You're thinking of the vinca alkaloids, a category of antineoplastics (cancer chemo drugs). The 3 vincas are vinblastine, vincristine, and vinorelbine. They are useful for Hodgkins disease, non-Hodgkins lymphoma, breast cancer, testicular cancer, and non-small-cell lung cancer.
2006-08-16 19:25:42
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answer #1
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answered by mattseviernd 3
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Perhaps the most important herb was sweetfern, the great “immune strengthener” used by the American Indian people. It strengthens the peripheral lymphatics, the interior lymph/immune system, all the way down to the bone marrow. It acts less on the kidneys—as would sumac or royal fern.
The major immune strengthening herb that comes to us from traditional Chinese herbalism is astragalus (Astragalus chinensis). This, just like the proceeding herbs, is used for “kidney yang deficiency,” or inability to retain filtered urine, with copious, light urine, frequent trips to the bathroom at night, and weak lower back and kidneys. By stimulating the kidneys it stimulates the bone marrow and that causes it to have the same, or similar effects to sumac, royal fern, and sweetfern. I might add that knowing many remedies for one condition is better than knowing only a few, because each constitution is different, and one remedy will do for one person, where it will not do for another. Astragalus is often used with red ginseng in China, because that is a “yang tonic.”
In China astragalus is used in the fall—as a tea—by people who need to work outside during the winter. It braces the kidneys, improves the function of the marrow, and builds “immunity,” as we call it today. In the same way, the Indian people used—or sometimes still use—sumac and comptonia in the fall to strengthen immunity.
The final remedy we should mention for the bone marrow aspect of immunity is not the least—bone marrow stew. The use of stew bones is an old folk-remedy for strengthening the blood, immunity, and bones, that should not be forgotten or laughed off by modern people who think that cure only comes in a capsule. My friends, “wise women” herbalists out east, consider it essential for deep nutrition of the body.
The peripheral lymphatics
In addition to strengthening the kidneys and the bone marrow, we need to decongest the lymphatics all the way out to the periphery. Wherever there are swollen glands, left over from an old infection or lymphatic trauma, the lymph/immune system is compromised. For this we need to rely upon a series of remedies known and used by the peasants of Europe: Calendula and wild carrot.
Calendula flowers through the months (or “calends”) from May to November, if we are lucky. The peasants picked the flowers all summer long, into the fall, dried them and saved them for the winter, when they threw them into soups and stews, the better to protect themselves against fevers, colds, and flus. From what I know of the action of calendula, it does not under any circumstances act on the kidneys or the marrow. Rather, it cleanses old infections and swellings out of the peripheral lymphatic ducts under the skin (and around the small intestines, probably). It thus improves immunity by freeing us from old immune-suppression. When calendula is needed, the tongue is usually flabby and pale, with pale spots around the periphery, indicating peripheral lymphatic stagnation.
The second remedy used to flush out the peripheral lymphatic circulation is wild carrot seed, also known as Queen Anne’s lace. We pick the green seed and tincture it fresh to make the best, and use it in small doses. This remedy has an influence stimulating the endocrine system. (It cannot be used during pregnancy, as it is an active abortifacient). It is particularly indicated in women (sometimes men) with low thyroid and weight gain due to water weight, where the peripheral lymphatics are not picking up the fluids enough. The thyroid stimulates some lymphatic activity and this is how Queen Anne’s lace works.
Calendula and wild carrot may be assisted by a third medicine plant, red root or New Jersey tea (Ceanothus americanum). This plant also works on lymphatic stagnation, or free secretion (loss of fluids) like Comptonia. Calendula is also important because it strengthens the thymus, or the “brain of the immune system,” centered in the chest. When the thymus is suppressed there is generalized, non-specific depression (because the thymus is close to the heart), generalized dampness, and stagnation in the waters. For this, combine calendula and dandelion root.
Echinacea
The most famous immune stimulant of all is echinacea, and this can be used to assist all the others and make them work better. However, if it is over-used it actually weakens the immune system; excessive reliance on it (like every time you have a cold) tends not to cure the immune system but to put off the day of reckoning. Echinacea is a stimulant (tingling), and therefore it can only be used for short periods of time because it will over-stimulate. What it does is stimulate the production of white blood cells. However, over-stimulation will simply wear this mechanism out and the body will become exhausted and suffer from low immunity. So only use echinacea for short bouts—one to two weeks—with at least a week off before using again.
2006-08-15 03:32:49
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answer #2
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answered by leathersammie 4
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