New Zealand Spinach, Elder, etc.
Answered by: Conrad Richter
Question from: Alana Blunt
Posted on: March 21, 2003
I'm putting together my herb seed order for the year, but first I have a
few questions:
1) Does New Zealand Spinach contain oxalic acid, like regular spinach?
No, it does not. True spinach belongs to the Polygonaceae, a family
that has many plants that are high in oxalic acid. Other high-oxalate
members of that family are sorrel, rhubarb and dock. New zealand
spinach belongs to the Aizoaceae, and as far as I know few if any
members of that fairly have high oxalates. You can see for yourself
what new zealand spinach contains; check its chemical profile in Dr. Jim
Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases at
http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/duke/farmacy2.pl?choice=taxon&farmtax=1005
2) All the sources of elder flowers (at least that I've seen) are sambucus
nigra. But in several catalogues, I can only find plants of sambucus
canadensis. Would the latter have similar medicinal uses? Or should I keep
looking until I find a source of seeds or plants of s. nigra?
Sambucus nigra is the European elder while S. canadensis is the American
elder. Both are similar in their medicinal properties, the former being
official in Britain and the latter being official in the U.S. For more
information on the medicinal aspects of elder, see the entry in King's
American Dispensatory:
http://www.ibiblio.org/herbmed/eclectic/kings/sambucus.html
3) I have read the hyssop should be avoided by epileptics. I have also read
that horehound and hyssop have the same active compound. So does that mean
that epileptics should also avoid horehound?
There are suggestions that essential oils from some herbs can trigger
epileptic seizures. It is important to note that these concerns relate
to the concentrated essential oils that are extracted from these herbs
and do not necessarily relate to the herbs themselves in their natural
forms. Essential oils are many times more concentrated than the natural
herbs – perhaps hundreds or thousands times more concentrated – so
they should always be treated with great respect. Besides epileptic
seizures, concentrated essential oils can trigger asthma, allergic
reactions, rashes, and more.
The essential oils of fennel, hyssop, rosemary and sage have all been
implicated as triggers of epileptic seizures. However, rosemary, fennel
and sage, in particular, are widely used safely in their natural forms
in food, which supports the notion that concentrating the oils is what
elevates the risk in these herbs. And we suspect the same could be
true for hyssop.
As for whether horehound could cause seizures on account of common
constituents, that is possible, but we have not seen any evidence to
support that. It is important to realize that even if two plants have
similar active constituents it doesn't mean that they are equally
likely to cause the same side effect, for the simple reason that the
active constituent may not be the culprit responsible for the side
effect.
Unfortunately, there is no source that we can refer you to answer your
question conclusively. At this point, I don't believe that there is an
adequate understanding of the risks herbs or their derivative products
might present to epileptics.
4) Finally, what parts of edelweiss, forsythia, goldenrod, and heartsease
are used for teas?
The medicinal parts are what we call the "herb", meaning the above
ground foliage, usually at the beginnings of flowering. Except for
forsythia, of which the fruits are used.
5) Finally, is there one single book that will tell me how to raise,
harvest, and use a wide variety of herbs (from the basic herbs like thyme to
some of the more unusual ones like forsythia)?
There is no single book that covers how to grow and use most herbs in
sufficient detail, but the one that comes closest is Deni Bown's
"Encyclopedia of Herbs and Their Uses" (available from Richters).
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