to harvest their own herbs and know how to use them medicinally, they need a library.  I think a book on how to identify the plant, grown it, harvest it, and use it would be a great idea.  It will probably have to be a series of books.   I will still put my school herbariums here for my members because the ones for the book I plan to write will be far more detailed.  Anyway, on to marshmallow.

Constituents: Mucilage polysaccharides - 5-10% in the root but less in the leaf. 
Root: Mucilage (polysaccharides); pectin, asparagine, tannins (Hoffman, 2003)
Leaf: Mucilage (low-molecular weight D-glucan); flavonoids (Kaempferol, quercetin, diosmetin glucosides); scopoletin (a coumarin); polyphenolic acids (syringic, caffeic, salicylic, vanillic, p-coumaric). (Hoffman, 2003)
“The root of marshmallow is particularly rich in mucilage, pectin, asparagine, sugars, tannin, lime, calcium, and cellulose. The flowers contain some mucilage, essential oil, sugars, and asparagine. The mucilage and asparagine are responsible for the demulcent and emollient actions. The mucilage also absorbs toxins and harmful micro-organisms in the system.” (Class Lesson Herb 502)

Therapeutic Actions: demulcent, diuretic, emollient, galactagogue, nutritive, and vulnerary; topically it’s an emollient. Hoffman adds expectorant.

Indications (Weiss and Fintelmann, 2000): Irritation of the mouth and throat, dry cough. Mills and Bones (2010), on page 505, state other uses are for gastritis, peptic ulceration, upper respiratory inflammation, and cystitis.  The mucilage in the marshmallow help with all these.
            Hoffman says the root is good for the digestive system and the leaf is good for the urinary system and lungs. Included in the digestive system are inflammations of the mouth, gastritis, peptic ulcerations, and colitis. Leaf is indicated for cystitis, urethritis, and urinary gravel, respiratory for bronchitis, respiratory catarrh, and irritating cough.

Safety: May delay absorption of other drugs when taken at the same time.

Have a great day!