HYSSOP
Hyssop is a perennial shrubby-looking herb with slender, stiff stems that can get almost a yard tall. The opposite leaves are narrow and pointed. Blue to purplish-blue flowers appear from July to October in small-one-sided clusters along the upper portion of the stems. Its range is from the Canadian province of Quebec to the "big sky country" of Montana, and as far south as the Carolinas. Like most members of the mint family, hyssop contains a highly aromatic volatile oil in its leaves, stems, and flowers. The strong fragrance attracts bees, which make a sweet-smelling honey from the nectar, and an extract of hyssop lends its aroma to a good number of colognes and liqueurs. Although hyssop is too pungent for most modern palates, the Romans liked its taste and made an herbal wine from it. Medieval monks also favored the herb, and spiced soups and sauces with it. Medicinally, hyssop has been used mainly as a remedy for respiratory ailments. The ancient Greek physicians Hippocrates and Galen recommended it for bronchitis and other inflammations of the chest and throat. Herbalists in the 16th and 17th centuries prescribed a hyssop preparation as a remedy for bad coughs. Modern herbalists also use the plant in these ways. At one time or another, hyssop found other uses too: the hot vapors of a decoction for inflammations of the ear; the crushed leaves for cuts and bruises; infusions of the leaves applied externally for the pains of rheumatism. Hyssop is a shrub of the family Lamiaceae that has been naturalized in the United States. Hyssop is a common garden plant that also grows widely along the sides of roads. As is the case with many other mints, its leaves and flowers contain an appreciable amount of volatile oil, giving them a "campholike"odor and a somewhat bitter taste. This volatile oil is an ingredient in many French liqueurs, specifically those which resemble Chartreuse and Benedictine. It is also the agent responsible for the household medicinal use of the plant, mostly as tea, for coughs, colds, hoarseness, fevers, and sore throats. Hyssop tea, mixed with a little honey, is said to be especially effective as an expectorant (an agent that promotes the loosening and expulsion of phlegm). Because of the presence of pinocamphone, isopinocamphone, alfa - and beta - pinene, camphene, and alfa - terpinene, which together make up about 70 percent of the oil, hyssop is a reasonably effective treatment for mild irritations of the respiratory tract that accompany the common cold. It is also generally recognized as safe; no adverse reports of its safety appear in the scientific literature. Two recent studies have reported on preliminary anti-HIV activity from hyssop fractions. A California research group identified a polysaccharide (deemed MAR-IO) that, depending upon concentration, inhibited the SF strain of HIV-1 in laboratory experiments designed to measure HIV-1 cell replication. PARTS USED Flowering tops, essential oil, aerial parts. USES Currently an undervalued medicinal herb, hyssop is potentially useful since it is both calming and tonic. Hyssop has a positive effect when used to treat bronchitis and respiratory infections, especially where there is excessive mucus production. Hyssop appears to encourage the production of a more liquid mucus, and at the same time gently stimulates expectoration. This combined action clears thick and congested phlegm. Hyssop can irritate the mucous membranes, so it is best given after an infection has peaked, when the herb's tonic-action encourages a general recovery. As a sedative, hyssop is a useful remedy against asthma in both children and adults, especially where the condition is exacerbated by mucus congestion. Like many herbs with a strong volatile oil, it soothes the digestive tract and can be an effective remedy against indigestion, gas, bloating, and colic.Culinary uses - Use hyssop flowers and leaves to season vegetable dishes, soups, casseroles, sauces, pickles, stuffing for meats and poultry, and to give salads, including fruit salad, a refreshing minty flavor. Use sparingly, as the taste can be quite strong. For a relaxing tea, steep 5 ml (1 teaspoon) of dried hyssop leaves and/or flowers in 250 ml (1 cup) of boiling water. Sweeten with honey to taste. For a lighter-flavored tea, mix hyssop with spearmint or lemon balm. Hyssop is used commercially in liqueurs such as Benedictine and Chartreuse.
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