HERBOLOGY I
Biochemical Mysteries
Lesson 2
Lesson 2
Some Biochemical
Mysteries
INTRODUCTION
In this lesson we will look at some of the different interpretations of
modern herbology. Different herbalists have used these theoretical
approaches in the past with various fragments being reincorporated into
the present day practices. Please take time to review them. You will not be
tested on them, or asked to accept them. Our major intention in this lesson
is to show that the chemical energy in a botanical is quite different than
that of a synthetic chemical and that the chemical properties are not the
only aspect of herbal uses. We will be looking briefly at some thoughts that
herbalists and natural healers have used to explain, “why natural products
seem to work a bit different than the sum of their chemicals might dictate”.
Throughout the nations and cultures of the world, health related models
differ; but some aspects remain similar across different systems.
Fig 2.0 Kirlian Photograph of a Raw
Goji Berry
ORGANIC VS. INORGANIC
Often herbal medicine is sought because it is believed to be more organic
than conventional medicine. As you have seen, the word organic used here
is a bit different than the concept of eating “organic food”. The term
organic food is misleading. As a matter of fact, all food is organic in the
scientific sense of the word. Any substance that contains carbon and was
made in a living system is organic. It has nothing to do with whether
pesticides were sprayed on it or not. Many petrochemical-based pesticides
are technically organic. These are not the foods that we might want to eat.
Wild Rose College of Natural Healing ©2010
Terry Willard Cl.H PhD. v.2010.01
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HERBOLOGY I
Biochemical Mysteries
Lesson 2
“Certified organic foods” are established by government or industry and
are typically grown without the use of petrochemical pesticides or
fertilizers and ensures no genetic modification.
Read Chapter 5,
Pages 71-80
(to "Modern Herbology")
Here we are looking at the different subtle energies that can be found in
botanical chemical compounds, as compared to the subtle energies found
in synthetic compounds. The big difference is solar energy, vital Qi, and
organization of that energy. Taking herbals rather than drugs is like
Fig 2.2
listening to harmonic music as opposed to discordant sounds.
Fig 2.1
The major key to solar energy is of course the
production of chlorophyll and more specifically
magnesium. In fig 2.3 below you can see the
difference. The orbital of the outside electron
jumps to a higher energy point when in contact
with the sunlight.
Fig 2.3
This is an electrical charge that is sent on to other
chemicals via the photosynthesis process. As the energy is passed on to the
other chemicals, the orbital goes back to normal, just to get excited by the
sun again. It again passes the energy on, repeating this over and over
again, as long as the chlorophyll is exposed to sunlight. When using
herbals, we are not only accessing the
chemical properties, we are getting
biological energy (Qi). This can mean that
we actually need fewer active constituents
from a botanical to achieve a desired
biological effect while lowering the
potential for a side effect to occur.
Fig 2.4
Wild Rose College of Natural Healing ©2010
Terry Willard Cl.H PhD. v.2010.01
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HERBOLOGY I
Biochemical Mysteries
Lesson 2
THE CHEMICAL COMBINATION
Herbal „healing‟ models view a botanical‟s effect as
a complex set of interactions in a biological and
environmental network. Pharmaceutical models
employ a more linear model of healing, by
assuming an isolated chemical constituent will
eradicate an identified disease symptom.
Fig 2.6
Lapacho
(Tabebuia avellanedae)
In your average pharmaceutical medicine you have
one active ingredient. Sometimes there are two or
more, but this is quite rare. In pharmaceutical
science and the search for active ingredients, they
Fig 2.5 Lapacho
try to settle on the most important one. They
(
T
a
b
ebuia avellanedae)
synthesize it, hopefully changing it enough to get a
patent, and send it to market. In a living botanical there are multiple
chemicals. It is like a symphony of harmonically interacting parts. Often
one chemical component neutralizes or even detoxifies others in the same
botanical. How these combinations work on the human system has been
carefully worked out over thousands of years by some of the brightest
minds of the day. In the Western world we sometimes have an arrogant
view of history, where the smartest people of this century were(are) alive
only within the modern era.
If this were actually true, then why pay
attention to the ideas of Newton or Galileo?
Who is to say that Western culture was the
only one that produced intelligent people?
We tend to identify Western culture with scientific achievements. Let‟s face
it, some of the most creative minds throughout history, in all cultures, have
focused on their society‟s most important contribution - Life itself. To be in
good health has been highly prized by all people throughout time. Much of
the current information on botanicals today is knowledge recorded by
people from non-Western and non-technological cultures. Because
scientific techniques are easily outdated with new “advances”, or “a better
mouse trap”, it is easy to think all old techniques are inadequate. Many of
our top medical minds of the last century were herbalists. This is true in
other cultures also. Herbal knowledge has been built by contributions from
the entire world‟s culture. Some of these traditions and practices are alive
today existing alongside scientific approaches to health.
Back to chemical combinations. Botanicals have many components. Let‟s
take Lapacho (Tabebuia avellanedae, a.k.a. Taheebo, Pau D'Arco) as an
example. There are sixteen known quinones in Lapacho. South American
folklore says it is useful for cancer management. The National Cancer
Institute in the U.S.A. searched for the active ingredient. They settled on
Wild Rose College of Natural Healing ©2010
Terry Willard Cl.H PhD. v.2010.01
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HERBOLOGY I
Biochemical Mysteries
Lesson 2
one of the important chemicals, Lapachol. Even though in their own
studies, they found that it had over 90% effectiveness against several
cancer models, they stopped studying it. Lapachol was considered quite
safe in moderate dosages, but had negative vitamin K activity in the higher
cancer dosages. The analog (or chemical that was synthesized to be similar)
was toxic and had less activity than the natural plant source. All studies
stopped. There was no money in it to attract pharmaceutical research. In
reality, even though the one chemical had negative vitamin K activity, five
other chemicals in the herb showed positive vitamin K activity, more than
compensating for lapachol‟s shortcomings. But you can't patent a natural
botanical. Even though the sum of the whole is often better than the sum of
its parts. If we were going to look for just one chemical, it would be like
having only one instrument in a symphony, instead of a whole orchestra.
Often chemicals work in harmony with each other creating a new and
desired effect.
Another important difference between chemicals is that of isomers, or
shape. Vitamin E can have 12 different shapes, or isomers. One of these
shapes is considered the best, D-alpha tocopherol. This is the one you will
often see in the vitamin department of natural food stores. Chemicals often
come in right handed (D-isomers) and left handed (L-isomers) shapes. In
vitamin E, there are six of each. When making vitamin E synthetically you
get both right and left handed isomers (D & L). Synthetic vitamin E is
therefore called DL-tocopherol. Since our body can only use the Dtocopherols, at first glance this product seems to be half as strong. The
price of buying DL-tocopherol is usually a bit less than half the price of Dalpha tocopherol. On the surface, it looks like a good buy. But since Dalpha tocopherol is only 1/12th of the DL-tocopherol (1 out of the 12
possible isomers), “DL” is not as good a buy, because we are looking for
the D-alpha tocopherol action. The shape in complex chemicals is very
important. It is often like a key and a lock. It doesn't matter how many keys
you have in your pocket, if you don't have the right one.
Read pages 80 - 84
Botanicals have evolved over the same time lines that we have. Our
digestive tracts and internal mechanisms have somewhat similar
blueprints. To make a key without knowing the specific lock would be a
problem. Pharmaceutical chemists are trying to make chemicals without
always knowing the specific mechanism behind them. They still don't have
a definitive explanation for how aspirin works on the human body. If a
botanical has worked a certain way for the last few thousand years, on a
couple of billion people, the key probably fits. Often it is best to let Nature
work out the details, it‟s had lots of practice.
Let‟s turn our attention to the range of modern herbalists in North America
-- their backgrounds, training, the clinical models they use and the systems
they employ.
Wild Rose College of Natural Healing ©2010
Terry Willard Cl.H PhD. v.2010.01
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HERBOLOGY I
Biochemical Mysteries
Lesson 2
THE MODERN HERBALIST
Modern herbalism is practiced by an array of diverse and eclectic figures.
When we look at the more prominent figures in North American
Herbology, we see that most have chosen to specialize in a particular
discipline of herbology, but haven't stopped there. Maturity as clinicians,
educators and authors has urged them to delve into additional areas of
herbal study. We find most of these herbalists have adopted one or more
form of energetics to help them understand the personality of the
botanicals. They have all adopted the Western scientific model to some
degree in order to explain herbal activity to Western minds. If we are to use
these modern herbalists as a model for our own education and
development we see four common elements:
1. Dedication
2. Use of the scientific model
3. Use of some a form of Energetics
4. Open-mindedness to other healing modalities/cultural traditions
Besides the models in your text and the combination of models seen among
prominent herbalists there are two other significant models in modern
Western Herbology.
1. Modern North American naturopathy
2. European phyto-pharmaceuticals
To make generalizations about either tradition risks overlooking possible
exceptions, but an obvious trend in modern naturopathy
includes certain uses of botanical medicine. Only a small part
of most modern naturopaths' practices center around
herbology. The use of many other therapies, such as
homeopathy, manipulation, high-tech natural supplements,
electronic devices and counseling also form a part of their
practice. Naturopaths tend toward standardized extracts of
botanicals, working from a detailed scientific and somewhat
pharmaceutical knowledge of plants. Naturopaths tend to use
medicines as natural pharmaceuticals. Plant energetics are not
necessarily considered. The old naturopaths were all Vitalists,
however not all modern naturopaths follow that path.
European phyto-pharmaceuticals are based on specific
knowledge of a chemical or a group of chemicals. Two recent examples of this are
ginkgo and milk thistle extracts. The active ingredients of these herbs are
further concentrated to obtain pure active ingredients. These become
Wild Rose College of Natural Healing ©2010
Terry Willard Cl.H PhD. v.2010.01
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HERBOLOGY I
Biochemical Mysteries
Lesson 2
strong chemicals that are derived from natural sources. They really cannot
be considered „herbs‟ anymore. However, I do use some European phytopharmaceuticals in my practice. Why? Because they work! But I can't kid
myself into considering these as some form of advanced herbology.
Over time you will develop you own blend of herbology, whether as a
clinician, educator, author, wildcrafter or manufacturer. It is good to know
what others are doing, but it is important for you to keep your eye on the
ball -- your basic and solid education. With a solid foundation you can
make informed decisions about what type of herbology is right for you.
Wild Rose College of Natural Healing ©2010
Terry Willard Cl.H PhD. v.2010.01
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