Herbal Simple for the modern application of medicine with herbs
What is a Herbal Simple? The English word “simple,” which is a combination of two Latin words, singula plica (a single fold), means “singleness,” whether for material reasons or for a specific reason. The term “Herbal Simple” has been applied to any homemade remedy that consists of only one ingredient, herbal in nature. Simpler people were guided in their choice of herbs partly by observing animals that sought them out for self-healing, and partly by discovering the sensitive properties of the plants themselves, which were revealed in their smell and taste; also by their alleged similarity to those diseases that...

Herbal Simple for the modern application of medicine with herbs
What is a Herbal Simple? The English word “simple,” which is a combination of two Latin words, singula plica (a single fold), means “singleness,” whether for material reasons or for a specific reason. The term “Herbal Simple” has been applied to any homemade remedy that consists of only one ingredient, herbal in nature.
Simpler people were guided in their choice of herbs partly by observing animals that sought them out for self-healing, and partly by discovering the sensitive properties of the plants themselves, which were revealed in their smell and taste; also by their supposed resemblance to those diseases which nature intended them to cure.
A doctor should observe scurvy (a disease caused by vitamin C deficiency and characterized by spongy bleeding gums, bleeding under the skin, and weakness) and dropsy (swelling caused by excessive accumulation of watery fluid in cells, tissues, or serous cavities), which are the widespread and prevalent diseases fed; and from these simple herbs he composed an excellent medicine, which was mixed with sugar and water or honey to form a pasty mass suitable for oral administration. What produced the effect against these same disgusting afflictions.
Similarly, it has also been noted by others that "the dog, when out of shape, would seek out certain grasses of a medicine that causes nausea and vomiting or a laxative (a remedy used to cleanse the intestines. Sheep and cows, when sick, would devour healing plants (a medicine or therapy that cures disease or relieves pain); an animal suffering from rheumatism would bask in the sun as much as possible." remain (hence vitamin D) and creatures infected with parasites would often roll in the dust.
Rather, Herbal Simples seeks to justify their use on the solid basis of accurate chemical analysis and precise elemental research. Medicinal herbs have come down to us since early times because they only have a traditional value and are practiced solely on the basis of experience or observation, without scientific methods or theories, especially as in medicine.
Their selection was recommended solely by wise insight and judgment and by the practice of successive centuries. But today, more precise laboratory analysis and qualified testing by experts have broken down the various plants into their components and chemically determined the medicinal nature of these parts, both individually and collectively. So that the study and practice of medicinal herbs can now be considered an exact science and can gain the full confidence of the sick to provide them with trustworthy help and assistance in times of physical need.
Compelling scientific reasons can easily be used to prescribe all of our best-known indigenous herbal medicines. Among them, the elderberry, parsley, peppermint and watercress can be considered as well-known examples of this leading fact.
Juice made from elderberries, boiled and thickened with sugar, or mulled wine made from elderberries, with raisins, sugar, and spices, was a popular remedy, this simple herbal when taken hot before bed, for a recent cold, or for sores in the throat. But only recently has chemistry explained that elderberries provide “viburnic acid,” which stimulates sweating and is particularly beneficial for inflammatory bronchial pain.
Likewise, parsley, in addition to being a popular pot herb and a garnish for cold cuts, has long been popular as a tea for inflammation of the mucous membranes, particularly of the nose and throat, the bladder, or the kidneys; while the bruised leaves were highly praised as a poultice for swellings and open wounds. At the same time, a popular saying about the herb has become widespread: it “brings death to men and salvation to women.” Until recently, however, it was not known that the sweet-smelling plant provides what chemists call “apiol,” or parsley camphor, which, when administered in moderation, exerts a calming influence on the major sensitive centers of life—the head and spine.
This would lessen any feverish irritability of the urinary organs caused by cold or other nervous shock. Parsley camphor (when used externally to effectively stimulate slowly healing wounds) also proves to be particularly beneficial for female irregularities.
Peppermint, its strongly flavored sweet liqueur, or its lozenges taken as confections have been popular since the days of our grandmothers for relieving colic in the intestines or stomach pain from flatulence. But this practice caught on simply because the pungent herb was found to spread grateful aromatic heat to the stomach and intestines while promoting the expulsion of wind. whereas today we know that an active ingredient “menthol” contained in the plant, which can be extracted from it as camphor oil, has pronounced antiseptic and sedative properties that chemically ward off and prevent putrefaction and putrefaction in a person suffering from digestive disorders.