Pungents Botanical Medicine 1 Brandy Webb, ND Week 5
Dec 17, 2015
Pungents
Botanical Medicine 1
Brandy Webb, ND
Week 5
Pungents
• Zingiber officinalis
• Armoracia rusticana
• Brassica nigra
• Capsicum frutescens
• Piper nigra
General Information
• Digestive and circulatory stimulants
• Hot energetically; increase internal heat
• Strengthen metabolism
• Stimulate nervous system
• Expectorant and/or mucolytic; expel excess mucous
• Rubefacient (cause blood to migrate to skin surface; can cause blistering)
Medicinal Actions of Pungents• Improve digestion and assimilation of
food
• Increase stomach secretions, increase appetite
• Often have additional bitter and carminative actions– Blood cleansing– Stimulate peristalsis
• Antimicrobial
Zingiber officinalis QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Zingiber officinalis
• Ginger• Zingiberaceae family• Constituents
– Volatile oils (including sesquiterpenes, such as zingiberene)– Pungent principles (gingerols and shogaols)
• Actions– Antioxidant– Anti-inflammatory– Antimicrobial– Bitter– Diaphoretic– Carminative– Expectorant
Amoracia rusticana
Amoracia rusticana
• Horse radish • Brassicaceae family• Constituents
– Glucosinolates (including sinigrin)– Volatile oils
• Actions– Diaphoretic– Carminative– Diuretic – Antimicrobial– Bitter– Rubefacient– Sialagogue
Brassica nigra
Brassica nigra
• Black mustard• Brassicaceae family• Constituents
– Glucosinolates (including sinigrin)– Volatile oils (including sinapine)
• Actions– Rubefacient– Circulatory stimulant– Bitter
Piper nigra
Piper nigra
• Black pepper• Piperaceae family• Constituents
– Volatile oils (including -bisabolene and camphene)
– Alkaloids (including piperine)
• Actions– Carminative – Bitter
Capsicum frutescens
Capsicum frutescens
• Cayenne, red pepper• Solanaceae family• Constituents
– Capsaicin compounds– Carotenoids– Ascorbic acid– Tocopherols
• Actions– Circulatory stimulant– Carminative– Spasmolytic– Diaphoretic– Antimicrobial– Rubefacient– Bitter
Professor Cayenne’s Tonic
• 1/2 cup each: chopped garlic, onions, ginger, horseradish, parsley
• 1/8 cup fresh or powdered cayenne pepper• Raw apple cider vinegar• Finely chop the vegetables, pack into jar and
fill with vinegar. Agitate daily for 14 days. Strain and bottle.
• Sig: 1 tsp 2-4 times daily as needed for a warming digestive, decongestant, or for flu symptoms