Herbology: Uses And Dangers Of St. John's Wort A resource for the potential hebalist

[evought 0]

This is a copyrighted work (see bottom for copyright and licensing). (Edit by MoonWitch : This work is copyrighted to evought himself)

 

Saint John's Wort (plants in the genus Hypericum) is one of the most powerful plants in an herbalist's arsenal. It can be used to relieve pain or depression, treat wounds, kill bacteria and viruses, or induce sleep. It can also be dangerous when used casually or combined with the wrong medications.

 

The use of St. John's Wort goes back centuries. It is, for instance, praised in Culpeper's 17th century herbal. "Wort" is an old english word meaning "plant", so "St. John His Wort" as it was originally called, just means "plant belonging to St. John." Why St. John? In England at least, St. John's Wort blooms on the feast day of St. John the Baptist (June 24th). Because the juice of the plant's yellow flowers turns blood red, St. John's Wort was considered to be holy and powerful. It was used externally to treat and cleanse wounds and internally to treat all manner of ills. Rather unusually, most of these uses seem to be born out by modern research.

 

St. John's Wort as an oil or ointment contains both tannins and a chemical called hyperforin. These compounds slow bleeding by constricting blood vessals and are antibiotic and antiviral. St. John's Wort also seems to have some benefit in helping damaged nerves regenerate. When combined with other herbs which aid in healing, such as plantain (Plantago major) for shallow wounds or yarrow (Achiles milifolium) for deep wounds, St. John's Wort provides an effective treatment during wilderness emergencies. It's antibiotic nature combats staph infections and helps to prevent septicemia from forming in the wound. The downside is that hyperforin has a short shelf life--- as little as a few weeks to maybe several months before it breaks down and becomes useless.

 

Internally, St. John's Wort is one of nature's best antidepressants. It acts as both a Monamine-Oxidase Inhibitor (MAO) and a Selective Seratonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) just like many synthetic antibiotics. Unlike many synthetic antibiotics, it shows far fewer side effects in clinical trials. In many trials, it rivals amitryptaline and fluoxiline for effectiveness in treating depression at a small fraction of the cost.

 

A rather interesting property of St. John's Wort is that it inactivates the Human Immunodeficiency virus in vitro, that is, outside the body, but does not appear to work inside the body. It can therefore be used to kill viruses in tainted blood supplies. It may also be possible to use it to prevent transmission of AIDS and other viruses when used with contraceptive devices.

 

Like many antidepressants, St. John's Wort can be used to treat neuralgic pain and sleep loss. For those who are not clnically depressed, St. John's Wort will generally cause drowsiness and help with insomnia. At the same time, it

relieves pain and helps promote restorative sleep by inducing theta waves. Many people find St. John's Wort, often combined with either valerian or with passion flower leaf (Passiflora incarnata) and scullcap (Scutelaria et species) to be effective in treatment of fibromyalgia.

 

If it looks too good to be true, there are often hidden dangers. This case is no different. Like any powerful medication, overdosing on St. John's Wort can cause medical problems, such as acute photo-sensitivity and even death. St. John's Wort can not be safely combined with many medications, mainly other MAO Inhibitor or SSRI antidepressants, but also the standard list of medications which cannot be taken with MAO Inhibitors or SSRIs. St. John's Wort can affect a developing fetus or a breast-feeding infant. It can cause drowsiness and effect your ability to drive or operate machinery. Finally, sloppy (or cheap) suppliers of herbs can sometimes contaminate a preparation with other herbs, sometimes dangerous ones.

 

It is always better therefore to consult your doctor before using St. John's Wort and to be sure to obtain it from a safe and reputable supplier--- or grow it yourself. This is one of the primary benefits of herbal remedies: you can control the process.

 

References:

 

[PFG-Medicinal] Peterson's Field Guide to Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants, Steven Foster & James A. Duke, Houghton Mifflin Company, New York 1990. pp 114-115 (H. perferatum only)

 

[TWoH1] The Way of Herbs, First Edition. Michael Tierra, CA, ND. Pocket Books. New York. 1990 pp 236

 

[Culpeper] Culpeper's Complete Herbal. Wordsworth Reference. Denmark. 1995 (original circa 1600) pp 139-140

 

[PDR-HM2] PDR for Herbal medicines 2nd Edition. Medical Economics Company. New Jersey. 2000 pp 719-725: Quite a bit of information on the pharmacology and research, slightly dated at this time; This source suggests that hyperforin may be stable for "a few weeks up to six months"; other sources suggest a maximum of five weeks.

 

http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

 

http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

 

 

This work is copyrighted 2006 by Eric Vought. Xisto and Xisto corporation are licensed to reproduce this work at no cost for the purpose of driving traffic to their web sites and obtaining advertising. All other rights reserved.

 

I am not a doctor, and this article is not intended to diagnose or treat any specific disease or condition.

[evion 0]

This is...Wow...You really must be talented in this area of Herbology? I got referred to this article when you posted in the hosting support section and after reading this, i can tell you've really placed alot of effort into this. It's definitely an A++++ for my Biology report if i do this.

Overall though, what I'm interested in is the part about the St. John's Wort killing off HIV.
As quoted:

A rather interesting property of St. John's Wort is that it inactivates the Human Immunodeficiency virus in vitro, that is, outside the body, but does not appear to work inside the body. It can therefore be used to kill viruses in tainted blood supplies. It may also be possible to use it to prevent transmission of AIDS and other viruses when used with contraceptive devices.

If you would, could you elaborate more on this? How this it kill of the virus exactly? Is it just another drug just like AZT that HIV would eventually become immune to? I know it doesn't work if the virus is actually already working in the human body because it is lysogenic, meaning it will attach itself to the host cell's DNA and replicate along with it. But if it how would it kill off the HIV virus?
This Wort reminds me of a previous post I've read of the Neem Tree which grows natively in India. This post is an extremely good read and i hope to hear more from you.

Ev

[evought 0]

This is...Wow...You really must be talented in this area of Herbology? I got referred to this article when you posted in the hosting support section and after reading this, i can tell you've really placed alot of effort into this. It's definitely an A++++ for my Biology report if i do this.
Overall though, what I'm interested in is the part about the St. John's Wort killing off HIV.
As quoted:

If you would, could you elaborate more on this? How this it kill of the virus exactly? Is it just another drug just like AZT that HIV would eventually become immune to? I know it doesn't work if the virus is actually already working in the human body because it is lysogenic, meaning it will attach itself to the host cell's DNA and replicate along with it. But if it how would it kill off the HIV virus?

This Wort reminds me of a previous post I've read of the Neem Tree which grows natively in India. This post is an extremely good read and i hope to hear more from you.

Ev

I have a degree in ecology and have done drug discovery research. I used to do wilderness survival training (wild edibles and emergency wilderness medicine). I have spent the last few years studying botany as a hobby. I am disabled, so I have a bit of time on my hands. I have also had to self treat for a few years when I had no insurance. Biochemistry knowledge comes in real handy at that point.

My understanding is that hyperforin "deactivates" HIV; basically, it blocks its receptors in a way where it can no longer function. Since viruses are not really "alive", they cannot be "killed" per se. In a test tube, hyperforin deactivates all of the virus. In a human body, the virus has many more places to hide and can escape. Herpes simplex (cold sores) work the same way. They hide inside of cells most of the time where the immune system cannot get at them. Every so often they break out and attack. That is why people can have AIDS for years before it starts to kill them. So, basically, when they found out it kills HIV (2000 or so), they got permission to try it in humans (2003?) and it just did not work.

[evought 0]

Here is a sketch of St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum):

 

 

It has opposite spotted leaves and five part yellow petals in the leaf axils. The petals have small transparent spots on them which look like holes (hence "perferatum").

[mtnbluet 0]

I have a degree in ecology and have done drug discovery research. I used to do wilderness survival training (wild edibles and emergency wilderness medicine). I have spent the last few years studying botany as a hobby. I am disabled, so I have a bit of time on my hands. I have also had to self treat for a few years when I had no insurance. Biochemistry knowledge comes in real handy at that point.

 

My understanding is that hyperforin "deactivates" HIV; basically, it blocks its receptors in a way where it can no longer function. Since viruses are not really "alive", they cannot be "killed" per se. In a test tube, hyperforin deactivates all of the virus. In a human body, the virus has many more places to hide and can escape. Herpes simplex (cold sores) work the same way. They hide inside of cells most of the time where the immune system cannot get at them. Every so often they break out and attack. That is why people can have AIDS for years before it starts to kill them. So, basically, when they found out it kills HIV (2000 or so), they got permission to try it in humans (2003?) and it just did not work.

This reminds me of what I have found out about Apricot pits and anything that contains the nitrilosides(vitamin b-17). This vitamin b-17 has been said to contain cyanide and so this has kept many people from the truth. The answer is yes and no. Yes there is a cell that produces cyanide like substance but there is a helper cell associated with the cyanidic cell. When the cyanidic cell comes in contact with a normal human cell, the helper cell renders it harmless. However, if the cyanidic cell comes in contact with an abnormal human cell, the helper cell does nothing and that cell is destroyed. This might work the same with the virus aforementioned. However if the virus is able to hide inside the human cell, I don't know how it would react.

 

So when they did the research they found that 4-6 apricot pits was enough to get rid of the cancer. My thinking is that you can't make very much money off selling apricot pits so an advertisement blitz was developed to discredit and even make it appear dangerous to eat pits or seeds of any kind. I remember that I would be careful to spit out any apple seeds because they contain "cyanide" or so I was told. I always wondered why I did not get very ill when I would inadvertently swallow some? :-)

 

Now 4-herb tea or eissac tea named for the nurse that found the old ojibwe recipe has also been shown to fight against cancer. I know that it cleanses the liver and for me personally has naturally relieved constipation and muscle aches and pains and has even gotten rid of migraines that I believe were caused by exteme muscle tightness in the jaw. Why do i say this? I remember the warm loosening of the jaw muscles I felt and at the same time the migraines disappeared. Oh I had started again to regularly take the 4-herb tea when the jaw muscles loosened.

 

4-herb tea has been shown to shrink tumors as well as be a natural pain reliever. It contains burdock root, slippery elm, sheep sorrel, and turkey rhubarb. A relative faithfully drank this tea a few times a day for 7 years before she died (She had cancer.) One thought I have is that perhaps the 4-herb tea gets rid of and shrinks the tumors but may not destroy the abnormal cancer cells? Is this possible? If apricot pits and the like do destroy the cancer cells, then maybe a combination approach is in order. 4-herb tea can be found at herbalhealers.com

 

I started out with a couple of bottles of 4-herb tea which was pricey. This was to get me used to what to expect in taste and coloration. Now I buy the bulk herbs, already portioned out but not combined, which is cheaper. This makes 2 gallons. Actually I half this to make 1 gallon at a time. Of course, I put the newly brewed tea in either opaque or brown glass or plastic bottles. I heat up water to almost boiling and dunk my bottles briefly in that. That seems to sterilize them good enough as I keep the filled bottles in the refrigerator at all times. Also my filled bottles seem to last a couple of months. If it gets cloudy or milky then it needs to be reboiled. However, mine rarely do. My secret? I do not put the solution through any cheesecloth. I just ladle it into the bottles, cap them, allow some hours for the newly filled bottles to cool to room temperature and then place them in the refrig. Before, when I sieved them as the instructions called for, they were going bad in 2 weeks! When I ladle I am careful not to disturb the sediment on the bottom of the kettle. And even when I get to the sediment, it goes into a bottle and I will chew on it. I have done this and have experienced no side effects whatsoever.

 

A friend and her sister have both gone through bouts of cancer. Their other sister never did. Why? My friend complained that the other sister always ate the pit after she ate the peach. They probably kept warning the other sister not to do that as she was going to get sick. But of course how could they know the truth with all the propaganda that they and ourselves have been fed? Lastly, this vitamin B-17 is found in large concentrations in nuts and berries, especially wild berries. For some reason, the more domesticated a berry becomes, the less vitamin B17 it contains. This is exciting to me, because pits can be bitter tasting and for some reason my stomach gets upset when I eat something bitter. Another sad commentary on our times is that the more people go in for "landscaping" their yards with flowers and etc the more the "unsightly" wild berry patches are being gotten rid of. For myself I am finding less and less roadside berry picking areas available to me. To show you how "valuable and rare" berry bushes have become to me, I traveled 20 miles to a lady to pick up 3 gooseberry plants that I have since repotted and are doing fine. She offered them through the local freecycle and I jumped at the chance. :-) Yes, we have local forest preserves, but the rule is to not take anything out of them. You can find the nearest freecycle to you by going to freecycle.org

 

Lastly, if you are interested in any more of my home remedies let me know. In addition, I would be interested in your home remedies as well.

[mtnbluet 0]

This reminds me of what I have found out about Apricot pits and anything that contains the nitrilosides(vitamin b-17). This vitamin b-17 has been said to contain cyanide and so this has kept many people from the truth. The answer is yes and no. Yes there is a cell that produces cyanide like substance but there is a helper cell associated with the cyanidic cell. When the cyanidic cell comes in contact with a normal human cell, the helper cell renders it harmless. However, if the cyanidic cell comes in contact with an abnormal human cell, the helper cell does nothing and that cell is destroyed. This might work the same with the virus aforementioned. However if the virus is able to hide inside the human cell, I don't know how it would react.

 

So when they did the research they found that 4-6 apricot pits was enough to get rid of the cancer. My thinking is that you can't make very much money off selling apricot pits so an advertisement blitz was developed to discredit and even make it appear dangerous to eat pits or seeds of any kind. I remember that I would be careful to spit out any apple seeds because they contain "cyanide" or so I was told. I always wondered why I did not get very ill when I would inadvertently swallow some? :-)

 

Now 4-herb tea or eissac tea named for the nurse that found the old ojibwe recipe has also been shown to fight against cancer. I know that it cleanses the liver and for me personally has naturally relieved constipation and muscle aches and pains and has even gotten rid of migraines that I believe were caused by exteme muscle tightness in the jaw. Why do i say this? I remember the warm loosening of the jaw muscles I felt and at the same time the migraines disappeared. Oh I had started again to regularly take the 4-herb tea when the jaw muscles loosened.

 

4-herb tea has been shown to shrink tumors as well as be a natural pain reliever. It contains burdock root, slippery elm, sheep sorrel, and turkey rhubarb. A relative faithfully drank this tea a few times a day for 7 years before she died (She had cancer.) One thought I have is that perhaps the 4-herb tea gets rid of and shrinks the tumors but may not destroy the abnormal cancer cells? Is this possible? If apricot pits and the like do destroy the cancer cells, then maybe a combination approach is in order. 4-herb tea can be found at herbalhealers.com

 

I started out with a couple of bottles of 4-herb tea which was pricey. This was to get me used to what to expect in taste and coloration. Now I buy the bulk herbs, already portioned out but not combined, which is cheaper. This makes 2 gallons. Actually I half this to make 1 gallon at a time. Of course, I put the newly brewed tea in either opaque or brown glass or plastic bottles. I heat up water to almost boiling and dunk my bottles briefly in that. That seems to sterilize them good enough as I keep the filled bottles in the refrigerator at all times. Also my filled bottles seem to last a couple of months. If it gets cloudy or milky then it needs to be reboiled. However, mine rarely do. My secret? I do not put the solution through any cheesecloth. I just ladle it into the bottles, cap them, allow some hours for the newly filled bottles to cool to room temperature and then place them in the refrig. Before, when I sieved them as the instructions called for, they were going bad in 2 weeks! When I ladle I am careful not to disturb the sediment on the bottom of the kettle. And even when I get to the sediment, it goes into a bottle and I will chew on it. I have done this and have experienced no side effects whatsoever.

 

A friend and her sister have both gone through bouts of cancer. Their other sister never did. Why? My friend complained that the other sister always ate the pit after she ate the peach. They probably kept warning the other sister not to do that as she was going to get sick. But of course how could they know the truth with all the propaganda that they and ourselves have been fed? Lastly, this vitamin B-17 is found in large concentrations in nuts and berries, especially wild berries. For some reason, the more domesticated a berry becomes, the less vitamin B17 it contains. This is exciting to me, because pits can be bitter tasting and for some reason my stomach gets upset when I eat something bitter. Another sad commentary on our times is that the more people go in for "landscaping" their yards with flowers and etc the more the "unsightly" wild berry patches are being gotten rid of. For myself I am finding less and less roadside berry picking areas available to me. To show you how "valuable and rare" berry bushes have become to me, I traveled 20 miles to a lady to pick up 3 gooseberry plants that I have since repotted and are doing fine. She offered them through the local freecycle and I jumped at the chance. :-) Yes, we have local forest preserves, but the rule is to not take anything out of them. You can find the nearest freecycle to you by going to freecycle.org

 

Lastly, if you are interested in any more of my home remedies let me know. In addition, I would be interested in your home remedies as well.

So the question is asked "Why have we been told that all these seeds are poisonous- that they have cyanide in them?" Quite obviously if everyone ran out and either purchased bags of these seeds or bought the fruit containing the seeds, there would not be a lot of profit in this to the drug companies. Or rather the drug companies would cease to exist. Unfortunately, most of the people did believe what they were told and so have cheated themselves out of easy and affordable means of getting rid of or not getting cancer and other diseases. Also, they even made it illegal to import the bitter almond tree which also has large concentrations of Vitamin B-17 in its fruit. So be aware with anything you are told in the media, that you may have to dig deeper to find the whole truth because half truths are not good enough.

[mtnbluet 0]

So the question is asked "Why have we been told that all these seeds are poisonous- that they have cyanide in them?" Quite obviously if everyone ran out and either purchased bags of these seeds or bought the fruit containing the seeds, there would not be a lot of profit in this to the drug companies. Or rather the drug companies would cease to exist. Unfortunately, most of the people did believe what they were told and so have cheated themselves out of easy and affordable means of getting rid of or not getting cancer and other diseases. Also, they even made it illegal to import the bitter almond tree which also has large concentrations of Vitamin B-17 in its fruit. So be aware with anything you are told in the media, that you may have to dig deeper to find the whole truth because half truths are not good enough.

One can't forget the lowly onion or the high ranking garlic, and deservedly so. Garlic when combined with tomato juice, lemon juice and hot sauce can have a marvelous effect on opening up one's sinuses. You sip on the warmed concoction and voila in a matter of minutes the swelling of your sinuses has gone down and you can breathe again.

 

The effect of the onion, on the other hand is much subtler. No matter how much injest of the onion, the effect is the same. Apart from some fiber and some vitamins, it doesn't do your cold or chest congestion any good. So why does the onion deserve to be elevated? It does contain an antibiotic-like substance that obviously gets destroyed during the human digestion process. Hence, the onion must be applied topically. So, get a teflon pan and peel and cut up about 3 medium sized onions. Put the cut-up onions in the pan and heat slowly until just soft and hot and moist. Putting a lid on during heating will go a long way toward speeding up the process while keeping the needed moisture in. When hot, wrap the onions in an old towel and use as a poultice on the chest. Keep putting it against the skin and removing it as the skin gets too hot. In about 30 minutes or less, the onion poultice will have cooled down to almost cold, but it will have done its job and you should be breathing easier.

 

Please note that I am not a doctor, and this article is not intended to diagnose or treat any specific disease or condition.

[mtnbluet 0]

One can't forget the lowly onion or the high ranking garlic, and deservedly so. Garlic when combined with tomato juice, lemon juice and hot sauce can have a marvelous effect on opening up one's sinuses. You sip on the warmed concoction and voila in a matter of minutes the swelling of your sinuses has gone down and you can breathe again.
The effect of the onion, on the other hand is much subtler. No matter how much injest of the onion, the effect is the same. Apart from some fiber and some vitamins, it doesn't do your cold or chest congestion any good. So why does the onion deserve to be elevated? It does contain an antibiotic-like substance that obviously gets destroyed during the human digestion process. Hence, the onion must be applied topically. So, get a teflon pan and peel and cut up about 3 medium sized onions. Put the cut-up onions in the pan and heat slowly until just soft and hot and moist. Putting a lid on during heating will go a long way toward speeding up the process while keeping the needed moisture in. When hot, wrap the onions in an old towel and use as a poultice on the chest. Keep putting it against the skin and removing it as the skin gets too hot. In about 30 minutes or less, the onion poultice will have cooled down to almost cold, but it will have done its job and you should be breathing easier.

Please note that I am not a doctor, and this article is not intended to diagnose or treat any specific disease or condition.

Another area that remains a mystery to many people is the saponins that Horse Chestnut and Butcher's Broom contains. These strengthen the walls of the veins in a person's body, especially the legs. They also add flexibility and elasticity and all around good healthy vein wall structure. What is really the mystery is why the only things suggested for varicose veins are usually heavy stockings and/or surgery. However, they warn that the problem may return, so how is that helpful? Many people have pain that radiates from the ankles and even numbness. These people are encouraged to try Horse Chestnuts and/or Butcher's Broom and even the Leg Herbal Food Formula that http://www.botanicchoice.com/ has. It may take about 3 months for the symptoms to go away, but isn't that better---to be able to walk again? Your veins will not bulge out anymore either. What is contained in most leg herbal food supplements is cayenne pepper. Cayenne Pepper in small amounts acts as a stimulant to circulation and so aids in the entire process. So just remember, be patient, but you too can be helped as well as the next person.

Please note that I am not a doctor, and this article is not intended to diagnose or treat any specific disease or condition.

[iGuest 3]

Replying to evoughtI live in iowa and grew my own st johns wort plant.It just today started blooming the yellow flowers.I was just wondering how to get the herbal properties out.Can you eat the plant or does it have to be prepared somehow?-question by shiela

[evought 0]

<a href=http://forums.xisto.com/topic/89374-topic/?findpost=1064342399 to evought</a>I live in iowa and grew my own st johns wort plant.It just today started blooming the yellow flowers.I was just wondering how to get the herbal properties out.Can you eat the plant or does it have to be prepared somehow?
-question by shiela

People use the flowers and leaves of the plant at the height of flowering (usually mid-to-late June). You can make a poultice or salve by mushing it in a mortar and pestle and then adding water (poultice) or oil/grease (balm/salve). This is what people do to treat external injuries. Otherwise you would make a tea or infusion to drink or, better yet, a tincture (alcohol extract).

To make a tea, you just pack a tea ball loosely with the herb and steep it in very hot (not boiling) water for several minutes. An infusion is a much stronger tea. Fill a mason jar about one-third of the way loosely with the fresh herb (maybe closer to a quarter of dried herb) and pour very hot (just under boiling) water on top of it. Seal the jar immediately and let sit for 6-8 hours until cool. I was taught that sealing the jar was important: as the water cools, the lid will be sucked tight down, the pressure in the jar will drop, and more of the herb's active ingredients flow out of the plant. This is cheap vacuum distillation and you are also effectively canning the infusion which can then keep for a few weeks as long is it remains sealed.

A tincture can be made in either alcohol or acid (i.e. vinegar). Some plants tend to be done in one or the other and it changes which active ingredients are concentrated. I have almost exclusively read of St. John's Wort being preserved with alcohol but I have recently found some very old references which I am still investigating which talk about using vinegar as well. In any case, use either 40%+ grain alcohol or a strong vinegar (5% acetic acid). Chop the herb finely and add it to a jar of your alcohol/vinegar as you would for an infusion. Let it sit for a week or two, shaking it once or more each day to make sure it stays well mixed. After that time, pour it through a sieve and a filter to remove the herb. The resulting liquid should be a deep red for St. John's Wort. Store cool and dark. Most tinctures last as long as three years if stored well before spoiling. People disagree on how long some of the medicinal effects of St. John's Wort lasts and often claim less than six months of storage.

30-90 drops of a tincture are more concentrated than a cup or two of tea. You typically measure the strength of a tincture by weight of alcohol versus weight of herb. In other words, if you use 3 parts alcohol to 1 part herb, then the tincture has a 1:3 strength. You will see this referred to in herb books when talking about dosage. If they give dosage for a 1:1 tincture, you need to triple the dosage for yours. On the other hand, strength of herbal preparations varies quite a bit depending on just when the herb was harvested, what the weather had been like, the soil it grows in, the amount of leaves versus flowers, etc., so it is always prudent to start at a low dosage and increase if necessary. You have to pay attention and follow a disciplined process with plant medicines.

I have also produced an herbal wine by adding St. John's Wort to the primary fermenter with the sugar (or juice) and yeast. Filter the herb out when you bottle. Herbal wines do not store as well as tinctures (perhaps a year or two) but are much less expensive to make. I have very recently experimented with using active cultures in vinegar for preserving herbs. I use apple cider vinegar that still has the yeast culture in it ("the mother of vinegar" as it is sometimes referred to) to make an acid tincture. The tincture ends up much less sweet and with more bite than otherwise. What I think is happening is that the yeast culture processes the sugars which are picked up from the plant along with its medicinal constituents. This means less sugar in the resulting tincture, more acid, and, hopefully, longer shelf life.

This year we had an incredible bounty of St. John's Wort to harvest. It grows natively in our back pasture. Normally I would not waste SJW for dying because it takes so much to dye a pound of wool, but since I had so much, I did some experimenting. I was able to get a beautiful golden-yellow using alum as a mordant, a decent green using iron-after-alum, and a deep red with just vinegar and salt (may not be colorfast).

[As usual, I am not a doctor and I am not offering this information to treat any specific condition. Let the reader beware.]

[yordan 10]

Eric : I love your "View the full article on the Xisto forum" in http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

[evought 0]

Eric : I love your "View the full article on the Xisto forum" in http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

:-) I didn't think it would be fair of me to just re-post the article on my own site since it would rob you folks of search engine hits. I was 'paid' for this article in terms of hosting credits and I don't like to "double dip". Feels dishonest. But I did want people going to the MMM site to find the article, so ...

 

I probably will update/rewrite and re-post the article eventually on mistymanormercers.com, after Xisto has gotten its money's worth and when there are enough new studies and information to merit it.

 

I believe strongly in what Xisto does. It has some similarities to what we are trying to do with our business and with the Statesmen. Instead of just saying, "the world could be better," we need to start actually making it better ourselves, one small piece at a time. Businesses do not merely exist to make money. Rather, money exists to sustain business in its role in the community. We have long since forgotten that.