alteratives

[Guest guest]

Will,

 

A most interesting question. Alterative, as defined by William Cook in his

excellent book The Phsyio-Medical Dispensatory: A Treatise on Therapeutics,

Materia Medica, and Pharmacy, in Accordance with the Principles of Physiological

Medication, published in 1869 is; " .....applied to agents which are found

capable of altering the condition of the blood-- that is, of restoring this

fluid to a more healthy standard by removing from it impure accumulations. "

 

Therefore, alteratives are those that clean the blood, sometimes called blood

purifiers. Since science was what it was in the 19th Century many herbs have

been known as alteratives. Most of these herbs have properties that would be

named as clearing heat from the blood, quickening the blood, clearing heat and

transforming damp, clearing heat and resolving toxin in Chinese medicine.

Therefore many of the herbs in these catagories could be called alteratives.

However, there are many herbs known as alteratives in the Western materia medica

that have very gentle actions changes in the physiology are slow, so one has to

wonder whether or not they might have been given other names in Chinese medicine

or perhaps would never have made it into the mainstream materia medicas of

China.

 

Herbs you may recognize as Chinese herbs that have been called alteratives are

related species of Corydalis (yan hu suo), Figwort (xuan shen), and Yellow Dock

(niu er da huang). There are many others but these are three of the five herbs

used in Scudder's Alterative, a famous product (and doctor) of the late 19th and

early 20th Century in the US.

 

I hope this helps to answer your question.

 

Sincerely,

 

P.S. If anyone wants to learn more about using Western herbs in Chinese medicine

I will be teaching two three day seminars in California this summer. California

CEU's are still pending but I hope they will be approved soon. For more

information contact, Benjamin Zappin (who will be helping me with some the

teaching) at (831)-476-6377. This not a classroom lecture, it is a trip with

camping and some light backpacking. We will lecture, see plants, learn about not

only clinical usage but also safety issues, modifying Chinese formulas,

harvesting and preparing of many natives as well as many botanicals found in

every healthfood store in the country. Not only will it be loaded with practical

information but it will be a heck of a lot of fun. Your patients are taking

them, you ought to know something about them.

 

wrote:

Message: 1

Wed, 8 Jun 2005 09:02:22 EDT

WMorris116

Tonics

 

 

Hi Thomas -

 

I agree, western herbal tonics tend to stimulate function of

organs-tissues-cells-membranes while supplemental and nourishing medicinals of

TCM provide

substance. How would you compare the western 'alterative' class of agents to

our materials?

 

 

 

 

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