Medicinal plants - effective, useful and above all time-tested

A garden full of herbs is a harmony of beauty and usefulness, but today it's a rarity. Modern lifestyle, advances in medicine, and deteriorating environment have caused medicinal plants to slowly disappear from our homes, gardens, and diets. Herbs have been an important part of disease prevention since time immemorial, and nowadays they are therefore an essential component of industrially manufactured medicines.

Medicinal plants have always served as the most accessible remedy against any diseases and ailments. Ancient generations already discovered the healing effects of many plants and passed their experiences from generation to generation, mainly orally. The first records concerning plants and their healing effects can be found on clay tablets from Babylon from 3000 BC. Subsequently, Eastern cultures in China, Assyria, and India particularly dealt with the cultivation and medicinal effects of plants. The most famous was the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung, known as the Divine Farmer, who tasted a multitude of plants for the good of his people to determine which of them were poisonous. He summarized all his findings in a canon on herbs.

This work became a foundation for learning and studying plants until the 17th century. Then came the period of herbals with the 3 most significant works on plants: Leonhart Fuchs' De Historia Stirpium (1542), John Gerard's Herball (1597), and John Parkinson's Theatrum Botanicum (1629), which already contained 3000 medicinal plants and much useful knowledge about them. Until the 17th century, herbals were divided into a botanical section and a section devoted to healing. Medicinal plants were slowly classified, analyzed, and demystified. The importance of herbal treatment declined in the 18th century but was revived during World War II, when there was a shortage of food and especially medicines; diseases were rampant, there were many wounded. Proven therapeutic procedures in phytotherapy were used, which were very gentle to sick individuals, yet very effective.

Plant-based healing remains a recommended complementary treatment that supports and assists modern medicine. When used correctly, treatment with herbs is a highly effective method supporting the restoration of lost health and mental balance. It serves as a supplement in treating all diseases or as the primary treatment for conditions with milder progression. Herbs historically enhanced the aesthetic appeal of gardens and were cultivated purposefully, not only for their beauty and aesthetics, but also for their delicious taste and fragrance. This began the era of herb cultivation in the garden, to which we should return. Due to the adverse effects of chemical products in daily use, dyes, cosmetic preparations and resulting allergies, we are indirectly compelled to use predominantly natural substances.

Medicinal plants can be grown by ourselves - modest plants need only a small space on a windowsill or a designated patch in the garden. Thanks to medicinal plants, not only our apartment but also the garden becomes fragrant, gains a colorful touch and brings us not only benefits, but also pleasure and a place where our body can warm up and relax. The rule applies: the longer you grow herbs, the more deeply you will become interested in them.

Therefore, it is important to know which type of plant is used to treat a particular disease or its prevention in various forms, such as:

• Infusion and decoction - place chopped fresh herbs into a glass cup or other non-metallic container and pour boiling water over them. Let the infusion steep very briefly - half a minute. If we prepare it from dried herbs, let the mixture steep for 1-2 minutes. Roots placed in the prescribed amount of water are left to steep after brief boiling (usually 3 minutes). Generally, one level teaspoon of the mixture is poured with 250ml of hot water.

• Fresh juice - prepared in a juicer. Pour the obtained juice into bottles, store in the refrigerator, where it will last for several months. Administer drop by drop or apply to affected areas on the body.

• Ointment - prepare 4 handfuls of finely chopped herbs, which we place into 500g of heated pork lard, stir the mixture and boil briefly. After cooling, store the ointment in the refrigerator, the next day heat it up, filter the mixture through linen cloth and fill into bottles.

• Tincture - fill a bottle with the prescribed amount of herbs and pour 40% fruit or grain spirits over them. Let the mixture stand for at least 14 days in a warm place at 20°C, shaking occasionally. Then strain the prepared mixture and press out the residue. Administer internally, with tea or use to prepare compresses.

The human body undergoes approximately 15,000 biochemical reactions, of which about 5,000 are classified as fundamental. When all these reactions occur normally, normal metabolism takes place in the body. Otherwise, the function of cells, tissues and organs is disrupted, and the human body becomes ill. At the beginning of illness, the disrupted functions are compensated by the body's regulatory mechanism, but later the disease state requires intervention. For harmonious metabolism, several chemical substances, vitamins, enzymes and microelements are essential. The human body most naturally accepts plant cell products. This is precisely why therapy with medicinal plants is more natural and physiological than synthetic substances. Among the most commonly used medicinal plants since time immemorial are: Wild thyme, peppermint, lemon balm, stinging nettle, common agrimony, chamomile and sage.

• Wild Thyme (Thymus serpyllum)

It is a perennial plant that grows in meadows, forest edges and field paths. We use its medicinal effects for upper respiratory tract catarrh, bronchitis and pneumonia. It has a suppressive effect on dry and spastic coughs. It also helps excellently with stomach and intestinal diseases of nervous origin. We prepare compresses and decoctions from it.

• Peppermint (Mentha piperita)

It is a perennial herb that grows freely in meadows near streams, or we deliberately cultivate it in gardens. Mint leaves contain essential oil with menthol content, which gives it a beautiful pungent taste and distinctive aroma. In folk medicine, we mainly use peppermint oil, which works well against vomiting, nausea, and removes cramps in stomach and bile duct colics.

• Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis)

It is a perennial herb that does not grow wild here; we plant it in gardens. It has sedative and spasmolytic effects. It removes fatigue, reduces pain around the heart, lowers blood pressure, slows breathing, releases intestinal gas and stops vomiting. In folk medicine, it is mainly used to stimulate appetite, strengthen eyesight, for stroke and more. We prepare infusions and alcohol extracts from it.

• Common Nettle (Urtica dioica)

It is a perennial herb that can be found in meadows, pastures, along the edges of streams and rivers. It stops bleeding in haemorrhoids, uterine diseases and stomach ulcers. It has beneficial effects in constipation, arteriosclerosis, diabetes, menstrual cycle disorders, menopause, joint pain and more. We use it as a decoction and compress.

• Common Agrimony (Agrimonia eupatoria)

It is a perennial herb that can be found on calcareous soils, in shrubs, meadows and pastures. It has diuretic, sudorific and astringent effects. It is used in the treatment of hepatitis, chronic gallbladder inflammation, kidney stones, and diseases of the oral mucosa. As a supportive treatment, we use it for pulmonary and skin tuberculosis, haemorrhoids and gout.

• Chamomile (Matricaria recutita)

It is an annual herb that can be found in meadows, fields, pastures and roadsides. Chamomile has anti-inflammatory and softening effects in diseases of the digestive tract, stomach and intestinal colic, and inflammation of the respiratory tract. We use it as a compress.

• Common Sage (Salvia officinalis)

It is a perennial semi-shrub that is purposefully cultivated in gardens in our conditions. It acts against secretion - it reduces the secretion of sweat glands and decreases lactation in nursing mothers. It also has anti-inflammatory effects in acute and chronic diseases of the digestive tract, is used as a gargle for angina and inflammation of the oral cavity, for coughing up blood in tuberculosis patients, for hemorrhoids and for prolonged menstruation. We prepare an infusion from it.