PINKROOT:
The pinkroot is one of the clearest examples of acceptance of an Indian remedy by the medical profession. The Cherokees called it (unsteetla) and prepared a worm medicine from it by boiling a large quanity of the freshly dug root in water.
In the early 1700s, two physicians from Charleston, South Carolina, learned about pinkroots efficacy from the Indians. The word soon spread to the general public, who praised this worm treatment, particularly against round worms, for the next two hundred years. Pinkroot fell into disuse in the early 1900s simply because greedy herb dealers adulterated or even substituted shipments of true pinkroot with quantities of other plants, notably the East Tennessee pinkroot. Even though the public needs drugs which are effective, it soon abandoned what has been called " a very excellant and useful drug." Here cites a letter from one of the Charleston physicians, Dr. Garden, written to a colleague in England in 1763 extolling the virtues of this species:
About forty years ago, the antihelminthic virtues of the root of this plant were discovered by the Indians; since which time it has been much used here by physicians, practitioners, and planters.
... To a child of two years of age, who had been taking ten grains of the root twice a day, without having any other effect than making her dull and giddy, I prescribed twenty-two grains morning and evening which purged her briskly, and brought away five large worms.
In actual practice, the fresh root was preferred; one medical text cautions against using pinkroot stored longer than two years. The 23rd edition of the Dispensatory of the United States lists the prescribed dose of the powdered root for an adult as four or eight grams each morning and evening for several days, this sequence then to be followed by a strong laxative.
Although it was once abundant in the South, pinkroot may today be rare in its native environment, mainly the deep woods from New Jersey to Florida.
This member of the logania family (which contains many poisonous species) appears as a single erect stem from six to eighteen inches high, with pairs of broad lance-shaped stalkless leaves from two to four inches long. The brilliant trumpet-shaped flowers, which appear from May to July, are bright red on the outside and yellow within. The small rootstalk, which is collected in the fall, has an aromatic odor and a bitter, pungent taste.
PUMPKIN:
Another plant employed against worms is the pumpkin. Although it was not used by the Indians for this purpose(some used the crushed seeds on wounds, others employed an infusion of the seeds as a diuretic, etc.), a popular American home remedy for worms consisted of a tea made of pumpkin seed.
TULIP TREE:
The stately tulip tree was only casually employed against worms by the Indians. The Catawba tribe ingested the root bark ot expel worms, while the seeds were given to Indian children of the West for the same purpose. This plant has since been employed in domestic medicine to reduce fever and to increase the urine flow. The bark of this tree was official in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia from 1820 to 1822, when it was utilized for it's tonic and diuretic properties.
The inner bark of the tulip poplar contains tulipiferine, which reportedly exerts powerful effects on the heart and nervous system. The Dispensatory of the United States say that the powdered bark has been used for rheumatism and digestive problems.
The light yellow to brown wood has been used in cabinet work and as shingles.
WORMSEED:
Wormseed is another example of a once-popular and reputedly effective worm medicine that has since been replaced by synthetic agents. It is not clear how the Indians came to recognize the value of this species, but it is certain that several tribes were using it before the coming of the European.
The American Indian may have learned about wormseed from a Mexican or South American counterpart. This could have occurred at the time of the Spanish conquest in Mexico which forced many Mexican Indians to flee northward to escape the vicious gold-seeking conquistadors.
R.L. Roys in his Ethno-Botany of the Maya believes that wormseed was utilized to expel worms by practitioners of that civilization. Indigenous to Mexico and South America, wormseed became naturalized as far north as New England as it's reputation as a vermifuge spread.
Whereas the Natchez Indians employed an undisclosed part of the plant as a method of expelling worms in children, American physicians of the late 1800's recommended three to ten drops of expressed wormseed oil on sugar three times a day for several days, followed by a strong laxative.
At that time it was considered to be especially effective against roundworms and was as popular as a home remedy as it was in medical circles.
The oil of chenopodium, which is derived from the seeds and other overground parts, was official in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia from 1820 to 1947 and in the National Formulary from 1947 to 1960. It has found it's widest application as an effective agent against roundworms, hookworms, and other intestinal parasites, while it is said to be less effective against tapeworms. This is not a "safe" drug, in that poisoning and death have resulted from as small a dose as four drops three times a day for two days given to a one-year-old baby.
Other death resulting from oil of chenopodium have been reported, and it has been established that fasting should not precede it's use.
Wormseed, which occurs in waste places throughout North America, has a many-branched stem about two to three feet high and oblong or lancelike leaves. The lower leaves are one to five inches long, the upper leaves being much smaller. The small greenish flowers appear from July to September and are followed by small green fruits.
Of lesser renown as vermifuges were the wild plum (the Ojibwas drank a tea of the roots), American hemp (the Penobscots drank a root tea of it and named the plant worm root), and the running swamp blackberry. Although the blackberry was primarily utilized as a diarrhea remedy, the Mohegans drank infusions of the berries steeped in warm water to rid themselves of worms. The same tribe made a worm medicine from spearment or peppermint, the leaves of the latter plant also being employed as a tea to rid babies of intestinal parasites.
Free Forum Hosting
Important Announcement
Recommend
First 