Growing a Medicinal Herb Garden: What are Medicinal Herb Plants?
Did you know that most of drugs are sourced from the plants? Our ancestors have used plants to prevent and treat diseases since thousand years ago.
Medicinal herb plants can be used as herbal teas and baths, herbal extracts, powders, salves or syrups, and poultices. An herb will has medicinal use if there are chemical components within its structure that can provide a response in humans. The content and potency of the chemical component in herb will depend on the part of herb plant used, the season, and the content of the soil / growing medium used to grow the plant.
The chemical compounds in medicinal herb plants which have specific effects on human medical concerns are including antibiotics, alkaloids, flavonoids, glycosides, coumarins, saponins, tannins, bitter compounds, terpenes, citric and tartaric acids, essential oils, mucilages.
Growing a Medicinal Herb Garden: Medicinal Herb Plants to Grow
Many of us already know and use herbs to flavor our culinary/foods, but didn’t know exactly the medicinal herbs or which plants that have curative power too. So here are top 7 medicinal herb plants you can consider to grow in your garden. You can use these herbs to treat some common ailments.
1. Basil
Basil is medicinal herbs that can be used as an antiseptic, anti-flatulent, laxative, expectorant, and has mild sedative effect. You may use fresh basil prior to bloom as a tea to help in indigestion, relieve gastritis, stomach ailments and constipation. Basil also can be used to reduce throat inflammation, fever and relieve headaches and colds.
2. Chamomile
This medicinal herbs is popular used as a tea to calming your mood. Chamomile can help to reduce headaches, insomnia, cold and flu symptoms, colic, stomach ailments, flatulence, and inflammatory issues such as sore throat, acne, ulcer, hemorrhoids, and some eye ailments.
3. Garlics
Gardening with medicinal herbs such as garlics is very rewarding, garlic the most powerful medicinal herbs and also very delicious. As medicinal herb, garlic can be used as antimicrobial to fights viruses, bacteria and parasites. Garlic helps with infections that cause bronchitis, influenza, recurrent colds, and congestion.
Read more: Tips on Growing Garlic at Home
4. Fennel
Fennel can be considered as medicinal herbs since it has curative properties such as diuretic, promote milk production in new mother, to treat coughs, headache, dizziness, asthma, depression, to fight colic, aid in digestive disorders, a curative for insomnia, inflammation, catarrh, and even as an insect repellent.
5. Lavender
Lavender is another medicinal herb that is very effective yet gentle enough for children and elders. It can be used as an anti-depressant and a relaxant. It can helps in sore throats, cough, diarrhea, toothaches, arthritis, menstrual pain, and lowering blood pressure. Lavender also can be used as essential oil.
6. Motherwort
Motherwort is “mother's little helper” medicinal herb that can helps women to maintain emotional balance, relieve menstrual pain, and soothes the storms of menopause. Motherwort is also a useful medicinal herb for the circulatory system, it can help to normalize and strengthen the heart, lower blood pressure, and reduce palpitations.
7. Dandelion
Another medicinal herb you can grow in your garden is dandelion. Dandelion is a digestive bitter that induces bile flow, cleans the hepatic system, helps to relieve gout, gastritis, urinary tract infections, bladder stones, gallstones, kidney stones, and flatulence. You can make a tea from dandelion and add honey to taste.
Growing a medicinal herb garden at home is so easy as well as growing a culinary herb garden at home. Growing a medicinal herb garden is very rewarding, every time you need some medicine you can take them right from your garden. But keep in mind, before you decide to use any herb plants as medicine, you need to consult to your physician or medical herbalist for better advice. All above medicinal herb information and its benefits are only for educational and gardening purpose.