Modern interest in mistletoe as a possible treatment for cancer began in the 1920s. For centuries, it had been used as something of a cure-all, but when mistletoe's immunostimulant properties were confirmed, the Druids' reverence for the healin

Mistletoe (Part One): A Parasite That Can Hurt Or Heal

Dec 20th, 2014 1m 29s

Mistletoe, a parasitic plant that grows on a wide range of host trees, shows up on every continent but Antarctica - and on each continent, it's been used in folk medicine. From ancient Greece into twentieth-century America, it was prescribed fo

Relax, It's Passionflower

Dec 13th, 2014 1m 29s

Passionflower is a beautiful climbing vine native to the Americas whose corona reminded people of the crown of thorns worn by Jesus during his crucifixion. It's a sedative, milder than valerian or kava - often, you'll find it used in combinatio

Calabar Beans: Pre-History's Lie Detectors

Dec 6th, 2014 1m 29s

The Efik people of the region that is now Nigeria used to force people accused of crimes to suffer a trial by ordeal: they'd be fed calabar beans, a known poison. If the accused died, they were judged guilty. If they lived, they were "proven" i

Usnea: Bearded Medicine

Nov 29th, 2014 1m 29s

You might have brushed by it in the forest, where this hairy-looking symbiosis between algea and fungi perches on tree limbs. The look of the lichen usnea explains its nicknames: "old man's beard," "tree's dandruff," "women's long hair," and "b

Cranberry: North America's Ruby-Red Superfruit

Nov 22nd, 2014 1m 29s

It's not an old wive's tale: cranberry helps prevent and treat urinary tract infections. And it's not just the acidity: a compound in cranberries and blueberries keeps bacteria from sticking to bladder and urinary tract walls. Cranberries are h

Garlic II: "Don't Leave This Life Without It"

Nov 15th, 2014 1m 29s

Among the artifacts discovered in the tomb of Egypt's Tutankhamen - objects meant to ease the boy king into the afterlife - were 3,000-year-old bulbs of garlic. Giving as well as receiving, Tut supplied daily rations of garlic to his pyramid-bu

Garlic I: Asia's Gift To The Future

Nov 8th, 2014 1m 29s

Ever since nomadic tribes helped spread wild garlic from Central Asia to far-flung parts of the globe, garlic has helped humans fight microbes. Louis Pasteur recognized its antimicrobial power, as did doctors in WWI and WWII battlefield hospita

Demand For Slippery Elm's Gummy Bark Tempts Poachers

Nov 1st, 2014 1m 29s

In 1905, author Harriet Keeler wrote about the inner bark of the slippery elm tree: “It is thick, fragrant, mucilaginous, demulcent, and nutritious. The water in which the bark has been soaked is a grateful drink for one suffering from affectio

Datura: Delirium, Broomsticks, And Divination

Oct 25th, 2014 1m 29s

Medicinal use of datura - also known as moonflower - is so ancient, no one is sure where the plant originated. Two important nervous system depressor drugs, atropine and scopolamine, are derived from it. Oracles in the Americas and Greece used

Atropine: Antidote To Disaster, Useful Drug...And Poison

Oct 18th, 2014 1m 29s

The alkaloid atropine occurs naturally in plants like deadly nightshade, datura, and henbane. It can keep your heart rate steady after a heart attack, dilate your eyes - think belladonna - or dry up secretions during surgery. Soldiers carry atr

Devil's Claw's Popularity Puts It At Risk

Oct 11th, 2014 1m 29s

The powerful anti-inflammatory action of harpagoside, a compound in the roots of devil's claw, relieves the pain of osteoarthritis, and many herbalists recommend it for digestive problems. The San of the Kalahari have used it medicinally for ce

Devil's Dung Stinks When Raw, But Cooked, It Harmonizes

Oct 4th, 2014 1m 29s

This feathery plant from the deserts of Afghanistan and the mountains of Iran stinks - until you cook it, that is, when its pleasant flavor and active antiflatulent and digestive properties emerge. You can find it in Worcestershire sauce and th

Devil's Club: Diabolical Spines Protect Against Many Evils

Sep 27th, 2014 1m 29s

The gigantic leaves of devil's club barely hide its sharp thorns - if you're ever sliding down a mountain slope, this is not a plant to grab. But inside the roots' bark lies medicine for all sorts of evils: native coastal North Americans treate

Feverfew: Phew! Fewer Migraine Headaches

Sep 20th, 2014 1m 29s

The causes of migraine aren't well understood. Neither is the mechanism behind feverfew's proven ability to stop or prevent a migraine headache. Feverfew supplements used in clinical studies to treat migraine contain a standardized dose of 0.2

Goldenseal II

Sep 13th, 2014 1m 29s

Goldenseal ( Hydrastis canadensis) grows in eastern North America, where it's now threatened in the wild. An alkaloid in goldenseal, berberine, shows powerful antimicrobial effects against a wide range of bacteria, yeasts, and parasites. Herbal

Goldenseal I

Sep 6th, 2014 1m 29s

There's a persistent urban legend concerning the herb, goldenseal: take it before a urine test and you'll get false-negative results for a variety of recreational drugs. Disappointingly for those who try, goldenseal won't mask drug residues in

Mexican Yam

Aug 30th, 2014 1m 29s

In the 1930s, scientists trying to synthesize estrogen and progesterone for therapeutic uses - and possibly to create a new kind of contraceptive - faced an obstacle: they needed an abundant, cheap source of the hormones for mass production. Ch

Tea Tree

Aug 23rd, 2014 1m 29s

Indigenous Australians use the twigs and leaves of the melaleuca (tea tree) medicinally, and science has confirmed the tree's antimicrobial, antifungal, and antiviral properties. Tea tree oil is used topically to treat a range of skin infection

Camptotheca

Aug 16th, 2014 1m 29s

In southern China, where Camptotheca acuminata is native, people call these big-leafed trees "Happy Trees." Chinese herbalists have been prescribing medicine from the leaves for centuries to treat various ailments, including leukemia. In the 19

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