THE HISTORY OF HERBAL MEDICINE IN NORTH AMERICA (Part Four)

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THE HISTORY OF HERBAL MEDICINE IN NORTH AMERICA

 

(Part Four)

 

By RFD Columnist, Todd Caldecott

of Clinical Herbal Studies

Wild Rose College Of Natural Healing

Calgary, Alberta

 

Email: phyto

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In this major series, RFD Columnist, Todd Caldecott explores the history of

herbal medicine in North America, with the view of fostering a better

understanding of the issues that face modern herbalists and a greater

appreciation of the evolution of the relationships between alternative,

complimentary and conventional medicine.

 

Herbal medicine in North America has a long and venerable tradition, from the

First Nations practices that were in existence thousands of years before the

first colonists arrived, to the development of four-year clinical programs at

the turn of the last century.

 

Thomson's patented system of medicine

 

According to Thomson's conceptual framework of bodily function, heat was

synonymous with vitality, whereas cold " was the cause of disease " (Thomson 1841,

506) Thomson states " that to restore the heat or animal warmth to its natural

standard was the only way that health and strength could be produced " (Thomson

1841, 506). Thomson felt that only " after restoring the natural heat of the body

by clearing the system of all obstructions, and causing a natural perspiration,

the stomach would digest the food taken, by which means the whole body is

nourished and invigorated and the heat of the body… is able to hold its

supremacy " (Thomson 1841, 506). Similar to Ayurvedic medicine, Thomson believed

that heat radiated outwards from the stomach to the periphery of the body, and

was thus the foundation of health. " The heat is maintained in the stomach by

consuming food; and all the body and limbs receive their proportion of

nourishment and heat from that source; as the whole room is warmed by the

fire which is consumed in the fireplace " (Thomson 50, 1825). Thomson believed

that concretions could build up in the stomach, impairing absorption and

weakening digestion. Thus, cleaning the stomach of these concretions was

tantamount to regaining health. To do this Thomson felt " all the art required "

was " to know what medicine will do it, and how to administer it, as a person

knows how to clear a stove and the pipe when clogged with soot " (Thomson 190,

1825).

 

According to Thomson's theoretical framework, diseases would arise when the

internal heat of the stomach was obstructed from circulating to the periphery,

or if an attack of cold or shock came from without, obstructing the natural flow

of the internal heat. Following this theory, Thomson advocated diaphoresis, or

sweating therapies, as a general cure to " remove all obstructions from the

system (and) restore the powers of digestion " (Thomson 506, 1841). Thomson felt

that to " promote a natural perspiration is universally applicable in all cases

of disease, and therefore may be considered as a general remedy " (Thomson 506,

1841). Thomson believed that the presence of fever was the most important single

factor in overcoming disease, and where obstruction or a deficiency of heat

promoted disease, he sought to induce a fever to assist the body in its battle

to overcome the underlying pathology of coldness.

 

Throughout Thomson's writing he refers to " canker " as an archetypal form that

disease can manifest. What Thomson referred to as a canker were the physical

symptoms of coldness, noticed as the " white …coat(ing) that was attached to the

mucous membranes " (Thomson 507, 1841). " Canker and putrefaction are caused by

cold, or want of heat, for whenever any part of the body is so affected with the

cold so as to overpower the natural heat, putrefaction commences; and if not

strong enough to overcome its progress, it will communicate with the blood, when

death will end the contest between heat and cold, or the powers of life and

death by deciding in favor of the latter " (Thomson 507, 1841).

 

The remedy Thomson considered of prime importance to restore the natural heat of

the body was Lobelia (Lobelia inflata), what he would later call No. 1 in his

patented system of healing. Using the analogy of the wood stove, Thomson

compared the activity of Lobelia to dry wood shavings added to a dying fire,

enkindling and ensuring a proper burn to draw the smoke out through the chimney.

Thus Lobelia was stimulant to digestion, and promoted the movement of the

stomach's heat to the periphery, correcting circulation. And just as the cause

of a fire that will not burn properly can be the accumulation of soot in the

stovepipe, Lobelia could also throw off the canker through its emetic activity.

" It is searching, enlivening, quickening, and has great power in removing

obstructions " (Thomson 589, 1841). But just as kindling burns quickly, Thomson

found that the activity of Lobelia " …soon exhausts itself, and if not followed

by some other medicine, to hold the vital heat till nature is able

to support itself by digesting the food, it will not be sufficient to remove a

disease that has become seated " (Thomson 589, 1841). He began a search for such

a remedy.

 

Thomson tried various pungent herbs, such as Ginger (Zingiber officinalis),

Mustard (Brassica nigra) and Peppermint (Mentha piperita) to hold the heat in

the body, and while he had good results with these herbs, found them to be

" …more or less volatile, and would not have the desired effect " (Thomson 591,

1841). One day in 1805, on a trip to visit some friends on a farm in

Massachusetts, Thomson stopped in at a local residence. When he entered the

house he saw a large string of Cayenne peppers hanging on the wall. Although he

knew them to be pungent in nature, he wasn't sure of their medicinal activity.

He purchased the string of peppers and took them home, prepared a powder from

them, and experimented upon himself. The taste and resulting effect was

remarkable to Thomson, certainly the most pungent and heating herb he had ever

tasted. Thomson later put Cayenne to the test when he felt a cold coming on, and

found that it promoted a good perspiration and dispelled his symptoms.

Thomson felt at last he had found his No.2 medicine, Cayenne pepper (Capsicum

annuum), something to sustain the fire of digestion after Lobelia had enkindled

it. According to Thomson, Cayenne " …is no doubt the most powerful stimulant ever

known; its power is entirely congenial to nature, being powerful only when

raising and maintaining the heat, on which life depends. It is extremely

pungent, and when taken sets the mouth as it were on fire; this lasts, however,

but a few minutes, and I consider it essentially a benefit, for its effects on

the glands causes the saliva to flow freely, and leaves the mouth clean and

moist " (Thomson 593, 1841).

 

While Lobelia and Cayenne were to become the mainstay of many of his treatments,

there were many more herbs that Thomson found useful in practice. In deep-seated

conditions, after he employed Lobelia to stimulate the fires of the body and

Cayenne to hold it, Thomson found he needed something else to continue the work

of removing the canker, without necessarily promoting emesis. For this purpose

he employed the pungent and astringent Bayberry bark (Myrica cerifera). " This

valuable article may be taken separately, or compounded with other substances,

and is the best remedy for canker that I have ever found. " Thomson soon found

other plants that could do the job as well as Bayberry, and began to use other,

similarly astringent and warming herbs such White Pond Lily root (Nymphaea

odorata), Sumac leaf (Rhus glabra), Hemlock bark (Pinus canadensis), Witch Hazel

bark (Hamamelis virginiana), Red Raspberry leaf (Rubus ideaus), and Marsh

Rosemary root (Statice limonium). Having established

these three primary classes of therapeutic activity, Thomson used this approach

repeatedly, with excellent results. Thomson was by no means limited however to

these three simple approaches however, and as his experience grew so did the

subtly of his practice. We find that he added plants to his therapeutic

armamentarium continually. After using No.3 to remove the canker, Thomson then

gave his No.4 remedy to correct the digestive organs and enhance secretion,

which could be dosed as a single or combination of bitter tasting herbs such as

Balmony (Chelone glabra), Bitter root (Apocynum androsaemifolium), Poplar bark

(Populus tremuloides), and Barberry (Berberis vulgaris).

 

Thomson's No.5 remedies were intended to be restoratives to the entire body,

prepared as a syrup containing crushed Peach kernels (Prunus persica), Cherry

pits (Prunus virginiana) and Myrrh resin (Commiphora mukul). This was an

especially important formula in the treatment of dysentery, which Thomson used

with great success in the Cholera epidemics. Finally, Thomson developed his No.6

remedy or " Rheumatic drops, " composed of equal parts Myrrh gum and Cayenne

pepper, to treat pain and restore circulation. Thomson had learned of the

importance of Myrrh when he was a young man working in Vermont, on an acreage

his father had bought. Thomson had badly injured his foot, and an old Canadian

passing through the area commended the usage of Myrrh tincture (Haller, 23).

After this experience Thomson began to use it on others, and upon mixing it with

Cayenne discovered that the remedy worked even better.

 

In addition to these six basic components of his therapeutic program, Thomson

also made great use of the now endangered orchid, Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium

pubescens), as a reliable antispasmodic and substitute for opium. Overtime,

Thomson would add more and more botanicals to his system, and through his

efforts many of our most important medicinal herbs were introduced into

widespread usage, such as Goldenseal root (Hydrastis canadensis), Osha

(Ligusticum porteri), and American Ginseng (Panax quinquefolium) (Wilder 1904,

454).

 

Although nothing can truly compare to the barbarous practice of the " Regular "

doctors, Thomson's therapeutic approaches were certainly no cakewalk. In one

example of Thomson's courses, a patient would be steamed until he or she were

sweating profusely, when the " …veins have become full upon the feet, hands and

temples " (Thomson 1825, 83-4), and then put to bed. The second phase of the

treatment would continue with the patient drinking a mug of hot wine sweetened

with molasses, to which had been added teaspoonfuls of Lobelia, Cayenne, and

Bayberry powder. A similar preparation would then be injected rectally, and all

would continue to be administered every so often until the patient began to

vomit. In between bouts the patient would be given a bland gruel and some

Pennyroyal tea (Mentha pulegium). Emetic therapies would only be discontinued

once the practitioner had determined that the patient had successfully purged

the canker. Once their stomachs settled the patients typically felt

much better, and shared in a glass of bitter aperitif to celebrate their health

(Griggs 1981, 166-67).

 

CONTINUING

 

 

 

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