Herbal Medicine for Preppers: Skullcap

Hey all, welcome this week's show. We're gonna talk about one of my first favorite herbs today as usual, the swimby skull cap, and it really is one of my real favorites. Actually, may hear a little background noise today, got a major thunderstorm coming in and you may hear some thunder and heavy rain. Hopefully that's all we get. Don't want to hail, that's for sure. And then, of course, maybe a quarter away from here, like within earshot, the way that the sound is traveling, there's some folks clearing a lot for construction. So if you hear equipment, or if you hear anything weird in the background, just don't worry about it. Hopefully none of that will show up on the recording anyway. But you know I mentioned skullcap is one of my favorite herbs. It's not only because it's relaxing, it has anti spasmodic actions, but also because it has any viral properties. Skullcap is scootl area and it's in the mint family, Latin name scootal Area. It's mostly an Asian and American herb that really seems to have little traditional use in Western Europe. It may have been unknown to Greek and Roman herbalists. I'm not sure it didn't enter into British medicinal I mean British herbal medicine until colonization of the Americas. The earliest reference to its use that I found so far, at least in herbal medicine I I should say European herbal medicine was Brother Aloysius the protegea father Nape. Brother Aloysius was an expert in monastic and German folk medicine, and writing around nineteen hundred, he wrote that skull cap scutellaria all right, second word is hard pronounced galericulata. There we Scutellaria galericulata was used for intermittent fever, throat infections, dysentery, and difficult urination. So really not at all like we use it now. It probably came into the Germanic tradition through traditional use in Russian herbal medicine. Igor Vilovich zeven in a Russian herbal states Scutelaria Baha. I have trouble this one too, b A I C A L E N s I s now, this is different. This is a different species in this Scootlaria golac galleria galeri culatta. All right, let me just spell them both. This is ridiculous g A l E r I c U l A t A. The other one is B A I c A l E n s I S. The BAA colinensis, I think, is so he pronounced. It is the one predominantly used in Russia and China, and it's the one that's really been studied for any viral properties. So we'll reference to a couple of skull caps and I'll try to differentiate. You know, I guess it was. Oh, the need will come to me later. I know it's in my notes. Anyway, it is very likely that several members of the skullcap family or scutel area family have the anti viral properties that have been proven in the one that starts with the B. But the thing is, in Russia and China they tend to use the root, and in Europe and in Americas we tend to use the tops of the plant. So we really haven't studied the properties of the roots a whole lot in our native skull caps. But anyway, to explain this name, let's go ahead and start with what Igor said. The use of skull craft traces its origins to the early inhabitants who lived in eastern Siberia, especially near the shores of Lake baiak b b a I k a l Bakol Bakol, I don't know, Russia's deepest and most beautiful lake. It is believed that knowledge of this herber originally came from China, where herblists called it Juanta Sin. I guess I'm better with Chinese and I am with Russian. I don't know. Since schoolcap grows in many parts of the world, there are three hundred known varieties of this herb It has become a major part of most folk healing traditions. True, but like I said, I really can't find much about it in Greek or Roman or really Western European herbal medicine before the colonization of the Americas. So anyway, Ms. Greeve, writing about thirty years later than Brother Alolicious, tells us that the British school caps were known to herbalist and says that school caps belonging to the genus scutal Aia or a baceous slender, etc. They go over different parts of the world, temperate regions and tropical mountains being especially abundant in America. There are about ninety known species belonging to the genus, only two members of which are native of Great Britain scuotl Area glaculata and scutl Area minor. Both are found on the banks of rivers and lakes and in water replaces general lee and Urticumba or spreading sea erect. So it could just be that the British versions they only have two varieties and probably weren't growing as abundantly as they were in other places. She says that the common or greater skull cap can be fairly common in England, but it is rare in Scotland and only in localized regions of Ireland. That's the galleic Lata minor. The lesser lesser skull cap mainly grows in bogs, and she says, is not common except in the western counties of Ireland. So I'm just thinking they didn't have a lot of access to it now. She mentions our Virginia skull cap, which is the one I use mostly scuotal Area Latta Lada flora, Latira flora or Virginia school cap popularly. She mentions this herbi zone America as mad dog skull cap having the repute of being a cure for hydrophobia. Well, let's put that in context. Hydrophobia is rabies. Rabies has many symptoms resulting in death, usually by no means. Is skull cap a cure for rabies? But it was used for the to relax a person for the muscular contractions, the severe cramping that goes along with it while the body tried to fight off the disease. Now, given that skullcap has some anti viral properties, at least the biacal andes or whatever does, maybe maybe our native skull cap did have some antiviral properties. I have been unable to prove that through my research, so let's just keep that in mind. She says. The English species possessed similar nervine properties to the American with scutel Aia integrifolia and other American species with the flowers on once, what we don't need to get into all that. I'm on the cultivated species. She's got the one from Siberia and northern Chinas. They are already well aware of that, and one from Mexico that was grown ornamentally because it had scarlet flowers. She says. French name for this plant is took. Medicinal actions have used. The skullcap has a strong tonic nervine anti spasmodic action and is slightly astringent in hysteria, convulsions, in hydrophobia, Saint Vitus, dance, and rickets. Its action is invaluable and nervous headaches, neaugia, and in headache arising from incessant cough and pain. It offers one of the most suitable and reliable remedies. True, true, I often when I get a bad cough, it will give me a bad headache, and yeah, it's one of the best to go for. She says. Many cases of hydrophobia have been cured by this remedy alone. I can't back that up. I hope there will be some clinical studies on that at some point, but for now, the best thing I can say is, if you get bitten by rabbit animal, go to the doctor. But if you were isolated and couldn't get to a doctor and you had access to skullcap, I'd certainly use it and see what happens. It's certainly worth a shot, right, she says. Considered specific for the convulsive terrific twitchings of site Saint Vitus dance, soothing the nerves and excitement, and introducing sleep when necessary without any unpleasant symptoms falling. It may be prescribing all disorders of the nervous system, and has been suggested as a remedy for epilepsy. Writing at this point the British Medical Journal nineteen fifteen, William Bramwell says its efficacy appears to be partly due to stimulate the kidneys to increase activity, so also diuretic properties. Let me sip the water here now. She does mention that overdoses of the tincture can cause giddiness, that is, dizziness essentially, confusion of the minds, twitching of the limbs, intermission of the pulse, and other symptoms indicative of epilepsy, for which an in deluded strength. Small doses have been successfully given. Okay, so you really don't want to take too much. Skull cap very common, we might call a hippie herb. A lot of people smoke dried skull cap as a sort of an alternative to or a mixture to cannabis. I can't say I've ever found it to be particularly strong or worthwhile, but obviously in large doses, which was cause dizziness, duper confusion. It's yeah, I guess it could probably get you high and probably make you very, very sick too, So we want to just you know, take that with a grain of salt. It was one of the really common herbs sold in the back of you know, Rolling Stone magazine and Easy Rider in high times in the seventies and eighties. Everybody knew about skullcap basically. But as I said, I don't find it to be of course, I have a constitution like an elephant. You know. Maybe for some people it does definitely not worth it for me, she says. European species S. Galericulata was at one time given for the Tertian ague or a malarial fever that we come up every three days and again it's going to help with the cramping and the pains and all that. So a Native American use of these serve. Wemach Bank, writing in Plants of Cherokee in nineteen fifty, tells us of what he learned from Cherokee healers. Scutular area in Kana. The root is one of the ingredients in a kidney medicine decoction taken for nerves. Root tee is a medicine for female monthly periods. The root if it is bruised and hilanthus used boiled in to a tea for younger women, so good for minstrel cramping. Essentially, scutulary a latiflora that's mad dog's skull cap as it was called in that point in time. Decoction of four varieties of the scutulary species combined with hypericum drunk to promote menstruation. Same to coction is drunk and use as a wash to counter out the ill effects of eating food prepared by a woman in the minstrual condition. This is really weird, right, Well, A lot of Native American tribes, and actually a lot of people in the Middle East and different parts around the world thought that when a woman was on her period, she could make you very sick by preparing food for you. No one really knows where that came from, but there are a lot of folklore attached to that. Yeah, I'll just take that with a grain of salt. Decoction is drunk for diarrhea, I mean, otherwise, you know, you don't know what's going on behind the scenes, and arrest. Right. If that were the case, every time we went to a restaurant, there's probably somebody in, you know that time of the month, and we get all getting very sick. So weak is actually what they say. It makes you weak. I don't know. Decoction drunk for diarrhea. Root is used with other herbs for breast pain. Decoction of the drunk of the roots drunk to get rid of after birth vomiting induced with a tea as well. Let's see resource to Southern field and forests. This one should be a little more scientific. It was written by botanists, after all. Okay, so he mentions this is a Civil War era of the French. Botanist says that it was anti hydrophobic, meaning for rabies, and that doctors had found very good, very good remedy. But she he says that the above meager account, and this was from a medical journal in eighteen to two, winning it was all I could collect with reference to this plant. But then later he found more. Let's see if its efficacy is a nerve. Okay, a doctor in Vermont speaks of its uh speaks of it in strong terms of its efficacy as a nervine. Or calming, or they have employed in neurological and convulsive affections delirium tremens, nervous exhaustion from fatigue, and over excitement, and found it highly advantageous. Doctor Cleveland says he prefers it to all other nervines or anti spasmodics, except where an immediate effect is desirable. He uses infusion or essentially a tea half ounce of dried leaves to a tea cupful of water, so very strong tea. Several other doctors he quotes European skull cap that's the galliculata, useful for epilepsy. They found integrafolia from the swamps intensely bitter, useful as a tonic. Now A King's Medical Dispensary Tory eighteen ninety eight has a lot more information, and I'm going to try to kind of skim it so we don't don't keep repeating stuff. Okay, So let's see. It gets into the descriptions of I don't even know half a dozen types of school cap, chemical compositions, actions, medicinal doses. Here we go, schoollcap, nerve and tonic anti spasmodic. This is one of the most valuable agents which a certain class of physicians considers in nerd yet has proved especially useful in cholera, convulsions, tremors, intermittent fever, neuralgia, and many nervous affections. In delirium, tremens and infusion, drink freely will soon produce a calm sleep in intermittence or a gambilaria fevers its combined with copus where teething has impaired the health of children. In fusion may be given with advantage in all cases of nervous excitability, restfulness or wakefulness untended or following acute or crime disease from physical or mental overwork from other causes. It may be drink freely with every expectation of beneficial results. The warm infusion has a tendency to keep skin moist, cold has a tonic influence, and either may be drank freely when it suthing effects of cease. It does not leave an excitable, irritable condition in the system, as is the case with some other nerve lines. Skull cap has been extolled as a remedy in hydrophobia, but this is still a matter of uncertainty that it influences the cerebrospinal centers controlling nervous irritation. There can be no doubt as this fact, as well as illustrated by its control over functional cardiac disorders, do partially in nervous causes, whether without hysterical manifestations and exhibiting intermittency of pulse. So specifically indications of use. They said, nervouses is attended by acuter chronic disease for mental, physical exhaustion, teething, et cetera, nervous manifestations manifesting itself in muscular action, trimeter's hysteria, inability to control voluntary muscles, functional cardiac disorders of a purely nervous type with intermittent pulse, and I go into several related scutul areas. There there are quite a few, as they said there were ninety documented by the nineteen thirties. There was actually an official medicine called scoot scoot scoot Lorraine. There we scutul arene used by doctors at the time nerve I and tonic. Yeah, so I did mention that the biaccalin nesis biaccalinsis there. We go. It's probably the best I can get it. Has been shown to have powerful anti bioproperties, and it's much used in Chinese or medicine and Ushian. Stephen Harrod Buner was the guy I was trying to remember. He was great herbal has passed away recently wrote some wonderful books on herbo antibiotics and herbo anti virals. He was what nephew of one of our surgeon general, very very serious guy medically speaking, even though you never know it. He was, you know, a long haired hippie type, but a pretty darn common sense sky. Actually. He said it was one of his favorite herbs for as an anti viral and that we probably just hadn't checked out the roots of a lot of the plants that we use in the West may have similar properties, but he wasn't sure his Now his seven favorite anti viral herbs were Chinese skullcap, elder ginger, hotuna, a satus, licorice, and lamation. So definitely get his book Anti Viral Herbs. It's really good and yeah, you should be a pick up a used paperback copy with it' spending too much. Michael Moore writing in one of his books, Oh here we go, specific indications for herbs in general use. Third edition scudal area used for herpes, early neuve pain before eruption, supportive to other measures, anxiety syndromes and chronic cardiopathies, functional neurocirculatory disorders, palpitations in the evening with emotional agitations, items korea, convulsions with other medications when other medications may not be necessary, deliria, tremens, epilepsy, yeah, insomnia certainly, exhaustion following excitement, wakefulness, and chronic disorders multiple sclerosis. That's actually fairly useful, especially for agitated agitation, irritate, and irritation from distress and fear. Let's see neuralgia itching basically nerves itching that kind of way. A depression of physical agitation over sensitivity is stimulus. Hysteria with great oversensitivity is stimulus pain. Neurologic pain, neurogenic with agitation, increased C and S sensitivity, pain made less variable by fear and agitation. So now up to modern use plants for future. They speak specifically of the vehicle skull cap, commonly used in Chinese herbalism, where it's considered to be one of the fifty fundamental herbs and is used primarily in treating hot damp conditions such as dysenteriuan diarrhea. It has been used by distantly for over two thousand years, and recent research has found the roots contain flavonoids that greatly enhance liver function and also have anti inflammatory and anti anti allergenic effects. The root is anodyne, antibacterial, anti cholesterol, limic, antipyretic, anti spasmodic, astringic, coligo, diuretic, expectorate, feb fuge, hemostatic, laxative, nervine. Idly said it of stematic antonic, especially for tuberculosis. So that's a lot. And then we'll tell you this with Grahama's solid It says it reputedly calms the fetus and pregnant women. It may well. Obviously it's going to go through the blood system. Maybe not a safe way to use it, though, I'm gonna say that the root is used internally in the treatment of enterized dysentery, diarrhea, jaundice, chronic hepatitis, urinary tract infections, hypertension, threatened miscarriage, nosebeed hemorrhae from the lungs or bowels. Yeah, they say the root is harvest in the summer from or spring from plants three to four years old and dried for later use. So if you're going to use the root, you need to start growing it now. Barbed skull cap, he says users decocidant decoxic can't mainly a treatment of certain types of cancer, liver disease, pharyngitis, and poisonous bites. It's supurative direct febric us juice of the plants that applied to wounds. Medicinal use of common skull cap. The herb is anti inflammatory, anti spasmodic, slightly stringent, febrifusion, nervine, and strongly tonic in the home, and infusion is sometimes used in the treatment of throat infections. The plant is harvesting this summer, when as it comes into flower, it could be dried for layer use or using the tops of the plant. The plant is rarely ever used in herbal medicine, though it was said to have some application as latiflora. These applications are A skull cap will traditionally use the treatment of a wide range of nervous conditions, including epilepsy and insomnia, anxiety, delirium, tremens, withdrawal from barbituates and tranquilizers and euuralgia, and infusion of the plant has been used to promote suppressed menstruation. It should not be given to pregnant women sits it can do some miscarage. The plant should be used with some caution. Sits in excess it can cause giddiness, stupor, convulsion and twitching. And now Virginia skull cap the mad dog so called a commonly used medicine. Virginia skull cap is very effect of nervine that has traditionally been used to the treatment of a wide range of nervous conditions. It's tonic and restorative properties help to support and nourish the nervous system, calming and relieving stress and anxiety. Very little research has been carried out on the species, despite its use in America and British herbal medicine. Very true researchers sorely needed and may reveal more uses of this value of herb. In other words, it may also have anti viral properties we just don't know. Believes are any spasmodic, slightly astringent, direct nervine, sedative and strongly tonic. Harvest in the early summer and drive fileir use. It has used in the treatment of various problems of the nervous system, including epilepsy, insomnia, anxiety, delirium, tremen's, withdrawal from barbituates and tranquilizers, in neualgia, and infusion of the plant has been used to promote suppressed menstruation, to relieve breast pain, and encourage expulsion of the placenta. It should not be given to pregnant women's that can do some miscarriage. This plant has should be used with some caution since it can in excess causeating a super convulsion twitching. The plant was once believed to be of use in treatment of rabies, though there is no evidence to support this. All right, so there we have it. The way I mostly use skullcap is to combine it with mullin and labella and use it as an anti asthmatic smoking mixture. It really works pretty well. Actually. I've also often included with a tincture of passion flow and hopspud for sleep. When I'm teaching or leading plant walks, I usually take a tincture of skullcap and cramp mark with me and Casey and the young women are experiencing bad mental cramps. A little bit of that takes care of it right away. It also combines well with Valerian and pendicularis, especially as a set of different pain. Pendiculars is a really interesting herb. I probably need to do a whole show on that. Skullcap is extremely useful herb that belongs in the garden and home apothecary of every herb list. It's also perennial, so you can get a pack of seeds and and if you just need to plant them in a flower pot, they're gonna come back every year, so each year you can start a new variety and start experimenting with them. School captures are really neat herb, really useful herb, simple herb use And the reason has that name skullcap. It looks like the skullcap type of hat that they used to wear in the Middle Ages. See y'all have a great week, and I will talk to you next time. The information this podcast is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease or condition. Nothing I say or write has been evaluated or approved by the FDA. I'm not a doctor. The US government does not recognize the practice of verbal medicine, and there is no governing body regulating herblence. Therefore, I'm really just a guy who says, IRBs, I'm not offering any advice. I won't even claim that anything I write or say is accurate or true. I can tell you what earths have been traditionally used for, I can tell you my own experience, and if I believe in herb has helped me, I cannot, nor would I tell you to do the same. If you use an herb anyone recommends you are treating yourself, you take full responsibility for your health. Humans are individuals, and no two are identical. What works for me may not work for you. You may have an allergy of sensitivity and underlying condition that no one else even shares and you don't even know about. Be careful with your health. By continuing to listen to my podcast or read my blog, you agree to be responsible for yourself, to your own research, make your own choices, and not To blame me for anything ever.