Angustifolia and Pallida are the two primary root Echinaceas. The aromatic parts stimulate white blood cells. Good to shorten the duration of a cold dramatically, when one is coming on - can be taken for a few days in large quantiles for this reason. Also helps with tissue damage, in limiting inflammation. Helps with trauma after injury or surgery. Good for chronic tendonitis/sports re-injuries. Tonic for people excess environmental stress resulting in frequent illness. The flowers are good for immune, but the roots must be used for tissue protection. The garden variety, Purpurea works fine for using the flowers. Most potent if grown in limestone soil (natural or added). Wild grown in arid places have bigger, more powerful roots. Flowers in bloom plucked and dried are great for salves and does have a good tonifying effect on injured tissues and calms membranes - good for hemeroids.
From SPECIFIC INDICATIONS FOR HERBS IN GENERAL USE Third edition Michael Moore:
ECHINACEA
Aphthous stomatitis (as a wash and internally) Foul breath with sulphur burps. Gums bleeding, sore and spongy, internally and as a mouthwash. Periapical abscess (gum boils), internally and topically. Ear discharge. Purulent laryngitis with systemic effects. As a gargle in acute pharyngitis. Initial stages of acute pharyngitis. Subacute pharyngitis, slow to heal. Strep throat; tonsillitis (internally and as a gargle). Acute sinusitis with ulcerations (as a nasal spray). Intrinsic humid asthma with moist cough. Toxic albuminuria. Septic diarrhea. Bacillary dysentery with suppurations (with Baptisia). Fermentative dyspepsia, aggravated by food. Chronic gastritis with sulfuric, putrid belching. Peritonitis, post-operative with lingering autotoxicity. Shigellosis, supportive to primary therapy (with Baptisia). Abscess, with septicemia, swellings (with Baptisia). Abscess, with fetid discharge (internal and external). Abscess, as a moistening agent in a stimulating poultice with Althea powder as a base. As a topical disinfectant for abrasions. Decubitus with necrosis (internal and external). Eczema, pustular with sticky exudate. Herpes simplex, to speed regeneration (externally). Poison ivy/oak (topically). Skin ulcers with septicemia, edema, fever (with Baptisia); with septicemia (internal and external); with fetid discharge or gangrenous lesions (external). Suppuration with necrosis, in weak individuals (with Baptisia, externally); or with necrosis in strong individuals (externally). Urticaria (externally). Chronic tendinitis (for extended use). Cervicitis with ulceration (Calendula as douche, with Echinacea tincture and glycerine (1:4 ratio) as night-time suppository). Endometritis/metritis, with fever (with Baptisia). Acute vaginitis (douche). Stomatitis, while nursing. Infant teething, with usual agitation and GI disturbances (rubbed on gums). Blood dyscrasias, in general. Septicemia with strong immunologic vitality. Blood serum levels: white blood cell depression, any cause (with Commiphora). Endogenous infections, in general; or in feeble individuals (with Baptisia and Phytolacca). Septic fevers (with Baptisia). Cancer, immunosuppression from therapy; or immunosuppression with marked WBC depression( with Commiphora). To stimulate acquired or innate immunity. Immunosuppression, recent, from stress (with Commiphora). Leukocytosis (with Ligusticum porteri or Lomatium dissectum). Leukopenia (with Commiphora). Lymphadenitis, inflammatory with fever. Lymphangitis, acute in strong individuals (with Lomatium); or acute in weak individuals (with Astragalus). Mononucleosis, acute stages (with Ceanothus). Mononucleosis, general supportive, Mumps, acute (2 parts Echinacea to 1 part Aconitum, in small frequent doses; also as topical lotion, 3 parts Echinacea to 1 part Phytolacca). Headache, from fevers.
CERVICAL DYSPLASIA SUPPOSITORIES *
Echinacea Fluidextract ........ ...........30 ml.
Calendula Tincture ................ ...........10 ml.
Glycerin ......... ....................... ...........175 ml.
Gelatin (Pharmaceutical Grade) ........25 grams
(* you can obtain the same results by slowly evaporating 5 ounces of Echinacea Tincture down to 1 ounce of milky-grey liquid and use that in place of the hard-to-come-by-unless-you-make-it-yourself Fluidextract)
Heat the glycerin on a double boiler, add the Echinacea and Calendula, and maintain at a low temperature for at least 30 minutes to evaporate off some of the alcohol. Add the gelatin (preferably finely powdered) and whisk (or egg-beat) until the gelatin is THOROUGHLY dissolved in the liquids. Don't leave any little gelatinous solids...continue stirring until the liquid is a clear grey-brown syrup.
Fill a plastic roll of disposable 3 or 5 ml suppository molds up to the top of the form line. A small turkey baster (no jokes O.K.?) is the easiest tool for this. This should make 80-100 suppositories. The usual two-piece hard plastic or metal suppository molds, although reusable, work TERRIBLY for gelatin-based suppositories, fine for glycerin or cocoa butter types.
USE: A suppository should be inserted at night into the vagina and as close to the cervix as practical. Gelatin-based suppositories do not melt like those made with cocoa butter or gelatin, but dissolve slowly over 8-12 hours, maintaining the herb presence for long enough to facilitate resolution and stimulate regeneration of the tissues. This can be continued for many days if necessary.
CLAUSE: If it causes inflammation, stop. I know of no instance where the constituents have caused this reaction, but anything is possible. It is better to deal with such a condition when you can monitor the cervix yourself with a speculum or can have it done for you regularly by a nursepractitioner or midwife, particularly if a class 2 or class 3 smear is involved, Cervical erosion, of course, is CAUSED by something and stimulating membrane healing is not likely to help much in the long run unless you deal at least to some degree with underlying causes.
VEGETARIAN NOTE: Yes, gelatin comes from animals. No, Agar Agar and such are NOT reasonable substitutes. Use gelatin or don't; it's up to you, since I know of no appropriate vegetable substitute. There ARE refined pharmaceutical colloids that are substituted for gelatin, but they are the refined by-products of it anyway, far more expensive, harder to get...and MUCH further from the source.
CAUSES: A common cause is diminished estrogen availability to cervical membranes: if cycles are consistantly longer than 29 or 30 days, you might consider one of the reproductive tonics or simply Don Quai; if you have extended bouts of pelvic congestion with hemorrhoid and/or varicose vein flare-ups, you might try a liver tonic, ileo-cecal tonic or colon tonic. Another common cause is a chronicly imbalanced vaginal flora...sometimes from a Candida infection, sometimes from bacterial vaginosis. Both are helped by lactobacillus presence, both through diet and/or douche; candidiasis is highly reactive to sugars (both good and bad), fermented foods and booze...and is usually worse AFTER menses; bacterial vaginosis is not blood-sugar reactive, and is often worse between ovulation and menses. These are thumb-nail pictures and the conditions are highly variable, and not all are treatable through personal measures. Besides, this does NOT involve the thumbnail.
SOURCES: The roles of perforated molds can be obtained from a number of pharmaceutical supply houses. Every pharmacy has these catalogues, and any reasonable pharmacist should be willing to locate a source, tack on a moral profit, and order them for you. Athough unusual, your order is perfectly legal and you have an obvious right to request and obtain the product. The pharmacist is either A) lazy, B) so shell-shocked by the times that he/she figures it must have something to do with drug abuse and refuses on general principle or C) the pharmacist doesn't approve (also on general principle) with folks making their own medicine and D) they used to have their own drug store, got driven out of business by the chains, are now working FOR the chains and understandably hate the world. Simply explain that you will take your business elsewhere. Then, TAKE your business elsewhere, preferably to a smaller, personally owned drug store. Look for a drugstore named after somebody...like Jack's or Garcia's, or named after a brand of toilet tissue...like Regent's or Deluxe or Standard, or after a neighborhood, like Midtown, Uptown or Lakeside. Establishing a rapport with an adventurous and inquisitive pharmacist is VERY important if you wish to make anything more than teas and tinctures. After all, most herb formulating derives directly from the pharmacy of 50 or 100 years ago. They can get you glycerin, anhydrous lanolin, potassium carbonate, even bees-wax and colophony or rosin. It's in their catalogues...as is simple syrup, coca-cola syrup, even White Pine Compound.
HPV (Venereal Wart) SUPPOSITORIES
Echinacea Fluidextract ..........30 ml
Glycerin ......... .......................175 ml
Gelatin (N.F.). .......................25 grams
Thuja Oil........ .......................5 ml
Make the same way as the previous, but add the highly evaporative Thuja Oil to the dissolved syrup JUST before you begin to pour into the molds. Each suppository ends up containing about a drop of Thuja Oil...very easily tolerated.
USE: The same as the previous, although it may need to be continued for month or more, and some herbs should be taken internally as well, such as Caulophyllum (Blue Cohosh), Echinacea, Trillium (fresh tincture only), Nuphar, Lomatium (it seems to help for some reason) and Thuja tincture (for its moderate anti-viral effects against papillomavirus).
CAUSE: Sexual transmission...long ago or recently.
CLAUSE: This condition presents a big potential risk for women...long term. The number of sexual partners one has (any gender), the greater the likelyhood of picking it up. It also doesn't go away, just goes dormant, like herpes or plantar warts (a related virus). You're in a monogamous relationship for ten years, your partner has a parent die and you've both just moved: if they break out in venereal warts it MIGHT only be the stress...and a flareup of something they had 15 years ago. It also might be the stress COMBINED with some R&R with a new friend.
LYMPH TONIC
Burdock Root........8 parts
Red Root........ .......................6 parts
Echinacea Root......................6 parts
Ocotillo .......... .......................4 parts
Stillingia Root .......................2 parts
Yerba Mansa Root.................2 parts
Aristolochia serpentaria.........1 part
Blue Flag........ .......................1 part
Poke Root ...... .......................1 part.
Mix from the individual tinctures, and add 5% glycerin. A general tonic for moderate chronic immunosuppression, not for acute conditions. 60 drops 4X a day.
IMMUNE STIMULANT #1
Echinacea Root......................4 parts
Red Root........ .......................3 parts
Osha Root ...... .......................2 parts
Myrrh Gum.... .......................2 parts
Ocotillo .......... .......................2 parts
Stillingia ........ .......................1 part
Aristolochia ... .......................1 part
Baptisia .......... .......................1 part
Arnica ............ .......................1 part
Capsicum ....... .......................1 part
Mix from the seperate tinctures. Use 30-60 drops in 2 to 4 ounces of hot water every 3 hours during acute infections in adrenalin stress folks or those with a tendency to cold hands and feet and who seldom break a sweat when sick. Best taken in hot water. Bon apetit!
IMMUNE STIMULANT #2
Echinacea....... .......................4 parts
Red Root........ .......................2 parts
Osha ............... .......................2 parts
Yerba Mansa.. .......................2 parts
Calendula ....... .......................2 parts
Capsicum ....... .......................1 part
Thuja plicata .. .......................1 part
Mix from the tinctures. Use 30-60 drops (1 or 2 squirts) 2 to 4 times a day. Used to stimulate resistance to short-term infections in the immune-competant who sweat easily, tend to a mesomorph somatotype, anabolic and "yangy".
LYMPH ANTI-EFFECT (for mumps, mono, etc.)
Ocotillo .......... .......................3 parts
Echinacea....... .......................3 parts
Polymnia........ .......................2 parts
Red Root........ .......................2 parts
Poke Root ...... .......................1 part
Arnica ............ .......................1 part
Make from the individual tinctures, adding 5% glycerin. Take 30 drops with warm water every half hour until mild overload symptoms of sweating, salivation, irritability and semi-nausea, then back off to one dose 4-5 times a day. For active lymphatic infections in strong adults.
IMMUNE TONIC
Echinacea....... .......................5 parts
Stillingia ........ .......................2 parts
Lomatium dissectum..............2 parts
Baptisia .......... .......................1 part
Myrrh............. .......................1 part
Aristolochia ... .......................1 part
Mix from the tinctures, or make 1:5, 65% alcohol. Use 30 drops (1 squirt) 2 or 3 times a day For stimulating those with chronic immune suppression,associated with chronic depression, slow viruses, mycosis, and immune suppression from anti- inflammatories and chemotherapy
ECHINACEA SALVE Echinacea
Purpurea Flowers . ...........5 ounces
Alcohol .......... ....................... ...........3 ounces
Olive Oil ........ ....................... ...........35 ounces
Beeswax......... ....................... ...........7 ounces
Grind and sift the Echinacea Flowers (roots will not work). Mix the alcohol with the flowers in a stainless steel bowl with a lid, cover and let stand for at least 2-3 hours. Blend the moist herb with olive oil in a hearty blender (Oster at high speed or Vitamix at slow speed) until the container gets warm. Filter through muslin, squeezing the marc as well as possible, and heat the oil slowly in the top of a double boiler. Chop and add the beewsax, continuing the low heat until the beeswax has melted. Pour into containers. Use freely for hemorrhoids, blisters, cold sores, stings, vaginitis, anal fissures and any inflamed swellings
EGO CAPSULES
Echinacea Root......................2 parts
Garlic ............. .......................2 parts
Osha Root ...... .......................2 parts
Cayenne ......... .......................1 part
2-4 capsules as needed for colds, flu, various viral junk.
MUCOPOLYSACCHARIDE-AMPLIFIED TINCTURE OF ECHINACEA ANGUSTIFOLIA
Since this is a special plant, with active constituents that have differing solvents, here is an Echinacea-only method of making the most impeccable extract possible.
Percolate as if for a 1:3 tincture, using 80% alcohol, and macerate in the percolator for 48 hours, instead of the usual 12-24 hours. Draw the 1:3 strong tincture and put it aside; this is Extract #1. Remove the marc, add 5 parts of hot water to it in the top of a double boiler, steep over boiling water for two hours, remove from heat, cool down, and squeeze the fluid from the marc, which is then discarded; this is Extract #2. Evaporate this second extract over the boiling water until 2 parts in volume. Combine both extracts to form a 1:5 tincture in which both the aromatics and the mucopolysaccharides are in maximum solvency.
Hypothetical Example. You have 5 ounces of dried root and seedheads; you break it apart, grind it down, press the powder into a measuring cup, and find that it takes up 10 ounces of volume. It will therefore hold 10 ounces of menstruum in the percolator and, as you need to draw 15 ounces of finished strong tincture (1:3) and will lose 10 ounces to the herb in the percolator, you need to make 25 ounces of menstruum. At 80%, that means mixing 20 ounces of pure alcohol with 5 ounces of water. You moisten the powder, wait an hour, pack it carefully in the percolator, set it (covered) aside for two whole days, pour the remainder over the column, and draw 15 ounces of over-strength tincture. Then you remove the marc from the cone (which is passively holding 10 oz. menstruum), add the 25 ounces of hot water (5 parts), and mix them in the top of the double boiler. Boil the water in the lower section, steep the muddy grey gmel for two hours over the steam bath, remove, cool, and squeeze through a cloth. You throw away the tired old herb. You now have in front of you one bottle holding 15 ounces of evil-looking reddish brown Echinacea tincture (1:3), and another volume of approximately 2 1/2 cups of grey, milky, slightly alcoholic soup.
Put the soup back over the double boiler and evaporate it over the steam for several hours until the 2 1/2 cups is reduced to 10 ounces in volume (2 parts).
Combine the 10 ounces and the 15 ounces, and you now have a mucopolysaccharide-amplified tincture (1:5) of Echinacea angustifolia. The five ounces of dried herb is now digested into 25 ounces of really wicked-looking tincture. This all may seem complicated (and it is), but the good Echinacea you gathered is so damned useful that it warrants this labor and respect.
(from Medicinal Plants of the Desert and Canyon West)
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