Dandelion Revolution

A native Minnesota variety of an astragalus relative.

Astragalus membranaceaus is a native to China and other areas of Asia and is a member of the Fabaceae (pea) family. It tastes sweet, starchy, slightly warm and moist. According to Lesley Tierra, astragalus has adaptogenic, diuretic, antiviral, cardiotonic, antioxidant and hepatoprotective properties. Astragalus has gotten a lot of press as an adapotgen and for helping people with cancer and rightfully so as it “…helps prevent immuosuppression caused by chemotherapy and has tumor-inhibiting activity”(Winston, 149). It is a personal favorite of mine for preventing and/or treating regular-old colds and related infections.

The Chinese name of this herb is huang qi, huang meaning yellow (the color of the root) and qi meaning leader, as it is considered a “leader” among the tonics in the Chinese pharmacopeia because it can be used by a wider range of people than other tonics like ginseng. Astragalus strengthens spleen qi to aid weak digestion, nausea and vomiting, bloating, assimilation and lack of appetite. It also bolsters wei qi (protective energy or immunity) and lung qi. Not surprisingly, astragalus has been adapted into Western herbalism because of its use in strengthening the immune system and aiding in defense of colds, flus and infections of the respiratory system.

Astragalus is usually sold in root slices or pieces. It is mostly prepared as a tea although it also comes n powdered and tinctured forms. To make astragalus tea at home, bring 4 cups of water to boil, add about 4 tablespoons of the root and simmer covered for 20 mins. Let cool slightly before pouring a cup or two and straining. It is quite palatable, and people don’t usually have a problem drinking 3 cups of it in a day. A little honey or a simmering a cinnamon stick along with the astragalus extenuates both the sweetness and the moistening quality.

I like to drink astragalus tea daily in the winter, often for a month or longer, when everyone around me is getting sick or when I feel on the verge of a getting a cold. Just recently my husband came down with a horrible cold. I knew I’d be next, so I loaded up on astragalus tea so when I got the cold myself it wasn’t that bad - just a runny nose without a cough or constricted chest. It also combines well with other immune enhancing herbs like shiitake, eleuthero, ginger and echincacea, and is safe for children, pregnant women and the elderly.

Oh, the many ways to make tea!

Cold infusions are steeping plant matter in non-boiled water. The water need not be cold in temperature to make a cold infusion, it can be anywhere from lukewarm from the tap to icy cold spring water.

Directions for making a cold infusion:

• To make 2 cups, put 3 heaping tablespoons of dried herb to a large tea strainer/infuser or muslin pouch.
• Add water to a pint jar, then suspend the herb in the pouch or infuser in the water.
• Let sit overnight. squeeze or press the marc (the herb in the infuser or bag) into the tea to strain.
• Drink and enjoy!

Marshmallow root

Muslin bag and medium-mesh strainer

Marshmallow root cold-infusing

Why do we make cold infusions, you may wonder. If hot water aids in extracting the medicinal qualities from herbs, then wouldn’t steeping herbs in cold or room temperature water hinder the extraction of important chemical constituents? Not necessarily. Richo Cech explains;

“Some herbs, like marshmallow and blessed thistle, lend their active principles better to cold water than to hot. This is usually due to the presence of mucilage or bitter principles that are denatured, to a certain extent, by boiling water” (68).

Here is a list from James Green of herbs that can be extracted well in a cold infusion (110). You may notice they all have either bitter properties or are mucilaginous:

• Burdock root
• Chamomile
• Cleavers
• Comfrey root
• Crampbark
• Marshmallow
• Mugwort
• Nettle
• Peppermint
• Uva Ursi
• Slippery elm
• Blessed thistle (Cech, 68)

There are a few surprises for me on this list. I have never thought to cold infuse cleavers, crampbark or uva ursi, but now that I think of it these are all bitter and cooling. The herbs that I cold infuse the most are marshmallow, chamomile, and comfrey. Before I knew about cold infusing I prepared marshmallow as a regular decoction (it’s a root, so it should be decocted, right?) every time I made it. After hearing that marshmallow should be cold infused, I tried it and noticed a significant difference. The room temperature finished product was much smoother and mucilaginous, making it even more adept to aid the digestive tract or dry throat and respiratory system. I also think it tasted a bit sweeter.

A note about slippery elm while I’m at it: this is an herb that I use mostly as powdered. Mix slippery elm powder into a finished tea to add a moistening and soothing quality. This kind of qualifies as a cold infusion, except you don’t strain the powdered herb out of the finished product, it is mixed in (best mixed by transferring the tea to a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shaking it well). I don’t measure, rather I start with a half teaspoon and work my way up to a tablespoon if I am particularly dry. The longer you leave the slippery elm in your tea, the thicker and more mucilaginous it becomes. When I am going into the hospital with a doula client, I always add an extra-large pinch or two of slippery elm to a quart of marshmallow tea to counteract the extreme dryness of the institutional forced air heating, and I bring a little jar of honey, bee pollen and slippery elm paste to suck on for a dry throat and lungs. Works like a charm every time. Read more about slippery elm and other herbs for dry environments at The Medicine Woman’s Roots.

Referances:

Cech, Richo. Making Plant Medicine.

Green, James. The Herbal Medicine-Maker’s Handbook.

Burdock flower, though the root is used for decoctions

Decoctions are simply simmering herbs to make a tea, rather than pouring water over plant matter. Decotions take a bit more time to make then infusions, but medicinal herbal teas of all sorts still remain the easiest way to take herbs; all that is required is steeping herbs in water, straining and drinking.

In my experience, most people project (and naturally so) a plethora of questions and details into the long-standing herbal tradition of making tea and end up feeling confused. I certainly did when I started out making teas. How long do I steep it? How much water or herbs are used? What’s the difference between using fresh or dried herbs? How do I strain it? How much tea should I make and drink? Hoe long before the tea goes bad?

I rarely measure the dried herbs (my personal preference) or the water, nor do I time my how long the herbs simmer. I just throw it all together, rarely if ever does the tea not turn out the way I want it. However, I wasn’t like this at first. I measured carefully and set a timer. Eventually, like learning how to cook, you learn to rely on your instincts. So don’t be afraid to be creative, and don’t think you need to have all the details sorted out before you engage with tea making.

The parts of herbs best used in a decoction are the harder portions of the plants; seeds, fruits, barks, roots, ect… Simmering these portions ensure that the medicinal properties are properly extracted, since the whole reason these parts are hard in the first place is to provide storage (fruits, tubers), structure (piths and barks) and protection (seeds).

Directions for making 4 cups of a decoction:

• Place 5 cups of water in a sauce pan with a lid, turn on heat.
• Add 3-4 rounded tablespoons of dried herbs to water (double for fresh).
• Bring to a light boil then reduce to a low simmer for 20 minuets, covered.
• Turn off heat and allow to cool on stove before straining and drinking.
• Drink within 24 hours, refrigerate after 12 hours.

When it comes to deciding how much tea to drink, that may vary. Are you trying to have an effect on a chronic, long-standing condition, or taking a nutritive tonic? Drink a quart daily, six days a week. Are you using low-dose or strong botanicals like goldenseal, lobelia, wild indigo, blue flag or poke? Sip from an eight ounce cup through the day, as needed. In these cases, I don’t bother making teas as I prefer the lengthy storage properties of alcoholic tinctures.

Here are two of my favorite decoctions…

Immune Booster Root Tea

• 1 part Echinacea purpurea root
• 2 part Eleuthero root
• 2 part Astragalus root slices
• 1 part Shitaake mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 part Ginger
• 1/4 part Cinnamon
• 1/2 part Rose hips
• 1 part Elder berries

Mix together, measuring parts by weight. Prepare as a decoction, and drink 4 cups through the day through cold and flu season, or any time your immune system needs a boost. This tea is rich tasting and slightly fruity and spicy. Safe for pregnant or nursing mothers.

A Basic Liver Tea

• 2 parts burdock
• 2 parts dandelion
• 2 parts yellow dock
• 2 parts sassafras
• 1 part Oregon grape root
• 1 part licorice
• 1/2 part cinnamon
• 1/2 part ginger
• 1/2 part fennel seeds
• 1/2 part orange peel

Combine the herbs, using weights as parts. Prepare as a decoction. This tea is a good tea to start with for a liver-based formulas. For example, one could add chaste tree (vitex), mitchella, black cohosh and/or wild yam for action on the endocrine system. Another possibility is adding medicinal mushrooms like reshi or shitake, echinacea, Panax genus members (Asian or American ginseng, eleuthero, spikenard) to help the immune system or serve as adpatogens.

The first five roots are interchangeable in some ways but have their distinct actions, so pick which ones that could serve you the best. The last four herbs (five plus licorice) are for digestion but more so for improving the flavor. Sarsparilla, birch, chai spices (black pepper, clove, anise, cardamom), fruits like rose hips, elderberries and hawthorn berries, and marshmallow can also round out the taste while adding medicinal actions on their own right.

Wild geranium or cranesbill root is used as an astringent

The root of butterfly weed is used in lung formulas