Tulsi or Sacred Basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum) is an aromatic plant native throughout the tropics and widespread as a cultivated plant. It is considered to be an adaptogen, helpful for adapting to stress. Some of tulsi’s main chemical constituents are oleanolic acid, ursolic acid, rosmarinic acid, eugenol, and carvacrol. Recent studies suggest that tulsi serves as a […]
Archives for August 2012
Book Review: Making Plant Medicine
One sunny California morning, an excited gaggle of herb students sat around the communal barn classroom at the California School of Herbal Studies, chatting freely and anticipating the day’s instruction on materia medica. Students quickly shuffled in and out of the common room hurrying to finish preparing their morning cup of herbal tea in time […]
Meet the Masters: Rosemary Gladstar
The Meet the Masters project is a mentoring initiative geared towards inspiring and educating herbalists on innovative ways to make a living with herbal medicine. In this ongoing series we’ve asked leading North American herbalists to answer the question: “How did you establish a career in Herbal Medicine?”Always the pioneer, Rosemary Gladstar is the first to respond with this […]
Healing Spices and Summer Spreads
Make sauces and spreads from healing spices to savor this summer. If you have time and supplies, prepare large batches to freeze for winter enjoyment. BASIL (Ocimum basilicum) Anti-bacterial, anti-spasmodic, digestive, galactagogue, tonic and aromatic. Contains orientin and vicenin, two water-soluble flavonoids, which stimulate the growth of white blood cells. Basil’s volatile oils protect against unwanted […]