Herbal Medicine for Preppers: Elder

[00:00:00] Hey y'all, welcome to this week's show. Today we're going to talk about, well, one of the medicinal trees that, well, I guess most everybody knows about. It's very popular these days, has been especially since COVID, and it's Elder Sambucus.

[00:00:15] But before we do, speaking of trees, I just finished carving a beautiful set of spoons for a lady who did a special order. It's what I call the mother and toddler set. It's a big serving spoon and a little spoon.

[00:00:28] It's just like perfect for a kid, you know. The bowl of the spoon is rounded and there's no sharp edges on it.

[00:00:36] And they, it's kind of chunky, you know, they can hold in their hands and it's thick enough to chew on.

[00:00:40] But it's really very attractive, perfect to have wild cherry. And so I just wanted to remind you, check out Judson Carroll Woodcraft for Christmas gifts.

[00:00:50] Remember, my work makes excellent Christmas gifts. Got several sets on there for sale right now.

[00:00:57] It's not, by no means is it too late to order them for Christmas. They'll, should get to you in plenty of time.

[00:01:02] I do free shipping within the continental United States. I would not even, I would not guarantee that they're gonna, you know, ship overseas in time for Christmas.

[00:01:12] And of course I'd have to charge extra for the shipping on that because it's very expensive.

[00:01:16] But within the continental United States, I cover the cost of shipping. It gets to you by US, what is it?

[00:01:23] USPS ground, United States Postal Service ground with a tracking number within just a few days.

[00:01:29] So do check that out. Remember, my books make great Christmas gifts.

[00:01:33] And if you do a paid subscription to any of my newsletters, Judson Carroll, Master Herbalist or my Uncensored Catholic newsletter,

[00:01:41] I send you two free eBooks. So it can be a subscription for you.

[00:01:46] One you can give as a gift or you can keep the books or give them away.

[00:01:50] Hey, hey, it's up to you. So now let's talk about elder and elder is actually, uh, well, there are two trees or two plants, I guess.

[00:02:00] And one's more like a shrub that are called elder in, uh, herbal medicine.

[00:02:07] And actually both of these can qualify as a shrub. Actually, elder is not a very tall tree, but it is technically a tree.

[00:02:15] Although sometimes it's called a shrub. Um, but even going back to ancient Greek medicine,

[00:02:21] they would differentiate between the elder from which we get elder berries and what's called the ground elder or, uh, dwarf elder.

[00:02:30] And those, it actually has some toxicity. Actually, both plants have some toxicity, but for the elder berries,

[00:02:37] the tree we think of that toxicity is actually in the wood and bark.

[00:02:41] Uh, it's actually not in the berries to any large extent.

[00:02:47] Um, but if you've ever dealt with elder, you might know that the branches really the thin thinner branches are hollow.

[00:02:55] And so basically any kid's been tempted to make a blowgun out of them, but you can actually poison yourself using the blowgun.

[00:03:02] So you do need to know that. But the, the, uh, ground elder has a greater deal of toxicity.

[00:03:07] Going back to, um, uh, uh, Dias Corides in ancient Greek medicine.

[00:03:12] He talked about the elder we know today, like you might get in any drug store, you know, to use as an antiviral.

[00:03:18] It was very popular for making wine and elderberry wine is really one of the finest wines and has a great deal of medicinal value.

[00:03:26] He warned against the ground elder saying the berries are poisonous, but that the leaves were useful in, um, in herbal medicine.

[00:03:35] And, um, the root as well, they said had the, the same properties as the leaves, uh, drying and expelling water, but bad for the stomach.

[00:03:46] Leaves boiled, purged phlegm and bile.

[00:03:48] And they'd actually eat that sort of as a potter, by the way, like we might, you know, collard or mustard greens or kale or something.

[00:03:55] Um, and the stalks also as a boiled vegetable, not much used that way anymore.

[00:04:01] So the roots boiled with wine and given with meat are good for dropsy or water retention.

[00:04:06] Uh, edema, as we would call it now, the decoction taken as a drink helps those bitten by vipers.

[00:04:12] And I don't know if that's true or not.

[00:04:14] I mean, you got to look at this like 3000 years old and yeah, take it with a grain of salt.

[00:04:19] As I often said, say, uh, boiled with water for bathing, it softens the womb and opens the vagina and sets right any disorders around it.

[00:04:31] Again, I don't know if that's true or not.

[00:04:33] We don't use ground elder much in herbal medicine these days, but it was much used probably even more than the, the elder.

[00:04:42] That we think of in ancient, um, in ancient medicine.

[00:04:46] Uh, it was also used to darken the hair, believe it or not.

[00:04:50] And that was, uh, they've used the fruit, the berries.

[00:04:52] They said there were poisons to eat.

[00:04:53] It's the ground elder again, but we're good as a hair dye.

[00:04:56] New tender leaves smeared on with polenta and they actually meant like cream of wheat

[00:05:00] because they didn't have corn as we know it.

[00:05:03] Lessens inflammation, um, good for burns and dog bites.

[00:05:08] Smeared on with any kind of fat.

[00:05:10] They, he said bull or goat's grease, but I'm sure it's any kind of fat because it's more just like a medium, you know.

[00:05:16] Um, heals hollow ulcers or, uh, sores that are, you know, don't want to heal and, um, are good for gout.

[00:05:24] And he talks about the various names, different cultures, the Romans and Egyptians and all called it.

[00:05:29] We don't need to know that.

[00:05:30] But moving up to about 1100 AD, uh, St. Hildegard von Bingen said,

[00:05:34] one who has jaundice should enter a sauna bath and place the leaves of the tree on hot rocks.

[00:05:41] And she doesn't differentiate between the two elders.

[00:05:43] So she said the leaves of either.

[00:05:44] He shall pour water over them and place a twig in pure wine so that takes its flavor.

[00:05:50] While in the bath, he should drink this in moderation.

[00:05:52] And after he comes out of the bath, he should lie in bed.

[00:05:55] So he sweats.

[00:05:56] If he does this often, he will be better.

[00:05:59] Now, uh, moving up to the 15th century,

[00:06:03] Girard wrote of what he called common elder.

[00:06:06] And I do believe the common elder is the elder we would use today.

[00:06:10] He said, Galen attributed the like faculty to elder that he doth dainwart.

[00:06:16] I'm not going to get into all that.

[00:06:18] But anyway, he said, um, it had a purging, uh, quality and, um, you know,

[00:06:25] just means it was basically a good laxative.

[00:06:27] The leaves and tender crops of elder taken in some broth or pottage opened the belly,

[00:06:33] purging both thick phlegm and choleric humors.

[00:06:35] So we're talking congestion, essentially,

[00:06:37] and probably congestion of the intestines, which was actually pretty common back then.

[00:06:43] Bad food, bad water, you know, the whole bit.

[00:06:45] The middle bark is of the same nature, but stronger and purgeth, said humors more violently.

[00:06:53] The seeds contained within the berry are good for such as have the drop seed

[00:06:57] and, and for those who are too fat and would like to be leaner,

[00:07:01] or as he said, would fain be leaner.

[00:07:03] They take it in the morning in the quantity of a dram with wine for a certain space.

[00:07:09] So for a period of time, he's not, but apparently he thought it would help you lose weight.

[00:07:12] I don't know.

[00:07:14] The leaves of elder boiled in water until they'd be very soft.

[00:07:17] When taken with oil sweet almond laid, added thereto, or a little linseed oil,

[00:07:25] then taken forth and laid upon a cloth, applied to hemorrhoids or piles,

[00:07:31] would help with the inflammation.

[00:07:32] And he said it was also good for swollen joints and such.

[00:07:35] And elder berries are very anti-inflammatory.

[00:07:38] They're very good antioxidant qualities.

[00:07:41] He said the green leaves pounded with deer suet or bull's tallow.

[00:07:47] Good luck on getting bull's tallow these days.

[00:07:49] Us hunters would have some deer suet, but they tend to be rather lean.

[00:07:53] I guess, I wonder if the English deer had a bit more fat to them.

[00:07:57] Well, anyway, deer fat is not very usable.

[00:08:00] So, hey, use it for your herbal medicine.

[00:08:02] I mean, you know, if deer has a gamey taste, either the meat hasn't been used properly.

[00:08:08] Well, what's my word?

[00:08:10] The meat hasn't been prepared, handled.

[00:08:14] There's a dress.

[00:08:15] There we go.

[00:08:15] Properly in the field.

[00:08:17] And, you know, it's gotten a little tank to it because you've been carrying your carcass around,

[00:08:22] showing it off to your friends.

[00:08:24] Or it was too hot when you went out hunting.

[00:08:26] But normally we do like to take most of the fat off of our deer meat because that's where the gamey taste tends to be.

[00:08:33] Some people, though, actually do have a taste for deer fat.

[00:08:36] I've actually known a few who did.

[00:08:38] Some people have a taste for coon fat, which is really...

[00:08:41] Most people say get rid of all the fat on a raccoon.

[00:08:45] You know, people have different tastes.

[00:08:46] I guess it depends on what you grew up with.

[00:08:48] But anyway, he said,

[00:09:09] It was pounded up and basically drunk with wine or whey.

[00:09:18] Yeah, a good way to use whey, I suppose.

[00:09:21] Of like operation are the fresh flowers mixed with some kind of meat or fried with eggs.

[00:09:26] In other words, eaten.

[00:09:28] And he thought that was very good for the stomach and as a laxative.

[00:09:34] And yeah.

[00:09:36] Steeped in vinegar, the flowers are, he said, were very good for the stomach and would help stir up the appetite.

[00:09:47] Seeds are somewhat gentler than those that of other parts to move the belly.

[00:09:52] Again, we're using this as a laxative and he recommended putting them in wine with some anise seed.

[00:09:58] Probably just give it a better flavor.

[00:09:59] And anise is also good against cramping.

[00:10:02] So that would probably be a little more comfortable.

[00:10:05] The jelly of elder.

[00:10:08] This is, I guess, elderberry jelly.

[00:10:11] However, had a binding and drying quality and could be used for diarrhea and such or discharges, congestion, you know, whatever.

[00:10:22] The pith of the bowels is without quality.

[00:10:26] So don't try to use the pith.

[00:10:27] In fact, don't try to use the bowels at all.

[00:10:30] B-O-U-G-H-S, not B-O-W-L-S, of course.

[00:10:35] But a dwarf elder, this is the ground elder.

[00:10:40] He said, the roots boiled in wine and drunken are good against the dropsy for they purge the downward watery humors.

[00:10:48] The leaves do consume and waste away hard swellings if they be applied poultice wise or in a bath.

[00:10:59] He talks about using it to dye the hair black, just as the earlier authors had said.

[00:11:04] The young and tender leaf quencheth hot inflammations being applied with barley meal.

[00:11:09] It is with good success laid upon burnings, scaldings, and upon the bitings of mad dogs with bulls, tallow, or goats suet.

[00:11:19] I think it comes directly from the escorides.

[00:11:21] The seed, excellent to purge watery humors and good against the dropsy.

[00:11:29] Let's see, we'll get up to 1600s, coal pepper.

[00:11:32] Both elder and dwarf elder.

[00:11:35] The first shoots, let's see, he talks, he speaks, he wrote, he wrote of both elder and dwarf elder.

[00:11:43] He said, the first shoots of the common elder, that's the one we use for the berries, are boiled like asparagus.

[00:11:49] And the young leaves and stalks boiled in fat doth mightily carry forth phlegm and collar.

[00:11:54] The middle or inward bark boiled and given a drink worketh much more violently.

[00:11:59] In other words, big time laxative.

[00:12:03] The berries, either green or dry, expel the same humor and are often given with good success to help the dropsy or edema.

[00:12:11] The bark of the root boiled in wine or the juice thereof drank worketh the same effect but more powerfully in either the leaves or fruit.

[00:12:21] The juice of the root taken doth mightily procure vomiting.

[00:12:25] So, yeah, if you have a reason to throw up, if you've taken some poison, otherwise avoid it.

[00:12:32] The decocture of the root cureth the biting of an adder and of mad dogs.

[00:12:36] I sincerely doubt it.

[00:12:38] I'm not going to swear to that one by any means.

[00:12:41] The decoction of the root taken, let's see, it mollifieth the hardness of the mother.

[00:12:48] Again, that's what D.S. Coriades was talking about.

[00:12:51] It has some softening effect on the female reproductive system.

[00:12:55] Let's just put it that way.

[00:12:55] The berries boiled in wine performeth the same effect.

[00:13:01] And if you wash the hair of the head, it will cause it to be made black.

[00:13:05] The juice of the green leaves applied to hot inflammation of the eyes assuageth them.

[00:13:10] The juice of the leaves snuffed up the nostrils purgeth the tonnacles of the brain.

[00:13:17] I don't even know what a tonnacle is.

[00:13:20] But, yeah, maybe don't do that.

[00:13:23] The juice of the berries boiled with honey and dropped into the ears helpeth the pains of them.

[00:13:28] And, yes, elder is quite good for earaches and such.

[00:13:31] Again, it's that astringent anti-inflammatory property.

[00:13:34] It also has some antimicrobial properties and antiviral properties.

[00:13:40] So, yeah, good for stuff such as that.

[00:13:44] The decoction of the berries being drank in wine provoketh urine.

[00:13:49] The distilled water of the flowers can be used to cleanse the skin from sunburning, freckles and morphe, and the like.

[00:13:55] Take away the headache and especially that coming of a cold cause.

[00:14:02] So, if you've got a cold and you get a headache, you thought it was good.

[00:14:04] And, again, we use elder syrup or elder wine or whatever, elderberry extract for colds and viruses today.

[00:14:15] The dwarf elder, he says, is more powerful than the common elder in opening and purging collar of phlegm and water,

[00:14:22] in helping the gout piles of women's diseases.

[00:14:24] Coloreth the hair black and helpeth the inflammation of the eyes and pains of the ears,

[00:14:29] and the biting of serpents and mad dogs, burning and scaldings, wind, colic, and stone,

[00:14:36] the difficulty of urination, the cure of old sores and fistulas ulcers,

[00:14:42] either the leaves or bark of elders stripped upwards as you gather it, causeth vomiting.

[00:14:49] So, more modern news, 1930s, still in the British tradition.

[00:14:53] Ms. Greaves said dwarf elder has a more drastic therapeutic action than calm and elder.

[00:14:59] However, both were considered to be expectorate, diuretic, diaphoretic, and purgative.

[00:15:04] Diaphoretic means it helps with a fever.

[00:15:06] The leaves are probably more used in herbal practice than those of Symbucus nigra,

[00:15:10] the ones we use the berries from, and are used as ingredients for both inflammation of the kidney and liver.

[00:15:19] The drug is said to be very efficacious against dropsy.

[00:15:23] Dwarfelder tea, which has been considered one of the best remedies for dropsy,

[00:15:26] is prepared from the dried roots, cut up and ground in fine powder,

[00:15:31] and she mentions that the drug was much used by Father Nape, the great German herbalist,

[00:15:36] which we'll probably get to here in a minute.

[00:15:38] The root, which is white and fleshy, has a nauseous bitter taste,

[00:15:43] and a decoction of it is a drastic purgative.

[00:15:47] The leaves bruised and lazed on boils and scalded have a healing effect,

[00:15:52] and boiled in wine and made into a poultice were employed in France

[00:15:55] to resolve swellings and relieve contusions.

[00:16:00] Apparently, she also said the leaves were used to repel mice and moles.

[00:16:06] That'd be worth a shot. I don't know.

[00:16:09] She does mention that in the United States, this is the 1930s,

[00:16:14] Dwarfelder was named used for an entirely different plant, Aurelia hispida.

[00:16:19] That is true. It was. It's not any longer. I don't believe.

[00:16:24] Aurelia hispida is now considered, well, one of the Aurelias, so one of the spikenards.

[00:16:30] And I think we got that pretty much cleared up.

[00:16:36] But there's also one called Prickly Elder, which is actually false prickly ash,

[00:16:41] xylem, which we've discussed before.

[00:16:44] And Poison Elder, which in the 1930s was actually another name for poison sumac.

[00:16:49] So again, not an elder. And one more called the Box Elder, which is a shrub in the British Isles.

[00:16:59] So if you're in England, maybe you'll encounter that one.

[00:17:02] We don't really get that one around here very much unless someone planted it as an ornamental.

[00:17:06] Well, she does say that there are about a dozen species of elder in Great Britain, beginning with the common elder and in various, you know, you can get darker berries or reddish berries.

[00:17:18] And there's actually a red-berried American elder called Sambuca Rubens.

[00:17:23] There's also Sambuca Mello Carpa.

[00:17:29] Anyway, we're basically talking about the one that has berries that we use for wine and medicine and the one that is more of a small shrub, ground elder, in which we basically just use the leaves, maybe the bark, twigs.

[00:17:42] Anyway, in the Irish tradition, Kehoe said the leaves and tender tops and inner bark purge bileous conditions.

[00:17:52] A small amount of the seed, pounded and taken in wine, will disperse all accumulations of water fluid.

[00:17:59] The green leaves are good against all sorts of inflammation.

[00:18:02] The flowers expel wind from the stomach and the berries can be used in gargles for sore mouths and throats.

[00:18:08] Now, it was of the berry, the regular elder, I'm just going to call it that one, the one we use most.

[00:18:15] Dwarf elder or ground elder, I'm just going to start calling it that just to just differentiate.

[00:18:20] He says that the dwarf elder is very beneficial in causing watery evacuations.

[00:18:25] And I should say again, elderberry wine was probably the second most common wine in England and the British Isles, probably next to gooseberry.

[00:18:37] Because, you know, grapes don't grow real well in England and such.

[00:18:42] Some do okay, but they had more elderberry wine.

[00:18:46] And elderberry wine is one of the finest wines there is.

[00:18:50] Absolutely equal to the best grape wine.

[00:18:53] So definitely look into that.

[00:18:54] It makes a wonderful jam and jelly.

[00:18:57] It's absolutely one of my favorite berries, actually.

[00:19:00] But speaking of Father Nape, he said of common elder.

[00:19:04] In the good old times, the elder bush stood nearest to the house.

[00:19:09] But now it is many ways just placed and rooted up.

[00:19:12] It ought to stand near every house as part of the household, as it were.

[00:19:16] Or if cast aside, it should be brought back to its post of honor.

[00:19:20] For every part of the elder tree, leaves, blossoms, berries, bark and root are all efficacious remedies.

[00:19:27] In the springtime, vigorous nature strives to throw off matters that have gathered together in the body during winter.

[00:19:33] Who does not know these states, the so-called spring diseases such as eruptions, diarrhea, colic and such like?

[00:19:41] Whoever wishes to purify juices and blood in spring by a course of medicine and to get rid of injurious manners in the easiest and most natural way,

[00:19:50] let him learn to take six or eight leaves of the elder tree and cut them up small like one cuts tobacco and let the tea boil for about 10 minutes.

[00:19:59] For the first time, the most simple blood purifying tea cleanses the machine of the human body in an excellent manner.

[00:20:12] And with poor people, it takes the place of pills and alpine herbs and such like which nowadays are found in fine medicine chests and of which often have very strange effects.

[00:20:22] This course may be undertaken at any other time of the year.

[00:20:27] Even the withered leaves make a good purifying tea.

[00:20:30] And who has not made cakes of elderflower?

[00:20:33] This was very common in Germany where Father Naples was.

[00:20:37] In early America, throughout Europe, anywhere in Asia, anywhere elder grows, you take the flowers and make fritters out of them.

[00:20:45] And he said,

[00:20:47] Many people beg them just at the time the tree is shining and in its white spring adornment.

[00:20:54] And they say these flower cakes are a protection against fever.

[00:20:58] I know a place which is often visited with the ague, fevers, malaria usually.

[00:21:03] And there in spring, you will see these elderflower cakes served on every table.

[00:21:08] I have never examined this minutely and critically.

[00:21:11] Let those people remain in their faith for such fair is good and wholesome.

[00:21:14] And it is.

[00:21:15] Those elderflower fritters or cakes are really tasty and really good for you as well.

[00:21:20] They do have the antiviral properties of elder.

[00:21:23] Elderflower is also purified.

[00:21:25] It would be good if in every home dispensatory a box of dried elderflowers was kept.

[00:21:30] Winter is long and cases can occur in which such a dissolving and suitorific linal remedy may prove of excellent service and harm can never be done by it.

[00:21:41] From organisms in which dropsy has commenced, elder root preparedness tea drives out the water so powerfully that it is scarcely excelled by any other medicament.

[00:21:52] I love the way Father Nape wrote.

[00:21:54] You know, this is like late 1800s and he was a very good writer.

[00:22:01] How would I put it?

[00:22:02] Very not German in the way he wrote even though he was German.

[00:22:05] He was a lot more flowery than we might think of.

[00:22:09] The berries which in autumn are often boiled and eaten as a porridge or marmalade were highly esteemed by our forefathers as a blood purifying remedy.

[00:22:20] My departed mother undertook such an elderflower course every year for a fortnight to three weeks.

[00:22:26] This was the chief reason why our ancestors of 40 or 50 years ago had at least two elder trees planted before their houses.

[00:22:33] As the higher classes nowadays travel and often to distant lands to make use of extensive grape cures.

[00:22:41] In other words, people with more money would go to where they could drink a lot of grape wine.

[00:22:45] So our parents and grandparents used to go to the elder tree which is close at hand and which served them so cheaply and often much better than the expensive grapes.

[00:22:55] Some years ago I was among the Austrian Alps and saw there to my great joy how the elder tree was still honored.

[00:23:07] Of that said one old peasant to me, we do not let a single berry go to waste.

[00:23:11] How simple, how sensible.

[00:23:13] Even the birds before they commence their autumnal travels seek out everywhere the elder trees to purify their blood and strengthen their nature for the long journey.

[00:23:21] What a pity that man on account of art and affection no longer feels or takes notice of these natural instincts in the sound mind.

[00:23:31] If the berries are boiled down with sugar or better still with honey they will prove especially good in the winter time for people who have but little exercise and are condemned to a sedentary mode of life.

[00:23:43] A spoonful of the above preserved in a glass of water makes the most splendid cooling refreshing drink, operates on the secretion of urine and has a good effect on the kidneys.

[00:23:52] Many country people dry the berries but whether these dried berries are boiled as a porridge or stewed or eaten dry in all forms they are an excellent remedy against violent diarrhea.

[00:24:04] Because the exceedingly good service rendered by the elder tree are no longer remembered, this faithful and formerly so high esteemed household friend is in many ways rejected.

[00:24:14] May the old friend be brought to honor once more.

[00:24:18] And he talks of a dwarf elder as well.

[00:24:23] I think I'm going to skip ahead to his mentor, Brother Aloysius, because he was a bit less flowery in his language and more the professional clinical herbalist that we might expect today.

[00:24:37] He said of the regular elder, elderflowers are undoubtedly the most well-known diaphoretic in use, that means help break a fever,

[00:24:45] and can be successfully employed on the onset of all kinds of chills.

[00:24:51] The inner rind of one-year-old shoots mixed with a half quantity of licorice is an excellent remedy for dropsy.

[00:24:59] Of course, licorice has a great power upon the kidneys.

[00:25:02] The leaves drunk as tea are a depurative.

[00:25:06] The well-known elder syrup can be made from berries picked in autumn.

[00:25:11] I'm getting tongue-tied here, let me sip something.

[00:25:16] Here we go.

[00:25:18] Elderflowers boiled in milk with a slice of white bread soaked into it, applied between linen cloths on burning eyes, soon draws out all burning.

[00:25:27] Sore eyes are also soon healed by this remedy.

[00:25:30] And a good laxative is from four to five teaspoons of elderberries.

[00:25:34] Elderleaves boiled in milk are beneficial for scurf, that's usually like eczema or psoriasis.

[00:25:40] They are depurative and laxative.

[00:25:42] The dosage is one to two cups daily.

[00:25:44] Now of the dwarf elder, he said the root is used medicinally and should be gathered in July.

[00:25:50] The decoction contains one to two tablespoons per two cups of water and is very beneficial in the treatment of dropsy.

[00:25:57] A larger dose acts as a purgative.

[00:25:59] Gout and pedaglia are soon cured by the application of elder root boiled for quite some time in wine dregs, the leftover must of wine.

[00:26:11] The flowers and leaves boiled to a paste are highly recommended for sciatica, rheumatism and paralysis.

[00:26:18] This alone will cure these complaints.

[00:26:20] It can also be fruitfully used in the treatment of neuralgia.

[00:26:24] So, not use like that much in modern herbal medicine.

[00:26:29] That use pretty much unknown in modern medicine.

[00:26:34] Flowers and leaves boiled recommended for sciatica, rheumatism and paralysis.

[00:26:39] That's a pretty darn good tip there.

[00:26:44] I think we're going to start just repeating a lot of the same uses over and over.

[00:26:49] I've got extensive notes here from resources, southern fields and forests.

[00:26:56] I see where they make an ointment out of it.

[00:26:59] Same as the ancients did with bear fat or bulls fat or whatever they were using.

[00:27:05] King's American Dispensatory of 1898 says,

[00:27:08] Sambucus is a stimulant to increase secretions.

[00:27:12] It uses a warm infusion.

[00:27:14] The flowers of elder are diaphoretic and gently stimulant.

[00:27:19] So again, it helps with fever.

[00:27:21] Diaphoretic, diuretic.

[00:27:26] Good for hepatic derangements of children.

[00:27:29] Inflamed liver in children, which can be very serious.

[00:27:32] You don't want to take that seriously.

[00:27:35] Intergreen bark is cathartic.

[00:27:37] Again, powerful laxative.

[00:27:40] I'm just kind of skimming through here.

[00:27:46] Again, beaten with lard or cream.

[00:27:48] Good for scalds and burns and certain skin issues.

[00:27:52] Specific indication uses in skin affectations when the tissue is full, flabby, and edema.

[00:28:00] Edema.

[00:28:03] You have edema.

[00:28:05] You have retained water and your tissue is swollen and it's not going down.

[00:28:11] Let's see.

[00:28:13] Good for indolent ulcers.

[00:28:16] Yeah, anyway, we've covered all that.

[00:28:19] Plants for Future Modern Use says,

[00:28:21] Medicinal use of elder.

[00:28:23] The plant has medicinal qualities.

[00:28:24] No further details are given.

[00:28:26] But these are the medicinal properties of the closely related S.

[00:28:31] Oh, another Sambucus.

[00:28:32] The leaves are antiphlogistic,

[00:28:35] chologog, diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant, and laxative.

[00:28:39] The fruit is also sometimes used but is less active than the leaves.

[00:28:44] The herb is commonly used in treatment of liver and kidney complaints when bruised and

[00:28:48] is laid on boils and scalds and has a healing effect.

[00:28:53] They can be made into a poultice for treating swellings and contusions.

[00:28:58] Leaves harvested in the summer or dried for later use.

[00:29:00] The root is diaphoretic, mildly diuretic, and a drastic purgative.

[00:29:06] So I would avoid that if possible.

[00:29:08] It should only be used with expert supervision

[00:29:12] because it can cause nausea and vertigo.

[00:29:15] Not a pleasant experience.

[00:29:17] A homeopathic remedy made from the berries and bark used for the treatment of dropsy.

[00:29:23] A rodeo herb book mentions that delightful tea can be made from the blossoms.

[00:29:29] And good for colds and fevers and all that.

[00:29:33] We'll wrap it up with the physician's desk reference for herbal medicine.

[00:29:36] You know, the book your doctor is going to refer to.

[00:29:39] Flowers and berries of Sambucus nigra and Sambucus canadensis.

[00:29:44] Those are the berry, the ones we use for wine and all that good stuff.

[00:29:47] Are used to shorten the duration and severity of flu and cold.

[00:29:51] To treat eczema and other skin disorders.

[00:29:53] And to reduce pain and inflammation.

[00:29:55] Indications and usages approved by Commission E are cough and bronchitis, fever and cold.

[00:30:02] The drug is used for coughs and colds.

[00:30:04] It is a sweat producing remedy for the treatment of feverish colds.

[00:30:07] In folk medicine, elderflowers are used internally as a pseudorific tea.

[00:30:12] That means calming, can help you sleep.

[00:30:15] And for colds and for other feverish conditions.

[00:30:17] Elder is also used as an infusion, a gargle, a mouthwash.

[00:30:21] And for respiratory disorders such as coughs, head colds, laryngitis, flu and shortness of breath.

[00:30:27] Elder is used occasionally by nursing mothers to increase lactation.

[00:30:32] Externally herbal pillows are used for swelling and inflammation.

[00:30:36] Under precautions and adverse reactions, only fully ripe berries are used.

[00:30:41] As red berries can be mildly toxic.

[00:30:44] Leaves, shoots, bark, roots and raw red berries contain a cyanogenic glycoside.

[00:30:54] Sambunigrin.

[00:30:56] I don't know.

[00:30:57] S-A-M-B-U-N-I-G-R-I-N.

[00:31:01] That can cause dizziness, headache, convulsions, gastrointestinal distress, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and tachycardia.

[00:31:09] So pretty serious actually.

[00:31:11] Bark lectins may stimulate hyperplasia of the small intestine.

[00:31:15] Data suggests Sambucus may be a source of potential harm to diabetic patients.

[00:31:23] And caution should be advised.

[00:31:26] So, you know, we use elderberry syrup and wines and jams and extracts all the time.

[00:31:34] I would take those warnings with a grain of salt.

[00:31:37] But as I said, unripe berries, the bark, the wood itself, the sap of the tree do contain these toxins.

[00:31:46] So do be aware of that.

[00:31:48] Much stronger in the dwarf elder, but present in both species.

[00:31:54] Why would a prepper want to have elderberry trees on their property?

[00:31:58] One, excellent wine and food.

[00:32:01] Okay.

[00:32:01] I mean, really good.

[00:32:03] Also going to draw gain to your property.

[00:32:05] But you've heard about it for inflammations, for all kinds of stuff.

[00:32:10] Diuretic.

[00:32:11] I mean, all the properties.

[00:32:13] In modern times, there's been a lot of clinical research done on elder.

[00:32:18] However, it inhibits viral replication, especially in colds and flus and your common, you know, rhinovirus and all that.

[00:32:29] It inhibits the replication.

[00:32:30] It almost puts like a little coating around the virus that keeps it, prevents it from replicating

[00:32:36] and can shorten the duration of a cold, shorten the severity of a cold.

[00:32:40] In COVID, it was found to be perhaps a little less helpful.

[00:32:44] And some people said it was even contraindicated.

[00:32:48] Others swore by it.

[00:32:51] You know, you're going to have to do your own research on that.

[00:32:54] When it, you know, COVID, hopefully it was a one off.

[00:32:57] I mean, we keep getting variants that keep coming around and all kinds of stuff like that.

[00:33:01] But, but for your traditional upper respiratory viruses, elders to go to.

[00:33:09] Elder is like the place to start.

[00:33:12] Elderberry, garlic and onions, you know, mints and sage, all the traditional remedies.

[00:33:18] That's one of the top ones on our list.

[00:33:20] So do look into elder.

[00:33:22] Do your research into it.

[00:33:25] Definitely have it as part of your, your, your landscaping food supply, your wild grocery

[00:33:33] store out there.

[00:33:34] But learning to use them additionally can be really a lifesaver.

[00:33:39] And at least, I mean, when it comes to inflammations and swollen joints and arthritis and all that,

[00:33:44] it's going to make your life a lot easier.

[00:33:45] So I consider it one of the essentials.

[00:33:48] All right, y'all have a good one.

[00:33:50] And I'll talk to you next time.

[00:33:52] The information in this podcast is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease or condition.

[00:33:58] Nothing I say or write has been evaluated or approved by the FDA.

[00:34:02] I'm not a doctor.

[00:34:03] The U.S. government does not recognize the practice of herbal medicine and there is no

[00:34:08] governing body regulating herbalists.

[00:34:10] Therefore, I'm really just a guy who studies herbs.

[00:34:12] I'm not offering any advice.

[00:34:14] I won't even claim that anything I write or say is accurate or true.

[00:34:17] I can tell you what herbs have been traditionally used for.

[00:34:20] I can tell you my own experience and if I believe an herb has helped me.

[00:34:23] I cannot nor would I tell you to do the same.

[00:34:26] If you use an herb anyone recommends, you are treating yourself.

[00:34:30] You take full responsibility for your health.

[00:34:33] Humans are individuals and no two are identical.

[00:34:35] What works for me may not work for you.

[00:34:38] You may have an allergy, a sensitivity, an underlying condition that no one else even shares

[00:34:43] and you don't even know about.

[00:34:44] Be careful with your health.

[00:34:46] By continuing to listen to my podcast or read my blog, you agree to be responsible for yourself,

[00:34:51] to your own research, make your own choices and not to blame me for anything ever.

[00:34:56] Thank you.

[00:34:56] Thank you.