Horsetail (Equisetum arvense)

Horsetail is an ancient “seed-free” vascular plant distinguished in part by the regular alternation of whorled appendages at successive nodes and highly reduced leaves. While there are many beneficial medicinal effects related to Horsetail (see the review below), it is its ability to improve the hair, skin and nails that makes this plant in the herbal medicine world famous.

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Turmeric (Curcuma longa)

Both Eastern and Westernern medicine hold the medicinal properties of turmeric in high regard, and recent scientific studies have revealed a wide range of pharmacological and clinical activities. Turmeric possesses a unique combination of properties such as its antioxidant, digestive, anti-inflammatory, antiplatelet, cholesterol-lowering and potential anti-cancer effects which all contribute to making turmeric an important herb for the prevention and treatment of many diseases.

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Perilla

Perilla is a genus a herb that is a member of the mint family, Lamiaceae. Perilla lives and grows in mild climates throughout the world although it is mainly grown in India and East Asia. In North America, Perilla is increasingly commonly called by its Japanese name, shiso, and in Nepal and parts of India, it is called silam. The leaves of Perilla resemble stinging nettle leaves, and it’s essential oils produce a strong taste that is comparable to mint or fennel. It is considered rich in minerals and vitamins, and has very important anti-inflammatory properties and immune modulatory actions which are thought to help preserve and sterilize foods.

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Bupleurum

Bupleurum (Bupleurum falcatum, Bupleurum fruticescens) has been widely used for over 2,000 years in Asia and is today used n Australia, Japan and China mainly to treat hepatitis, cirrhosis, and other inflammatory and neurological conditions associated with stress. Traditional uses include treatment for deafness, dizziness, diabetes, wounds and vomiting. The root of Bupleurum is an important ingredient in xiao-chai-hu-tan/sho-saiko-to (also known as Minor Bupleurum Decoction), a combination of nine herbs, including ginseng, ginger, and licorice, which is used in traditional Chinese and Japanese herbal medicine for hepatitis and cirrhosis.

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Bailcal Skullcap (Skullcap)

Used more extensively in Asia than in the Americas or Europe, Skullcap (Scutellaria baicalensis) contains active flavonoids, chemicals that have a wide range of effects in the body. The flavonoids in Skullcap are known to counteract inflammation, which is the body's response to irritation, injury, or infection. Inflammation usually includes pain, redness, and swelling in the area of the damage and it can occur within body tissues as well as on the surface of the skin. Thus most of the therapeutic actions of Skullcap are because of the reduction of inflammation it causes.

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Schizandra

Schizandra (Botanical Name: Schisandra Chinensis) is a woody vine with clusters of red berries that is found in northern and northeastern China and adjacent regions in Russia and Korea. It is also native to East Asia and its dried fruit is used medicinally. The berries of Schizandra chinensis are given the name wu wei zi in Chinese (五味子; pinyin: wǔ wèi zi), which translates as "five flavour fruit", due to the fact that they possess all five basic flavours in Chinese herbal medicine: salty, sweet, sour, pungent (spicy), and bitter.

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Hawthorn

Hawthorn (Latin: Crataegus species) is a common, thorny shrub that grows up to five feet on hillsides and in sunny wooded areas of North America, Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Hawthorn plant produces small berries, called haws (hence the name ‘Hawthorn’), which sprout each May after the flowers of the Hawthorn plant bloom. Hawthorn berries are usually red when ripe, but may be much darker, which indicates higher levels of the main active and health promoting ingredients (the bioflavones).

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Siberian Ginseng

There are two main types of Ginseng, Asian Ginseng (Panax Ginseng) which is native to the Northern China and South Korea areas, and North American Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius). Other types of Ginseng include Korean red Ginseng, and Siberian Ginseng (Eleutheroccocus senticosus) named after its natural habitat in Siberia. It thrives in the cold climate and its general habitat includes coniferous mountain forests and foots of cliffs. The Siberian variety of Ginseng is technically not a kind of Ginseng at all; but it produces similar physiological effects in the body. Thus it is in reality is a ‘pseudo’ Ginseng.

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Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba)

The extracts of the leaves of Ginkgo biloba have been used in traditional Chinese medicine for about 5000 years for various health disorders including memory and concentration problems, confusion, depression, anxiety, dizziness, tinnitus, and headache.
The mechanisms of action of Ginkgo biloba are thought to work by increasing blood supply and dilating blood vessels which reduces blood thickness, modifies neurotransmitter systems in the brain, and reduces free radicals.

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Guarana (Paullinia cupana)

The Guarana plant is a woody climber that can reach 10 metres in height, although usually it adopts a shrubby habit, growing to a maximum 2 to 3 metres in height.
Cultivation of Guarana, dates back to pre-Columbian times to the Indian people, who were the first inhabitants of the Amazon. Botanists believe that plants found today are the remains of this cultivation, and currently grown by the indigenous Maués and Andira tribes from the 'lower Amazon'.

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Gotu Kola

Gotu Kola(also known as Centella asiatica and Hydrocotyle asiatica) is a perennial, herbaceous creeper with kidney-shaped leaves, found in India, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, South Africa, Australia, China, and Japan. Gotu Kola prefers to grow in shady, moist, or marshy areas. Interestingly, Gotu Kola has a long history of use in both Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine for conditions such as poor circulation.

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