Semester 3, Week 9, Day 3

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