XU KU CAO
Students of plant lore are at a loss to explain how heal-all got its name, for its medicinal applications were always limited. A member of the mint family, with the mint's square stem but not its aromatic fragrance, self-heal is easy to identify by the dense purple flower clusters at the top of the stem and branchlets. The flowers are set in rings around the spike, never all blooming simultaneously, so that the plant has an unfinished appearance. Seventeenth century herbalists believed that because the flowers have the shape of a mouth, they were effective against mouth and throat infections. Self-heal gained prominence when military physicians used it to treat a contagious fever that raged among the imperial armies in Germany in 1547 and 1566. Sore throat and a brown-coated tongue characterized the infection, and it became known as "the browns." This popular name was transferred, through medical Latin, to the plant used to remedy the disease-hence heal-all's botanical name of Bronella or Pronella. Old-time doctors prescribed self-heal as an astringent. According to the 17th-century herbalist and physician Nicholas Culpeper, self-heal "stays the flux of blood from wounds and solders up their lips. It cleanses the foulness of sores and speedily heals them." Self-heal was also a popular gargle for sore throat. PARTS USED Whole herb. USES Nursemaids would warn their charges not to pick this plant, for if they did, the devil would carry them off: Heal-all and self-heal, both nicknames of Prunella vulgaris, are puzzles to those who study plant lore, because the medicinal uses are limited. Some believe the Latin name was derived from "brunella", a corruption of the German word braune, for" a brown one". Self-heal is an example of what doctors in earlier times called the doctrine of signatures: Plants resembled the part of the body that they healed. Self-heal was lauded by John Gerard, 16th-century herbalist and chief secretary of state to Queen Elizabeth I. He writes: "There is not a better wound herb in the world", and when mixed with wine and water it will "make whole and sound all wounds, inward and outward." People thought this plant resembled a mouth and used it to cure sore throats and other infections of the mouth. Self-heal has also been used to treat diarrhea and boils. Recently, speculation has it that extracts from the herb serve as an HIV inhibitor. In China self-heal is used as an agent in lowering blood pressure and as an antibiotic. A German and French proverb advises," He needs neither physician nor surgeon that hath Self-Heal and Sanicle to help himself." Traditional uses - Self-heal has been used as a wound herb for centuries. Self-heal staunches bleeding and accelerates the rate of repair. John Gerard wrote: "there is not a better wounde herbe in the world than that of selfe-heale" (1597). The Irish herbalist K'Eogh stated that self-heal "heals all internal and external wounds, removes obstructions of the liver and gall, and is therefore good for jaundice" (1735). Modern European remedy - Not used in European herbal medicine on the same scale as in the past, self-heal is mainly employed as a wound herb. Self-heal is also sometimes taken to reduce internal bleeding, and as a gargle to treat sore throats. Externally, self-heal is applied topically to treat leucorrhea {vaginal discharge) and hemorrhoids: It has been considered by some practitioners to be a tonic. Chinese treatment - In China, self-heal is taken on its own or with ju hua (Chrysanthemum x morifolium) for fevers, headaches, dizziness, and vertigo, and to soothe and calm inflamed and sore eyes. It is thought to cool "liver fire" resulting from liver weakness, and is prescribed for infected and enlarged glands, especially the lymph nodes of the neck. In light of recent research, self-heal is now sometimes used for high blood pressure.
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