Recent scientific research include: A combination herbal drop (Lamigex) containing clove (Syzygium armoaticum), lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) and herb robert (Geranium robertianum) essential oils, was found to be as effective as ciprofloxacin 0.3% drops in the treatment of acute external otitis, in a randomised controlled trial of seventy patients (see abstract). One hundred and twenty women, 18-44 years old, diagnosed with bacterial vaginosis were randomly assigned to receive garlic tablet (Garsin) or oral metronidazole for seven days. Therapeutic effects were similar for both garlic...


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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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