Plants used in today and in traditional herbal medicine
Join Dr Nicolette Perry from Dilston Physic Garden who is giving a FREE talk on ‘Nutraceuticals – Plants with Benefits’ for Heritage Open Days Edible England. The dates are Sun 12th Sept at Hexham Old Gaol and Sat 18th Sept at Hexham’s Moot Hall at 11am on both dates. Tickets are free with limited numbers – collect from Cogito Books on St Mary’s Chare, Hexham (and check out their ‘Edible England- themed window while you are there!).
Worried about your memory? Want to see if plants can boost your memory ?
We’re recruiting volunteers now. Spread the word!…
Dilston Physic Garden, medical herbalists Ross Menzies and Davina Hopkinson and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew offer an exciting opportunity to take part in a second natural Memory Study in West and South-East Northumberland.
To take part simply email nic@dilstonphysicgarden.com. Study is open to anyone between 45-75years, provided you are not diagnosed with a condition such as Alzheimer’s. The aim of the study is to test the effects of safe plants reputed in history, and used today as Traditional Herbal Medicine, to improve memory and which have science to show how they work. The trial is being conducted by Dilston Physic Garden, medical herbalists Davina Hopkinson and Ross Menzies, Wesnes Cognition & Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, with support from Wesnes Cognition, Make My Day Better and The Ridley Family Charity.
Dilston Physic Garden Corbridge Northumberland NE45 5QZ T: 07879 533 875 E: info@dilstonphysicgarden.com
At the physic garden we love plants which are good for the brain and especially plants with science to show how they work.
Drink Tea. Boost Your Brain. Over the past three years we have been expertly blending science-backed botanicals which have research to show how they boost sleep, calmness, memory and mood. Each fragrant organic infusion is created from years of expertise at our physic garden in Northumberland. Since one blend sold out within the month we are launching online soon with – Dilston Physic Garden’s own trademark range of organic science-backed teas: Uplift Tea, Memory Tea, Calm Tea, Sleep Tea, Digest Tea, PainRelief Tea, Happy Tea and physic garden House Tea. These signature blends you can only find at Dilston Physic Garden. Watch this space to buy them online, in the meantime just pop in to the physic garden to taste and buy delicious aromatic infusions, all rooted in science.
St. John’s Wort: Demon exorciser | Dilston Physic Garden |
Enjoying its 3rd year the ‘Dilston Dispensary of Herbal Medicine’ returns in 2018 to give you easy access to qualified information on the use of plants for health and medicine.
Ensuring you’re using the correct herb for your needs is essential since if plant medicines are used inappropriately, just as with drugs, they can be unhelpful and problems can arise. Our registered medical herbalists and qualified herbal pharmacist are here to help you explore effective herbal medicine to support you back to health and to keep you healthy.
Just drop into The Physic Shop – every 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month 12 to 3pm May to August and every Thursday 2-3pm June and July 2018.
Wednesday’s dispensary is led by medical herbalists Ross and Davina and Thursday’s by pharmacist Milena.
Read more information here or email info@dilstonphysicgarden.com or contact Ross (rossherbalist@gmail.com), Davina (davinaherbalist@gmail.com) or Milena (milena.kopkowska@gmail.com) directly.
*Please note: The Dilston Dispensary of Herbal Medicine does not dispense conventional medicine products; the dispensary is only open on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday 12-3pm (May-Aug) and every Thursday 2-3pm (Jun-Jul) 2018; dispensary times may change for 2019.
Dilston Physic Garden’s director and curator are publishing a book on plants for the brain – ‘Botanical Brain Balms: Essential plants for memory, mood and mind’ with Filbert Press UK and publishers in the U.S., France and Germany.
‘The benefits of a plant-based diet to physical health are well-known and scientific research now shows that plants can improve mental health too. Many leaves, roots and berries contain ingredients that boost cognitive skills and alleviate common problems like stress, fatigue and mood swings – without the side effects of conventional drugs.
In this authoritative guide, experts in herbal medicine and neuroscience recommend plants for a wide range of problems. They explain the science behind how they work and suggest easy remedies and exercises that are pleasant to take and make part of your daily routine.
Beautifully illustrated, Botanical Brain Balms is packed full of safe and natural ways to improve the way you think and feel.’
“A great book and the one I’ve been waiting for – scientific, accessible and eminently useable.” Bunny Guinness
At a glance: The results showed that a medicinal tincture (an extraction of the plants in alcohol) of sage, rosemary and melissa given for 2 weeks improved word recall by over 50% in under 63 year old’s.
Summary:
To evaluate for the first time the effects of a combination of sage, rosemary and melissa (Salvia officinalis L., Rosmarinus officinalis L. and Melissa officinalis L.; SRM), traditional European medicines, on verbal recall in normal healthy subjects. To devise a suitable study design for assessing the clinical efficacy of traditional herbal medicines for memory and brain function.
Forty-four normal healthy subjects (mean age 61 ± 9.26y SD; m/f 6/38) participated in this study. A double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled pilot study was performed with subjects randomised into an active and placebo group. The study consisted of a single 2-week term ethanol extract of SRM that was chemically-characterised using high resolution LC-UV-MS/MS analysis. Immediate and delayed word recall were used to assess memory after taking SRM or placebo (ethanol extract of Myrrhis odorata (L.) Scop.). In addition analysis was performed with subjects divided into younger and older subgroups (≤ 62 years mean age n = 26: SRM n = 10, Placebo n = 16; ≥ 63 years n = 19: SRM n = 13, Placebo n = 6).
Overall there were no significant differences between treatment and placebo change from baseline for immediate or delayed word recall. However subgroup analysis showed significant improvements to delayed word recall in the under 63 year age group (p < 0.0123) with Cohen’s effect size d = 0.92. No adverse effects were observed.
This pilot study indicates that an oral preparation of SRM at the selected dose and for the period of administration is more effective than a placebo in supported verbal episodic memory in healthy subjects under 63 years of age. Short- and long- term supplementation with SRM extract merits more robust investigation as an adjunctive treatment for patients with Alzheimer’s disease and in the general ageing population. The study design proved a simple cost effective trial protocol to test the efficacy of herbal medicines on verbal episodic memory, with future studies including broader cognitive assessment.
Our wondrous St John’s Wort Serpent has just arrived. Hypericum perforatum is a plant with holes in its leaves. It acquired its common English name, St John’ s wort (SJW), as it flowers in midsummer (this Sunday) on the day of John the Baptist. So it is truly a holy plant! The ancients believed the plant would exorcise the devil – that was the metaphor used when people felt depressed – they thought they were possessed. So the old story of the magic has kept the medicinal use of the plant going all these years up to modern times when SJW is used as an antidepressant herbal medicine.
SJW is used clinically in modern botanical medicine today in the UK to treat depression. There are many clinical trials indicating it as effective as antidepressant drugs like prozac for mild to moderate depression, but without the side-effects. A recent review suggests it “has a very favourable safety profile, with adverse event rates on the same level as placebo and lower than that of synthetic antidepressants, in randomised controlled trials. It may therefore also be an option for patients who do not tolerate other antidepressant drugs. Patients with polydrug treatment should nevertheless use the drug with caution, due to its potential for interactions.”
The new sculpture thus represents that fascinating bridge between magic and medicine. It is made by our sculptor in residence, John Rutherford.
We are always open to suggestions for new outdoor artworks, and artists. The next may be an image of a plant that has given us a modern drug, like the foxglove, willow or opium poppy. If people had isolated and identified a single potent chemical from SJW – which they haven’t yet, only a variety of partly active ones – the plant might have provided a new and safer antidepressant drug.
The Dilston Physic Garden exists to spread the word on such great plant potentials for new, safe and effective therapies.
