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Medicinal Teas: What Works, What Doesn't

March 28, 2000

NYT Syndicate

Last fall, I was doing some pharmacy window-shopping in Germany and was

struck by the amazing assortment of herbal teas on display. It was a

reminder that teas are a very effective way to prepare many herbs. But

medicinal teas aren't nearly as popular in America as they are in other

countries. Most of the herbal teas sold here are simply flavorful

combinations of unspecified composition.

The term herbalists use for teas is infusions. Like your morning cup,

infusions are prepared by adding boiling water to plant material, usually

leaves or flowers, and without applying additional heat, allowing the

preparation to steep while the brew cools slowly.

Teas are not to be confused with herbs boiled in water. Those are called

decoctions. Many herbs, especially tough woody barks or roots, are best

prepared this way. Practically all traditional Chinese medicines are made by

boiling a mixture of 10 to 12 different herbs in water, then cooling,

straining and drinking the mixture. Another morning cup - boiled coffee - is

a common example of a decoction.

GREAT HERB, NOT-GREAT TEA

Teas, or infusions, are best used for herbs whose ingredients are water

soluble or where precise dosage is relatively unimportant. Teas are also

useful for herbs that don't require high concentrations of active principles

in order to be effective.

Ginkgo, for example, shouldn't be made as a tea because its active

constituents - flavonoid glycosides and terpenoids - must be concentrated

about 50 times to obtain a useful dose. Even extra-long steeping may not

increase the concentration. Also, its active principles are not very water

soluble. They need to be taken in uniform doses for maximum benefit.

Finally, ginkgo leaves contain poison-ivy-like constituents known as

ginkgolic acids that could cause allergies unless removed during processing.

Other herbs that don't work effectively as teas include echinacea, milk

thistle and saw palmetto. These herbs, and others with similar chemistry,

are best extracted in alcohol, not water. An alcohol extraction is called a

tincture. It's made by steeping the herbs in alcohol instead of water.

MAKING MEDICINAL TEAS THAT WORK

Volatile oils, which give certain herbs their distinctive aroma, are not

particularly soluble in water, but many plants containing them can be made

into effective teas when properly prepared.

Much of chamomile's effectiveness in soothing an upset stomach is due to its

volatile oil content, but useful flavonoids and coumarins are also present.

To prepare the best chamomile tea, the dried flower heads must be relatively

fresh and highly aromatic.

Buy the whole flower heads, making sure that they are relatively free of

useless stems or leaves. Crush them a bit between your fingers, place 1 to 2

teaspoonfuls in a tea strainer, add a cup of boiling water and steep in a

covered vessel for 15 minutes.

The resulting beverage will contain enough of the various ingredients,

including the volatile oil, to be truly effective. It will also taste

delicious.

Other volatile oil-rich herbs are prepared in a similar fashion. Some

examples include fennel, anise, ginger and peppermint for digestion and

lemon balm for sleep.

A word of caution is in order concerning peppermint. There is a tendency in

the popular literature these days to use the word mint in a very general

way. For this reason, peppermint (Mentha x piperita) is often confused with

spearmint (Mentha spicata). This may create a problem because peppermint,

with its menthol and derivatives, is an effective digestive aid whereas

spearmint, which contains mainly carvone, is not.

Some herbs can be quite effective when taken as teas but for various reasons

are best used in other forms. Valerian tea can be an effective sleep aid,

but it can make your entire kitchen smell like dirty socks. Use valerian in

its tincture or solid extract form to stem the stench.

GETTING YOUR WATER TOO

Teas made from goldenrod or juniper, which promote healthy kidney function

(aquaresis), have the added advantage of also making you drink more water,

which may be highly desirable in such cases. The same is true of rose hips,

licorice, slippery elm, capsicum or mullein teas taken to alleviate some of

the symptoms of colds and coughs. The added moisture helps relieve the

dryness often associated with respiratory problems.

Ginseng has long been used as a tea. The active principles (ginsenosides)

are water soluble. The recommended dose range is so broad (1 to 2 grams)

that the variation which occurs in the preparation of the tea is relatively

unimportant.

Another beneficial tea is tea itself (Camellia sinensis), especially the

green variety. A single cup of green tea contains 300 to 400 milligrams of

healthy polyphenolic antioxidants.

Some of the culinary herb tea mixtures sold in the United States are flavor

enhanced with volatile oils or other aromatic ingredients that make a

tastier drink but don't add healing benefit. I strongly recommend preparing

medicinal teas from carefully selected, freshly dried whole herbs rather

than from tea-bag mixtures.

If you want to drink a caffeine-free herbal tea simply for its taste,

scrutinize the label carefully. Some herbs, such as cinnamon or cloves, are

so overpowering in taste that any tea containing even small quantities of

either will taste like cinnamon or cloves. Any other ingredients might as

well be absent as far as flavor is concerned.

These tips will allow you to use many herbs both safely and effectively as

teas. Remember, though, that most of the active principles that make herbs

useful as health-maintaining or therapeutic teas are much less stable when

they are dissolved in water than in their dried form.

If you choose to take your herb in the form of a tea, it will be most

effective if it's prepared prior to consumption. Old, stale products not

only taste bad, they are also much less effective.

SOME USEFUL HERBAL TEAS AT A GLANCE

COMMON NAME...........SCIENTIFIC NAME.......PARTS USED

Digestive Aids:

Chamomile...........Matricaria recutita.....Flower heads

Fennel...........Foeniculum vulgare.........Fruit (seedlike)

Anise...............Pimpinella anisum.......Fruit (seedlike)

Ginger..............Zingiber officinale.....Rhizome

Peppermint..........Mentha x piperita.......Leaves

Sedatives:

Lemon Balm.......... officinalis......Leaves

Valerian..........Valeriana officinalis......Root

Diuretics (Aquaretics):

Goldenrod..........Solidago species.......Leaves & flowering tops

Juniper..........Juniperus officinalis.......Fruit (berries)

Relief for Cough & Cold Symptoms:

Rose Hips............ species............Fruit

Licorice.............Glycyrrhiza glabra......Rhizome & root

Slippery Elm.........Ulmus rubra.............Inner bark

Capsicum.............Capsicum species........Fruit

Adaptogenic Herbs (Tonics):

Ginseng..............Panax species...........Root

Green Tea............Camellia sinensis.......Leaves

QUICK TIP

Because their active ingredients require concentration or are not water

soluble, many popular herbs make ineffective teas.

Copyright 2000 The New York Times Syndicate. All rights reserved.