Principles of Herbology
Natural and herbal remedies have gained enormous
popularity over the last 30 years. However, many
cultures, including early American settlers, have
used the earth's natural resources to treat, cure
and alleviate a variety of ailments for generations.
Herbology is the study of plants and and their
healing properties. There are several types of
herbology systems used today, they include: Chinese,
Ayurved, Western, Native American and European.
Despite their terminology and varying types of herbs,
they all use natural resources, plants, roots, leaves,
flowers and bark to promote health and well-being.
The general method herbology uses for classifying
herbs include: aromatic (volatile oils), astringent (tannins),
bitter (pheonal compounds, saponins and alkaloids),
mucilaginous (polysaccharides) and nutritive (food).
As with the general classification of herbs, there are
common methods for preparing herbs, such as pastes,
juices, powders, poultices, salves, teas, whole
herbs, extracts, pills, infusions, syrups and ointments.
The method chosen for preparing herbs and herbal
remedies is closely related to the symptoms of the
specific ailment that is to be treated. Each
method used for preparing herbs can provide different
healing components. For this reason, one herb can be
used to treat a variety of ailments.
Plants have been used internally and externally use
to prevent and rejuvenate the body's systems for
centuries. The medicinal use of plants can be extracted
from flowers, stems,seeds, leafs, roots and bark. The
knowledge of these plants and what effect they may have
upon the body is the practice of herbology.
