Ginger and Vitamin B6 for Morning Sickness

Article by Ann Walker

Both vitamin B6 and ginger have often been suggested by practitioners for morning sickness of pregnancy. But which is the most effective? Clinical studies have been carried out on each of these with some success. For example, as far back as1995, a large double-blind, placebo-controlled study of vitamin B6 with 342 pregnant women volunteers showed positive effects (PMID: 7573262). By the same token, a well-designed trial (PMID: 11275030) of 70 pregnant women showed that ginger significantly reduced nausea and vomiting. However, three studies attempting to compare these two treatments had mixed results and all suffered the design flaw of not having a placebo comparison ‘arm’.

Like a lot of research on herbal medicine published over the last few years, this latest study (PMID: 28629250) comes from Iran, but this time in collaboration with the University of Southampton, UK. Over a four-day period, a total of 77 pregnant women with morning sickness were randomised into three groups to take either ginger, vitamin B6 or a placebo. Progress was assessed using a validated questionnaire. The overall scores for nausea were decreased in all groups but ginger and vitamin B6 were both more effective than placebo, although there was no difference between them. Nevertheless, as far as the volunteers’ own experience was concerned, ginger was more effective than B6 in reducing both the incidence of vomiting and the intensity and distress of nausea.

Clearly, both natural medicines can be helpful in morning sickness, but what is needed now is a trial with vitamin B6 and ginger taken together to see whether the combination has additive or synergistic effects.

PMID = PubMed identifier

Ann Walker PhD, FCPP, MNIMH, RNutr
Course Director DHM
Herbal Practitioner

Black Seed Oil Rub Reduces Arthritic Knee Pain

Article by Ann Walker

Black seed (Nigella sativa) is a herb that is not traditionally used by herbalists in western herbal medicine, but how much longer can we ignore it? The use of the herb goes way back into history (black seeds were found in Tutankhamun’s tomb, for example). They were (and continue to be) used for their flavour in cooking and as a medicine in many countries bordering the Mediterranean and throughout the Islamic world, where they are advocated as something of a panacea.

There is increasing research interest in the herb - also known as black cumin, black onion seed or kalonji. It is easy to see the growing number of scientific papers published on black seed by consulting PubMed. This is the free public interface to MEDLINE, the world’s leading scientific database on medicine. Using the Latin name as the search term, over 1100 papers can be found at the time of writing - many on laboratory studies - but fifty describing clinical trials on black seed! To have this large number of clinical trials reported on a single herb is extremely unusual.

Looking at the fifty clinical trials, it is amazing to see the diversity of the disease conditions addressed by black seed in these studies, including asthma, diabetes, anxiety, improved sperm quality, dyspepsia and hypothyroidism However, recently, a study was reported on the topical use of the pressed oil from black seed, which I want to highlight here. The oil, as well as the whole seed, has a long history of use as medicine for internal use, and in this study it was used without dilution as a massage oil for arthritic knees (PMID: 29705470). A group of sixty elderly people with painful knee arthritis were randomly divided to use the black seed oil massage or no massage (control group). Although the control group continued with their routine prescriptions, those rubbing black seed oil onto their knees (three times a week for a month) showed a significant decrease in pain compared to the control group by the end of the study.

Many of the studies on black seed come from Iran, Saudi Arabia or Egypt and this fact alone will raise doubts about the validity of the results in the minds of those sceptical of the medicinal value of plants. Apart from the fact that design standards for clinical studies worldwide are improving all the time, the complex chemistry of black seed with its many active compounds would indicate that it has the potential to effect beneficial changes in many aspects of human physiology in disease conditions.

PMID = PubMed identifier

Ann Walker PhD, FCPP, MNIMH, RNutr
Course Director DHM
Herbal Practitioner

Rhodiola to Combat Fatigue

Article & Photo by Ann Walker

Rhodiola (R. rosea) root has been used traditionally in Scandinavian countries and Russia as a “tonic herb,” to combat fatigue. These days it is regarded by herbalists as an ‘adaptogen’ – i.e., it has the potential to help the body cope with various types of stress including extremes of temperature, sleep deprivation, psychological stress etc. In support of these traditional uses, there are some randomised, controlled clinical studies on the herb. One of these, a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 56 doctors working on night duty, found that after taking rhodiola daily for two weeks, their thought processes, including mental arithmetic, were sharper, than those taking placebo (PMID: 11081987). In a similarly-designed study of 161 sleep-deprived army cadets, it was found that those taking rhodiola coped better with the fatigue than those on placebo (PMID: 12725561).

While these results appear impressive, they were undertaken in former Soviet Union republics, which were notorious for excessively positive results in clinical trials. However, a more recent a study on rhodiola was reported from the University of Surrey (PMID: 26502953). This was on eighty volunteers with anxiety, who were randomized to take either rhodiola extract daily or no treatment. After two weeks, those on rhodiola reported better mood with less anxiety, stress, anger, confusion and depression. Unfortunately, this study did not include placebo treatment - no treatment is not placebo treatment – and it is important to remember that placebo has proven therapeutic benefit in many clinical trials. Whilst we still await the definitive study on rhodiola, it can still be used based on traditional use. Rhodiola supplements with traditional herbal registrations (THR) are on general sale in the EU. The British Herbal Medicine Association is always a good starting point to find a quality herbal product.

PMID = PubMed identifier

Ann Walker PhD, FCPP, MNIMH, RNutr
Course Director DHM
Herbal Practitioner

Spiced Fig & Rosemary Syrup

Article by Debs Cook

We are just around the corner from the over indulgences that the festive season presents to the delicate balance of our digestive systems causing upset and discomfort. In days gone by, our ancestors would have turned to good old syrup of figs when constipation took hold, a remedy that certainly got things moving again, but for some the remedy was worse than the problem it set out to cure; although it wasn’t as bad as another old remedy for constipation, the dreaded castor oil!

For some, figs are the Marmite of the herbal world, you either love them or hate them or your digestive system does. This modern day version of the old fashioned syrup of figs recipe, is loosely (pun intended) based on an recipe from herbalist Christopher Hedley - I discovered the recipe when I used to edit the website for the Herb Society many moons ago. The rich fruitiness of the figs is complimented by the warming herbs and spices, all of which help to get a sluggish digestive system moving again.

Makes 6 x 100ml or 2 x 300ml Bottles

16 Dried Figs
500ml Water
250ml Runny Honey
2 Tbsp. Dried Rosemary
1 Tbsp. Ground Ginger
3 Whole Cloves
1 Bay Leaf
1 Cinnamon Stick, broken
Juice & Zest of 1 Whole Orange

Method: Dice the figs into small pieces and put them in a pan, take a little muslin bag or use a tea ball if you have one and place the cinnamon, cloves and rosemary in it, then add this to the pan along with the bay leaf, simmer these ingredients in 500ml of water until they are soft and tender, this will take 15-20 minutes. After this time pour the figgy liquid into a jug, discard the spices and bay leaf but reserve the cooked figs.

Make the contents of the jug back up to 500ml with cold water and add the honey to the liquid, then heat the mixture through gently, stirring all the time, until the honey has dissolved.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly, then add the orange juice and zest, ground ginger and the cooked figs and put the mixture in to an electric blender and blend together until the syrup is smooth. Pour the syrup into clean, sterilized amber glass bottles, label and store in a cool place. The syrup will keep for 2-3 months if stored in the fridge.

Take 1- 2 dessert-spoons when the digestive system needs a boost. Small children, 1-2 tsp up to three or four times a day, or until relief is obtained.

Disclaimer: Whilst every effort has been made to source the most up to date and accurate information, we cannot guarantee that the old remedies in our articles are effective, when in doubt, consult your GP or a qualified Medicinal Herbalist. Remember also that herbal remedies can be dangerous under certain circumstances therefore you should always seek medical advice before self-treating with a homemade remedy, especially if you are pregnant, breast feeding or suffer from any known illness which could be adversely affected by self-treatment.

Sweet Annie Leaf Cures Cases of Resistant Malaria

Article & Photo by Ann Walker

Despite global efforts in combating malaria, the disease remains a huge burden in tropical and subtropical regions. But, millions of lives have been saved with artemisinin – a compound isolated from the herb called Sweet Annie, Sweet wormwood or Artemisia annua. Between 2000 and 2012, the worldwide death rate due to malaria was reduced by over forty percent because of this compound. There are few scientific discoveries that have had such an impact on public health!

The story of artemisinin demonstrates the potential healthcare benefits of common, everyday herbs. The substance was found in a minor TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) herb that the Chinese call Qing Hao, which had been in documented use as medicine for over two thousand years. Around the time of the millennium, and as part of a systematic team effort in China to test thousands of TCM herbs against malaria, Professor Youyou Tu discovered artemisinin in Qing Hao (Sweet Annie). Most TCM herbs are prepared by boiling the herbs in water and, as such, Sweet Annie showed no anti-malarial properties. However, Professor Tu stumbled upon a recipe by Ge Hong written over 1700 years ago, in which he described cold-extracted ‘juice’ from Sweet Annie being used to treat fevers. Professor Tu reckoned that the heat treatment had inactivated the herb’s anti-malarial properties and so it was! After isolation and purification of artemisinin, Professor Tu led the first human trials of it in humans and for her work she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2015.

The story does not end there. Although artemisinin worked like a miracle cure for malaria for well over a decade, unfortunately, resistance to it is developing in malaria parasites in Africa. Now a case report by doctors from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (PMID: 28732806), in collaboration with colleagues in the USA and Canada, shows that Sweet Annie whole herb has superior anti-malarial effects than the isolated compound. In this report, eighteen seriously-ill malaria patients, unresponsive to six-months of artemisinin medication and at death’s door, were treated with tablets of the dried, powdered leaf of Sweet Annie, twice daily for 5 days (two children in the group were given a lower dose), and all were cured completely.

It should be emphasised that this was not a clinical trial, but case reports. Furthermore, the treatment was not an authorized medicine but given as a last resort on compassionate grounds. The reason the whole leaf may have worked against malaria in these cases while artemisinin did not is that, whilst the pathogen evolved a resistance against a single, isolated compound, the whole leaf contains an array of compounds, some of which may act similarly to or synergistically with artemisinin. The malaria parasite will be hard put to evolve resistance to such active-compound complexity.

PMID = PubMed identifier

Ann Walker PhD, FCPP, MNIMH, RNutr
Course Director DHM
Herbal Practitioner