| Herb Powders or Extracts? An herb extract is a concentrated form of the plant—it supplies more of the herb's active ingredients. But a plant is a highly complex organism with hundreds of different compounds. Although we know well the effects of different herbs (many have, after all, been tested on humans for thousands of years), we do not always know with certainty which plant chemicals produce these effects. Not all compounds in herbs have been identified. When an herb is concentrated by extraction, some of the beneficial ingredients can remain in the plant instead of in the extract. This is why most of the Nutrina herb products contain a combination of both extract and plant powder. This ensures that you get both a strong and effective product and all the plants beneficial ingredients. |
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Alfalfa roots grow deep into the soil where they absorb minerals. The Arabs where the first to discover this plant -Alfalfa means Father of All Foods in Arabic. |
Astralagus is an ancient Oriental plant which western researchers have recently begun to study. Chinese medical journals contain much information about its effects. |
British Royal Air Force pilots received Bilberry jam before flying nighttime missions during World War II. Many reports of its effects exist in European medical journals. |
Black Cohosh is a traditional remedy used by Native American women. |
Native American tribes use Buckthorn bark in several of their preparations. |
Spanish explorers named this plant when they obvserved how Native Americans were using it. Cascara Sagrade means Sacred Bark in Spanish. |
| MANY OF TODAY'S MEDICINES are derived from plants. The bark of the willow tree, for example, has been used since the time of Aristotle for pains and fevers. It contains a substance called salicin which was the basis for the synthetic chemical acetylsalicilic acid first made by the German Bayer company in 1897 and named Aspirin. A pharmaceutical company is required to demonstrate the efficacy of a new medicine through human studies but the time used for this is a only a fraction of what man has spent to establish safety and efficacy of common herbs. The Chinese, for example, have been using Ginkgo for over 5,000 years; the Aztecs and Maya had been eating Wild Yam for centuries when Columbus first reached the New World. |
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Natives of Peru use the root and bark of the Cat's Claw vine in their tonics. The plant grows at high elevations in the Amazonian rain forest. |
Cayenne (Capsicum) The substance which produces the intense heat in the cayenne plants is called Capsaicin. It is an oddity that this fiery substance has been valued by herbalists for its soothing properties. |
The use of the Feverfew herb dates back as far back to the early Greeks. It was largely forgotten until it was revived in the 1970's. |
Garlic has a long, illustrious history. It was even part of field medical kits as late as Wold War II before the wide availability of antibiotics. |
Garlic (Odorless) |
The Chinese have used the Ginkgo biloba leaves for over five thousand years. European research has well documented the tree's properties. |
Goldenseal is a native American herb which Cherokee Indians used in various remedies. It was a prominent ingredient in many turn-of-the-century |
Gotu kola is a vital herb in Ayurveda, the traditional science of health in India. In traditional Chinese medicine, Gotu kola is referred to as the "fountain of youth" herb. |
The Horsetail plant contains large amounts of silica. Another active ingredient in Horsetail is called equisetonin. |