BODY. A Lesson In Vulnerary Herbs.
Just like classes of pharmaceuticals, medicinal plants can also be broken down roughly into major classes by primary mechanism of action. Take the the below examples of classes:
Anxiolytics
Medications (valium, xanax, buspar, etc.)
Herbs (kava, passionflower, lavender, skullcap, lemon balm, etc)
Diuretics
Medications (lasix, HCTZ, spironolactone, etc.)
Herbs (dandelion leaf, nettle leaf, parsley, celery, etc.)
Antimicrobials
Medications (insert antibiotic of choice here)
Herbs (goldenseal, Oregon grape, juniper, osha, etc.)
On and on the list can go. Of course there are specific instances where you may one to choose pharmaceutical over herbs and vice versa. Unlike many pharmaceuticals that shut down or alter certain pathways in the body, botanical medicines have more generalized actions of harmonizing and synergyzing effects on the body when used in appropriate doses. Plants tend to work more broadly, so even pigeonholing them into “one class” is not very accurate as most plants have a wide variety of uses. They also work more slowly, and seeing compounding benefit over time is more likely than an overnight fix - a harder sell in our “I want it now” culture.
While on an off-trail adventure harvesting the beautiful plant of arnica this past weekend in the Panhandle National forest, I got to thinking: here is one “class” where an equivalent drug does not exist (at least to my knowledge). This would be the category of vulnerary herbs.
The word vulnerary comes from the Latin root of wound (think vulnerable, with the same etymological root), and are helpful for spurring on skin-healing effects. Vulnerary herbs are the healers for cuts, scrapes, bruises, scars. While Neosporin may help prevent infection, it does not help collagen repair and dermis growth like vulnerary plants. While your body will do a miraculous job of repairing and healing on its own for these minor scrapes and scratches, I use vulnerary herbs as a wonderful helper from Mother Nature to emphasize my own innate healing nature. A brief overview of a few vulnerary herbs:
Arnica: topical use for bruises, sprains, strains, sore muscles. It aids in dilating capillaries to stimulate blood flow to promote faster healing.
Gotu Kola: stimulates collagen production, reduces scar tissue formation. Shown in various studies to reduce keloid formation post-surgery.
Calendula: beneficial for sunburns, irritation, chaffing and shown to successfully reduce scar appearance following c-section.
Comfrey: increases repair work of epithelial cells, fibroblast, chondroblast - all of which help with tissue growth and repair. Especially used for broken bones, as well.
I tend to use all of these plants in herbal face masks (with honey as the base) and homemade herbal skin creams and after any surgical procedures for patients.
There are some things out in nature that drugs can’t just mimic. There’s a lot of power in the plants we have evolved with - they’re here for a reason. Use them for your own healing benefits!
