Today much of the media (newspapers, radio and TV) have reported on the painful condition gout, after the publication in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases of a population-based study reporting a significant increase in both prevalence and incidence of gout in the UK1 (for full paper click here). This study also highlighted the suboptimal management of this condition in primary care. As part of my final year's study to become a medical herbalist I conducted a research project examining the role of Western herbal medicine in the treatment of gout: which was subsequently published2. I took three...


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Brookfield Herbal is currently waiting to hear if it will be granted an alcohol licence. This will allow me to produce my own home-grown and wild-crafted tinctures for use in the clinic. Meanwhile, I have been using vodka to make small test batches of nettle, raspberry and elderflower tinctures. Today I thought I'd experiment and make some fresh parsley (Petroselinum crispum) seed tincture: it doesn't appear that parsley seeds are commonly used in contemporary herbal medicine, although they are reported to be stimulating, drying, antiseptic, antispasmodic with particular actions on urinary...


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After more than a week of wet weather, today I was able to harvest cowslips from Brookfield Herbal's garden. Cowslips (Primula veris) have a very subtle relaxing perfume, and are known for their sedative and anti-spasmodic quality. Mrs Grieve in her herbal refers to cowslips as "....strengthening the nerves and the brain, and relieving restlessness and insomnia. The Cowslip was held good 'to ease paines in the head and is accounted next with Betony, the best for that purpose.'" Fresh or dried flowers - just the yellow corolla plucked out of the surrounding green calyx (see photo below) - can be used...


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Over the Easter weekend Brookfield Herbal was finally able relocate its herbal stock into its new dispensary. The purpose-built new shelving, made by our local carpenters, fits the old pantry perfectly and was designed so that tinctures, dried herbs etc are on display ready for ease and immediate use, with ample room for storage of other items.  


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The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaceologists recently recommended herbal medicines as an alternative to hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for post-menopausal women specifically identifying soy, Red clover and Black cohosh (see link). Medical herbalists usually prescribe a blend of herbs tailored to a patient's specific situation. In 2007 Green et al. conducted a pilot randomized controlled trial involving 45 menopausal women which supported the use of herbal medicine during menopause. The study found herbal practitioners' individualised treatment regimes improved menopausal symptoms...


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There are many different forms in which herbal remedies can be prescribed and dispensed. The most common forms are: Tinctures: Most herbal medicines are dispensed in tincture form and taken internally. An alcohol-water mixture is used to extract a wide range of plant constituents from the plant, or plant part: the percentage alcohol influences the exact constituents present in the extract. Tinctures are taken orally: for adults the usual dosage is 5ml of tincture three times a day. Teas: Herbal teas provide an additional or alternative form for dispensing herbal medicine. In most cases,...


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