Herbs Listings

Herbs - V

• Valerian 
  A "natural valium" that acts as a mild tranquilizer by calming the nerves; eases muscle spasms; relieves menstrual cramps and premenstrual syndrome; relaxes the muscles in the digestive system; used in treating insomnia; hastens sleep, improves sleep quality and reduces nighttime awakenings; helpful in treating anxiety, panic attacks, tension, and headaches; improves circulation and reduces mucus from colds; relieves irritable bowel syndrome; lowers blood pressure.                                                                                                                                                         
• Vervain                                                                                          Established properties - Though poorly researched, some of vervain's properties are well known. It affects the parasympathetic nervous system and has a stimulant action on the uterus. Vervain is bitter and stimulates the digestion, causing vomiting at high doses. The constituent verbenalin, a mild purgative, may be responsible.
  Digestive tonic - A tonic for the digestion, vervain improves the absorption of food.
  Nervous system - Vervain is prized as a restorative for the nervous system and is especially helpful for nervous tension. Vervain is thought to have a mild antidepressant action, and is used specifically to treat anxiety and the nervous exhaustion that follow long-term stress.
  Convalescence - By aiding the digestion and restoring the nervous system, vervain is an ideal tonic for people recovering from chronic illness.
  Headaches & migraine - Vervain alleviates headaches and in Chinese herbal medicine it is used for migraine connected with the menstrual cycle.
  Other medical uses - Vervain has an array of other medicinal uses. Vervain is given for jaundice, gallstones, asthma, insomnia, premenstrual tension, and fevers (especially for the onset of flu). Vervain also helps labor contractions and increases breast-milk production.                                                                                                                                                                      
• Vanilla Bean                                                     
  

  In old medicinal literature, vanilla is described as an aphrodisiac and a remedy for fevers. These purported uses have never been scientifically proven, but it has been shown that vanilla does increase levels of catecholamines (including epinephrine, more commonly known as adrenaline), and as such can also be considered mildly addictive.

  In an in-vitro test vanilla was able to block quorum sensing in bacteria. This is medically interesting because in many bacteria quorum sensing signals function as a switch for virulence. The microbes only become virulent when the signals indicate that they have the numbers to resist the host immune system response.

  The essential oils of vanilla and vanillin are sometimes used in aromatherapy.