LESSON Nº 1 of the Course of Fitotherapy.

The grass that has medicinal virtues, aside from the nutritious ones, extremely constitutes an important part of the present therapeutic treatments, and not only for the naturistas, but also for the official medicine.

From but the remote antiquity to the present time, the Humanity has investigated on the medicinal properties of the grass. For that reason, always been very It has extended his use like curativos agents.

In the Modern Age the use of the medicinal grass diminished, partly, because of the advances conducted in the field of Chemistry. But nowadays, even in the official farmacopea, the vegetables show an honor place.

The meticulous study of the grass from the scientific point of view and the diverse carried out experiences, has presented with high accuracy the curativas and preventive virtues almost all the plants… and also, the injurious effects of some, luckyly the minuses.

In fact, the grass has a great superiority on drugs used like remedies. And this superiority must to the enormous number of active principles that have all the representatives of the vegetal kingdom.

The Nature, in effect, has grouped several substances able next to the main one to moderate, to stimulate and to correct the fundamental action of the plant. By this, a same vegetable exerts diverse functions and serves as it cures of several diseases, acting on different organs and corporal vísceras with the same intensity, he himself power, equal rate.

Far from our spirit to affirm that all the pharmaceutical drugs and substances, synthesized or no, cause pernicious and detrimental indirect effect… far from that! On the contrary, there are many occasions in which is precise to resort to some medicine of effective and urgent character.

Nevertheless, our sincere opinion is that the homemade remedies, those remedies that years back lacked never in the homes; they continue constituting a source of lightening and treatment of many diseases, ailments and I attribute.

As we said, nowadays the official medicine is incorporating the use of the curativas plants, thus already it is possible to be counted on the inestimable advising of doctors and phamacists for medicinal treatments with grass, and not to risk to a total automedicación, of doubtful consequences.

Actually domestic, although one is less serious ailments, also is necessary to take certain precautions:

not to above use any part of toxic plants nor essences or extracts to not being under that mentioned medical checkup; not to exceed in the indicated doses nor in the amount of takings; not to happen more than three weeks with he himself treatment. During the pregnancy it does not agree to use the medicinal plants without counting on the advice of the doctor; either in the first year of life of the baby. Soon the doses must adapt to the growth of the boy: from 1 to 3 years, 1/6 part of the dose of an adult; of 4 to 6 1/3 years to raise part; of 7 to 12 years (up to 40 kilos of weight) in the middle of to pass a dose of adult, and in greater children, with more than 40 kilos of weight, to arrive at 3/4 parts.

The study of the grass is a science whose knowledge must be within reach of everybody.

By this, this course is fundamentally directed to whatever are interested in this natural science, although they ignore its principles and advantages.

In this course the lover of the Nature, will not only find the name and properties of the diverse medicinal plants, but also the way simplest and better to take advantage of and to benefit from his curativas virtues, the form to prepare them in each case and what disease alleviates or cures each one.

Therefore, we hoped that this work or will be welcomed by which they coexist in a home (a home is safe place, but also in him they watch dangers and diseases), and of special way on the part of those who they want to turn his own organism a balanced ecosystem or, with the contribution of natural remedies, whose source the ecology fights to conserve in all its original wealth.

TECHNIQUES FOR THE APPLICATION OF THE DIFFERENT MEDICINAL GRASS

The medicinal grass, according to has to be used, and the aim to that they are destined, have to prepare itself of diverse ways, well like infusions, cataplasms, dyes, et cetera

Next we detailed which are the different forms from application of the medicinal grass and how to prepare them.

EXTERNAL APPLICATIONS

Some grass is applied on the skin or the wounds in order that their volatile oils penetrate in weaves, stimulating them. These parts of the grass are washed and they are placed on the skin in a single layer. 15 or 20 minutes are left about, they retire and it repeats the operation with the more fresh plants.

BATHS

The curativos baths can be of trunk, seat, feet or water spurt.

In order to obtain the good result of the baths, it is necessary that the body, after the bath, between in heat.

In order to obtain this reaction the body has to have sufficient heat before the bath, that it will not be applied while is cold. In general, in] to morning, when rising, the body is enough hot to react well. Also the gymnastic exercises are useful or a stroll before the bath.

It is never necessary to confuse a more or less fast stroll with the practice of footing, which the people only must practice who have consulted with an expert on the convenience or not to practice it.

If after the bath the skin is not warmed up again and the patient feels cold, it is signal that the reaction has not taken place, in which case is necessary to make exercise or to lie down and to take shelter until the heat reaction takes place.

The more cold it is the smaller bath will be his duration, and the more extensive it is the corporal zone to bathe, the less fries will have to be the water. By this, the trunk bath, in which great part of the body is in the water, has to be a little lukewarm.

The cold shower, for example, in which the body is all along in contact with the enemy with the water, will last only a minute at the most, because it absorbs excessive heat.

After a food it is necessary to wait three hours before taking a bath. And later, it is not necessary to eat nothing until passed half an hour. When the atmosphere is cold, he is advisable to maintain the bathroom tempered.

The baths are curativos processes that exert a deep action in the corporal organs.

Generally, they activate the sanguineous circulation, helping in its task the heart. They increase globules red of the blood, to fight the anemia. They clear the lungs and the brain. They eliminate the substances detrimental for the skin and the kidneys. They moderate the fever, if there is it and very it is elevated.

The bath activates the circulation of the blood in the sexual system, increasing this way secretions internal of these organs, which leads to an increase of vitality.

COMPRESAS

The vegetal compresas exert he himself effect that 105 ointments, although have the advantage of the curativa action of the heat.

In order to prepare a compresa two handfuls of the grass are put about to apply in a boiled water cup. A fabric is soaked with I eliminate filtrate and after expressing the leftover of I eliminate is placed the fabric on the affected part of the body, well hot, covering with another piece of fabric (wool, if possible). The compresa when cooling off retires and this operation can repeat two or three times more.

If possible, the weave that takes part in the process must be properly sterilized.

DECOCCIONES

Grass or plants usually takes control of whose medicinal principles are not given off with facility.

In an enameled dipper a handful lies down of dry grass (or fresh according to the case) with, approximately, a water bowl, and it is boiled during three minutes, to moderate fire. Next it is strained and it been able to be sweetened with honey.

INFUSIONS

It is the way most current and simple to prepare a medicinal grass; normally, also the most used. For it a handful or puñadito of the dry grass (sometimes fresh) in a cup previously warmed up, and immediately afterwards full is put of boiling water. The cup is covered and it is left

in rest of five to ten minutes, so that the water absorbs the principles medicamentosos.

It can be sweetened with honey, in the right proportion, always preferable to the sugar.

SYRUPS

100 are spilled gr. of fresh or dry grass, according to the case, in a liter of water. A minute is boiled and I know leaves mixture it rests 2 or 3 days. Later it is expressed and one filters, adding cane sugar, at the rate of half kilo by liter of water.

The syrups are indicated against the ailments of bronchial or catarrhal character.

MIXTURES

In order to prepare the mixture or combination of grass, fixed rules exist. Naturally, to obtain a mixture of grass destined simultaneously to cure or to alleviate the ailments of diverse organs, or to obtain at least that the treatment of a disease does not affect another any part of the organism unfavorably, he is preferable to resort to the herbolarios.

Each formula of these mixtures includes specific the basic grass and for the treatment of the disease in question, plus or helping the stiffener ones, and sometimes a corrective one of the flavor of some of the component grass of the mixture.

DYES

A dye is an alcoholic solution that contains active principles of plants and grass. Is prepared generally by maceration or filtrate and usually is used in massages, frictions and other applications of external use.

TISANES

The plants and grass that contains a high content of mucílago and volatile oils prepare in cold water, putting the amount of dry grass prescribed by the naturópata, generally in a cold water cup and it is let rest twelve hours to the room temperature.

Later, it is warmed up slightly, filters and, if it is desired, it is sweetened with honey.

TONICS

The extracted fresh tonic plants serve like such and as curativos remedies. Normally, a guaranteed amount of fresh grass submerges or dry in must of grapes of good quality_, it is strained and it bottled, and a small glass is taken three times to the day, half an hour before the meals.

OINTMENTS

The active principles of the plants act on the skin, applied in ointment form, during periods of time rather prolonged, accelerating, for example, a healing or inhibiting the spills.

They are put to boil neutral petroleum jelly grass by the amounts that are determined. The mixture filters and, already fry, you keep the ointment in bottles from hermetic closing

VAPORS

The vapors are useful to cure resfriado or a respiratory cold. Also they are it in cases of sinusitis.

For its use an amount of grass in an enameled casserole is put (never metallic), with a little water, and after two minutes of boiling it retires of the fire. The face is applied on the steam that is come off the casserole in order to absorb it by the nasal graves and all pores, until it takes the sweat, abundant, almost unbearable.

This treatment must extend by space of ten minutes, with the head completely covered with a bath towel or frazada, in order to reduce the loss of steam. Later the head with cold water can be washed, being recommendable to lie down immediately afterwards, at least during half an hour.

JUICES

The fresh plants can be expressed, or by hand or mechanically.

The used method more consists of extracting the juice of the plant or fruit to use. These juices are very rich in mineral vitamins and salts, although they do not conserve length time reason why, if possible, they must be consumed at the time of preparing them.

In order to use it is necessary them to dilute to a spoonful of the juice in two or three of water, taking them three or four times to the day, in uninformed or half an hour before the meals.

MORPHOLOGY OF THE PLANTS

Meaning of the term

The morphology of the plants is the part of the Botany that studies the relations of the conformation of vegetables and Organografia or external morphology is divided naturally in, and Fitotomía, vegetal anatomy or internal morphology.

Organografía

The organic parts of the plants are the vegetative organs and those of the reproduction. In the vegetative body the progressive decision of the work by means of the presence of the opposition of the base of the apex (polarity) of the plant is documented, which leads to the differentiation of two fundamental organs: root and stem.

The root serves to hold the plant to the ground, and also to take or to absorb and to lead the water with the nutritious matters, as they are the mineral salts, by the interior of the vegetable. The roots can be typical, if the main root more is developed than the others, graft, if the secondary ones are developed more than the main one; tuberosas, when they are in fact organs of nutritional reserves, barbadillas, if underneath the ramification almost piliforme and dense, is fasciculadas when the ramification composes a beam of raicillas, and finally aerial, if they excel of the ground, as it happens in multitude of trees.

The stem is the carrier of the organs of the assimilation, that is the leaves, that follow one another to certain regularity in many plants, from the terminal yolk.

As much in the stem as in the leaves they can appear hairs and vellosidades, whose position are varied functions. The stems, as its name indicates, that's why its appearance is obvious,

ralmente like grey hairs, trees, rushes, reptantes, crawling, rizomas, thorns, et cetera.

There are reproductive organs that appear like esporangias and sexual organs, which, in this last case, are in the stem of direct or indirect way. The esporangios usually are in plants of superior order, almost always in the leaves (esporofiias), that more or less appear transformed into comparison with the purely vegetative leaves. The leaves are of green or greenish color, almost always, together with the stem by means of peciolo more or less long and heavy. In the limb to foliar are the lymphatic glasses, forming an accused ribbing enough in most of them.

The flowers, reproductive organs also, in the plants fanerógamas, as much in the angiospermaes as in gimnospermas, have their floral birth in the yolks or bellboys, not being, in general, but leaves modified that offer very showy and attractive colors. The flower is made up of floral verticilos, ready around an axis, and are: pedúnculo, chalice, corola, androceo and gineceo or ovary. One says that a flower is complete when it has all the enumerated elements, and incomplete on the contrary; there are flowers that only have pistilos or a androceo (pistiladas flowers), only estambres or gineceo (estaminadas flowers), or the two structures, and are the hermafroditas flowers. Also, according to the corola, the flowers are gamopétalas (with the united petals) or dialipétalas (with the separated petals). Because of the inflorescencia, the flowers, in addition, are classified like clusters, ears, umbelas, amentos, corimbos, umbelas composed, chapters or small heads, siconos and tops bíparas and escorpiodeas.

Vegetal anatomy

The vegetative body is formed by cells that, in the evolved plants more, are organized in a series of organic weaves. In the vegetative points there is a weave of formation, or meristemo, composed of homogenous parenquimatosas cells, which are able to divide themselves of continued form.

The epidérmico weave, by several classes, surrounds as a protective box to the vegetative body and at the same time facilitates the interchanges with environment.

Diverse definitions of the leaves according to the diverse types of ribbing: 1, capilodrorna, where the ribbing from the base goes to the apex, following, of equidistant way, the form of the edge; 2, rough, in which the ribbings are sunk with respect to the palm of the leaf; 3, retinervia, with the ribbings resembling to a network; 4, rectinervia, in which the ribbings are straight and parallel; 5, venous, with the ribbings primary and secondary leaving palama to foliar; 6, penninervia_, whose ribbings have the direction of the beards of a pen; 7, paralelinervia, with parallel ribbings; 8, palminervia, whose ribbings follow the form of the palm.

The skeletal weave lends to the plant its inner resistance to him, whereas the called weave of reserve is like a deposit of substances that are not needed at the moment.

The conductive weave, on the other hand, is the one in charge to transport the substances nutrients dissolved in the water, by all the parts of the plant. Also, assimilation weaves exist, in which the synthesis of carbon hydrates is verified.

The secretory weave, as well, is in charge of the expulsion of the end items of the desasimilación that do not participate directly in the construction of the vegetal body

Between the cells of all these weave systems spaces exist you drain that they constitute the aireador weave.

If we examined the morphology of a plant with certain halting, without considering the diverse classes of polinización, turns out interesting to observe the different reproductive forms from the plants, called forms vegetative. The same ones are:

by stake, by leaned piston rod, by mugón or layer and finally, by graft.

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