Sandia Crest Herb Walk (I)

Nature's pharmacy

Just 24 minutes outside the city of Albuquerque in the East Sandia Mountains of New Mexico, at an elevation of 7420 feet, the wet winter and cold spring have yielded a bounty of herbs. Our guide points out filaree, mullein, hawthorn, dandelion, bear corn, yarrow, clematis, valerian, corydalis, strawberry, wormwood, and verbena among the pines and oaks along the trail.

FILAREE

As we set out, we spy the tiny purple flowers of the filaree or storksbill with characteristic seed stalk resembling needles or long beaks. A member of the geranium family, filaree possesses astringent, hemostatic, and galactogogue properties and is administered as a tea to treat abnormal uterine bleeding and increase milk production in nursing mothers. It is a traditional afterbirth remedy in northern Mexico and New Mexico, said to reliably decrease bleeding and help prevent infection. It is also applied externally as a poultice to the skin to heal animal bites, skin inflammation, wounds, and rashes.​

MULLEIN

Fuzzy, cabbage-like rounds of mullein or gordolobo grow robustly along the trail. This attribute has changed little since Culpeper’s time, as he described in Complete Herbal and English Physician,  "It groweth by waysides and lanes, in many places of this land.” Mullein has tissue affinity for the lungs, ears, and urinary tract and the American Eclectic physicians advocated the use of mullein for inflammatory conditions of the genitourinary tract and the respiratory tract. Key constituents of mullein include flavonoids, mucilage, gum, resin, bitter glycosides, iridoid monoterpenes, triterpene saponin, and volatile oils and its main actions are as an expectorant, mucolytic, emollient, wound healer, and digestive. The seeds of mullein are bronchial dilators, and its astringent and diuretic actions are more potent in the roots. ​

HAWTHORN

A striking flowery shrub with red stems and spines, hawthorn or 山楂 (shanzha) contains the bioflavonoids rutin and quercetin which have antioxidant, antiviral, and antihypertensive properties as well as triterpenoids, polyphenols, and coumarins with powerful blood-thinning properties. Historically, versatile hawthorn was used for kidney and bladder stones and currently it is used for circulatory and cardiac problems. As a cardiotonic, it dilates blood vessels to lower blood pressure and dissolves cholesterol deposits in the lining of blood vessels. Hawthorn is an antidiarrheic, promotes digestion, and moves meats and fats. In Culpeper, “berries beaten to a powder and drunk in wine are a singular remedy for the stone and no less effectual for the dropsy... the seeds, cleeted from the down and then bruised and boiled in wine, will give instant relief to the tormenting pains of the body.” In traditional Chinese medicine, hawthorn has affinity for the spleen, stomach, and liver and it is a digestive with stomach-toning effects that moves stagnant excess food. Studies have demonstrated that hawthorn extract exerts a positive inotropic effect and relaxes the coronary artery; it protects the heart muscle by regulating the Akt and HIF-1 signaling pathways and reducing oxidative stress. Quercetin, a natural flavonoid in hawthorn, inhibits both cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase activity, reduces the formation of these inflammatory metabolites, and lowers the risk of atherosclerosis.

DANDELION

The ubiquitous dandelion or 蒲公英 (pugongying) has been used in traditional medical systems, including Native American, traditional Chinese, and traditional Arabic medicine, for centuries. We find it in abundance, as Culpeper noted in 1653, “It groweth frequently in all meadows and pasture-grounds” and “it flowereth in one place or other almost all the year long.” Dandelion's opening and cleansing qualities make it very effective for obstructions of the liver, gall, and spleen, and the diseases that arise from them, as the jaundice. As a diuretic, dandelion is unique in its ability to replace potassium. The various bioactive components in dandelion include polyphenolics, sequisterpenes, triterpenes, and phytosterols. The leaves are a source of coumarin, carotenoids, and minerals with diuretic properties for the treatment of high blood pressure. Dandelion root is an effective detoxifying herb that works in the liver and gallbladder to help remove waste and it stimulates the kidneys to remove toxins in urine. Studies have demonstrated the physiological effects of dandelion; it is considered a key anti-diabetic plant for its antihyperglycemic, antioxidative, and anti-inflammatory properties. In Chinese medicine, dandelion has an affinity for liver and stomach, clears heat and counteracts toxicity, and disperses swelling, and it is indicated for urinary infections, acute tonsillitis, hepatitis, and appendicitis. Dandelion tea has been used as a remedy for eye ailments and juice squeezed from fresh plants is applied directly as an antidote to snake bites.

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Information in this blog is presented for educational purposes only. Not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. The use of herbal preparations is not recommended without seeking the advice of a healthcare provider. Substances in herbal preparations may interact with prescription drugs to eliminate therapeutic efficacy or induce toxicity.