Herbal Medicine: Herbal Glossary

Tincture

A liquid extract that contains a mixture of ethyl alcohol and water as the solvent to remove and preserve the active constituents of plants. Tinctures can be purchased in 1- or 2-oz dropper bottles. The dose is usually from 1 dropperfull (1mL or 35 drops) to 1 tsp (equivalent to 5 droppersfull), 3-5 times daily.

Adaptogen

An herb that helps one adapt to stress of any kind. Adaptogens work by regulating the body’s nervous, hormonal, and immune systems to counteract some of the harmful effects of many kinds of stressors like travelling, illness, or emotional stress. Examples include the herbs eleuthero, rhodiola, and ligustrum.

Alterative

Any herb that normalizes function in the tissues and cells of the body. Alteratives are a kind of adaptogen for the cells of the body, and are often taken long-term for cancer prevention and holistic treatment programs. Examples include red clover, burdock, and yellow dock root.

Bitter

Bitters are digestive tonics that not only have a bitter taste, but also stimulate nerve reflexes in the gut to increase digestive enzyme production. Bitter tonics are taken before meals to help the body digest and assimilate the maximum amount of nutrients, helping to insure complete digestion. Examples include gentian, centaury, artichoke leaf, and bitter orange peel. A variety of products are widely available in natural food stores, and also liquor stores (Angostura bitters)

Cream

A cream is an external preparation that is applied to the skin to help moisturize and speed healing for cuts, abrasions, dry skin, bites, and other skin problems.  Unlike a salve, a cream consists of an emulsion of an oil and a water-based extract. Also unlike salves, creams are not greasy feeling. Calendula and chamomile creams are two well-known examples.

Decoction

A decoction is a tea made by boiling herbs for an extended period.  Decoctions are made most often with thick and dense parts of herbs such as barks, roots, and hard seeds.

Demulcent

A demulcent is a type of herbal preparation that contains abundant mucilage and is used for soothing inflamed or irritated tissues. A demulcent preparations are often drunk for soothing irritated an inflamed throat, urinary tract or intestinal tract. Licorice and marshmallow roots are good examples.

Dropperful

A dropper is a small glass pipette with a rubber bulb that is part of a screw-top on one ounce amber dropper bottles for dispensing alcoholic tinctures. One squeeze of the bulb brings up about 30-35 drops of the liquid tincture, which can be then added to a small amount of water, juice, or tea to consume a dose. One dropperful is equivalent to about 1 milliliter (1 ml) of liquid. The standard daily dose of a liquid tincture is about 2-5 droppers full, 3-5 times a day.

Essential Oil

An essential oil, also called a volatile oil, is a distilled product from certain aromatic plants such as lavendar, rosemary, and peppermint. Essential oils are used to flavor many kinds of preparations, such as toothpase, shampoos, and many food products. They are added to creams and some herbal products in capsule and tablet form for their concentrated therapeutic action. Caution: do not take essential oils undiluted in their pure form, as some are irritating or toxic.

Extract

An herbal extract is made by removing the small amount of active compounds from the root, bark, or leaves of a medicinal plant using a solvent like water or alcohol. This liquid extract is often then further concentrated by evaporation, to produce a powder, which is then added to capsules and tablets to produce a variety of finished herbal products. The herb parts that are left over that contain mostly cellulose, starch, oils, and protein, are then composted, as they are not considered to have much medicinal activity.

Herbal extracts are sold in liquid form (tinctures), syrups, and in capsules or tablets. The latter preparations are usually more concentrated than liquids, and are often preferred because they have no taste when swallowed.

Infusion

An herbal infusion is made by steeping herbs in freshly-boiled water for 5 to 20 minutes to make a mild herbal tea. This method is most often used for less dense plant parts like flowers and leaves, and for plants that contain volatile oils like peppermint oil, that would be lost in the steam with more vigorous boiling.

Marc

The marc is the spent herb that is left over after the active compounds are removed for medicinal purposes. The marc is often composted or thrown out after the extraction process.

Medicated oil

Medicated oils or infused herbal oils are made by soaking dried herbs, especially flowers like St. John’s wort or calendula, into olive oil or almond oil or other fixed oils to extract the active compounds. The oils are applied to bruises, strains, sprains, and other external trauma, usually where the skin is not broken.

Menstruum

A menstruum (pronounced mens-strew-um) is the liquid solvent that is designed with varying proportions of alcohol and water to remove specific active constituents from fresh or dried herbs.

Phytotherapy

Phytotherapy comes from the words “phyto” meaning plant, and therapy. More specifically, it has come to represent the scientific approach to herbal medicine, where scientific studies are performed to help determine the most effective, consistent, and safest types of preparations and the best dose.

Community Herbalism

Herbalism has been practiced in communities around the world for many centuries. Today, as the interest in herbal medicine has blossomed, many new herbal training programs have sprung up in communities around the world. The knowledge of herbalism is especially passed on through stories and time spent growing herbs in the garden and in the wild getting to know the plants in their individual habitats. The art of wildcrafting, or learning how and when to harvest wild herbs is taught, along with how to work with patients in a clinical setting.

Rhizome

A rhizome is an underground stem of some plants. Ginger and valerian “root” are actually rhizomes. They are often fleshy and store starch, along with active compounds. Turmeric and the Thai cooking spice galangal are also rhizomes.

Salve

Coming from the Latin word “salvare,” to save, this widely-used herbal preparation is made by melting bees wax into a hot medicated olive or almond seed oil. Whe the oil cools, the salve hardens into an herbal preparation that can be carried in the pocket in small containers, and then spread on wounds, burns, abrasions, and other skin lesions to speed healing and keep out dirt. Some studies show that the fastest healing of a wound occurs when the wound is kept moist, and not allowed to completely dry out. Vulnerary (wound-healing) herbs like comfrey, calendula, and St. John’s wort are often used in salves.

Tonic

A tonic is an herbal substance, usually plant-based, that helps restore normal functions of the body, especially through the action of the immune, nervous, and hormonal systems. Tonics are time-honored remedies that are taken in many parts of the world, especially throughout Asia, to prevent illness, and to assist the body to restore and maintain health. Herbs such as astragalus, ligustrum, reishi, nettle leaf, gobo (burdock) root, and dong quai, are common examples. Various kinds of ginsengs are the most famous example, and considered cultural treasures in China. The word ginseng comes from “ren shen,” or “root of heaven.”