Herbal oils

Infused oil Produced by immersion of plant material in vegetable oil, often gently heated to release aromatic products from the plant into the oil. Also called macerated oils or herbal oils. 

How to Use You can buy essential herbal oils and dilute them with water to make sprays. Experiment with proportions, starting with a few drops of oil per cup of water. 

Herbal Oils Oils are made by soaking the therapeutic material in olive oil or vegetable oil and then heating the herb for an extended time. The oil concentrates the therapeutic material and extends its life if stored properly. 

Herbal Salves Salves are semisolid fatty preparations such as balms, creams, and ointments. Salves are prepared similarly to herbal oils, except after the herb soaks in oil, melted wax is mixed with the oil. The balm, cream, and ointment are then formed, as when wax cools and hardens. 

The advantage of herbal oil is that the oil concentrates the therapeutic material and extends its life if stored properly. 

Add the herbal oil infusion back to the pot used to make the infusion and reheat it slowly on the stovetop. 

Moist oils (essential oils, herbal oils, oils from flower seeds, etc.) also have skin-care benefits in that they provide an occlusive layer that lubricates the epidermis, together with a moisturizing effect that helps to prevent excess water loss. Today, the most popular use of essential oils is for aromatherapy. Essential oils are attributed with a range of properties that help to achieve physical and emotional balance. Examples are passion fruit oil. Mono de Tahiti and squalane (derived from olive oil). 

By the thirteenth century AD, essential oils were being produced along with medicinal and herbal preparations in pharmacies. Around this time improvements in distillation techniques were made, in particular the development of the alembic apparatus, which would eventually estabUsh the quaUty of such matenals. As a result, many of the essential oils in use today are denved from those produced in the sixteenth and seventeenth centunes in terms of odor character, even though production methods have continued to evolve. The current practice of aroma therapy is an indication of this common root of medicinal and fragrance chemistry. 

Psychological disturbances With nervoms-ncss, disturbances of sleep, and similar symptoms, herbal drugs are often, and often justifiably, used. It is noteworthy that mostly aromatic constituents (essential oil) are present. 

This needs to be taken into aceount particularly with drugs containing essential oils, tannins, and bitter substanees [I, 2]. Herbal drugs with these active constituents should not be. stocked in the powdered state. 

Garlic is used as an antifungal. A cream of 0.4% ajoene (the antifungal component of garlic) was found to relieve symptoms of athlete s foot and, tike tea tree oil, is applied twice daily. (For more information on garlic, see Herbal Alert in Chap. 44.)... 

Phyto chemicals can be used to either stimulate or inhibit motility of the GIT. For example, caffeine and other phytochemicals stimulate motility (Lis-Balchim etal, 2001 Boekema et al, 1999), whereas motility is slowed by peppermint oil (Beesley et al, 1996), protease inhibitors (Schwartz et al., 1994) and several other phytochemicals (Abdullahi et al, 2001 Odetola and Acojenu, 2000 Rojas et al, 1999 Amos et al, 1998). Many of the traditional herbal medicines used for treatment of diarrhea are based on aqueous extracts that slow small intestine transit and increase residence time for digesta (Lin et al, 2002). The opiates and derivatives are particularly noteworthy (Williams et al., 1997). 

Dong quai and several other herbal products, including evening primrose oil, passion flowers, sage, valerian root, flaxseed, and wild yam, have not demonstrated efficacy with regard to the relief of vasomotor symptoms, and the safety of these products is also questionable.4,33,35 Therefore, these products should not be recommended for the relief of vasomotor symptoms in postmenopausal women. 

Lawless, Julia. The illustrated encyclopedia of essential oils the complete guide to the use of oils in aromatherapy and herbalism. Barnes Noble, 1995. 256p. 

Mariassyova M. 2006. Antioxidant activity of some herbal extracts in rapeseed and sunflower oils. J Food Nutr Res 45(3) 104-109. 

Ancient papyrus provided written records of early Egyptian medical knowledge. The Ebers papyrus (from around 3000 bc) provided 877 prescriptions and recipes for internal medicine, eye and skin problems, and gynecology. Another record, from the Kahun papyrus of around ISOObc, detailed treatments for gynecological problems. Medications were based mainly on herbal products such as myrrh, frankincense, castor oil, fennel, sienna, thyme, linseed, aloe, and garlic. 

Herbal preparations are defined as preparations obtained by subjecting herbal substances to treatments such as extraction, distillation, expression, fractionation, purification, concentration or fermentation. These include comminuted or powdered herbal substances, tinctures, extracts, essential oils, expressed juices and processed exudates. 

As everyone knows, plants have been used for centuries in herbalism, homeopathy, and aromatherapy because of their medicinal qualities. The long-term use of plants has led to recent observations about their antioxidant properties (1, 2). Many scientists have observed antioxidant activities in compounds derived from the volatile constituents (3, 4) and essential oil extracts - of plants. They have reported that ingestion of these volatile chemicals can prevent lipid peroxidation, which is associated with diseases such as cancer, leukemia, and arthritis. In the present study, analysis and antioxidative tests on the volatile extract isolated from a commercial beer were performed. Why did we choose beer We chose beer because... 

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