We are all born with the same organ systems that share fundamental functions in common. However, we are also uniquely individual, and our bodies have unique ways of expressing our bioindividuality and genetic predispositions. Even when we are in a state of general wellness, our body systems have their own quirks and ways of letting us know about its state of balance (or imbalance). Some people experience sinus infections once a year, while others may never catch colds, but find that their eczema is worse in the fall and winter.

In this and the next two exercises that follow, you will investigate the ways that your body systems communicate to you, based on what you’ve learned in the lesson. In addition to naming your unique symptoms (no more than three per body system), pay attention to any triggers associated with them, however minor you may experience them. For example, you may notice that you normally catch a cold after winter holidays have ended or your seasonal allergy symptoms feel worse after arguing with your partner. An example entry is included in the table below.

Also, notice the actual physical phenomena that take place in your body when a system feels “off.” For example, if you know that you are allergic to cats, think beyond the idea of “cat allergy” to describe what that looks like in your body. Do you sneeze uncontrollably? Do your eyes become red and teary? Do you feel itchiness anywhere in your body?

As you learn more about herbalism, it will be important to be able to identify and describe phenomena as clearly and accurately as possible—these are the foundation of specific indications used by herbalists from historical times to the present to identify appropriate herbs for a particular imbalance or symptom.

Remember that you are uniquely yourself—however an imbalance is labeled, it may still manifest quite differently in someone else!

EXPLORING YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM SYMPTOMS

In Chinese medicine, astragalus is a classic immunomodulant. It is nourishing and sweet, and like all adaptogens can be taken long-term as a tonic. In fact, astragalus is often cooked into rice or taken as food in soups and broths all winter long to ward off illness.

Actions: Adaptogen, antioxidant, antiviral, cardiotonic, hepatic, hypotensive, immunomodulator, kidney tonic

Energetics: Slightly warming and moistening

Use: Astragalus is perhaps the most well-known of the immunomodulant herbs, and with good reason; it has been used for thousands of years in Chinese medicine to strengthen and restore vitality, and is now frequently used in Western herbalism to support both innate and acquired immunity and to boost deficient white and red blood cell counts. It’s an excellent choice for promoting overall resistance, rebuilding reserves during convalescence, and supporting a depleted individual with low immune function; it can also help shift from immune hyperreactivity to a more normalized response, making it useful in long-term management of allergies and other reactive inflammatory conditions (Mao et al., 2004; Matkovic et al., 2010).

Astragalus also has a protective effect on the liver, and this quality makes it useful as a support during some types of drug therapy to help minimize side effects.

It’s often used alongside chemotherapy drugs, particularly in modern Chinese protocols, and multiple trials have shown that use of astragalus-based herbal formulas can increase the effectiveness of some types of chemotherapy while reducing their side effects (Wang et al., 2016).

In Chinese medicine, astragalus is considered a tonifying herb for both the qi and the Blood; in this system, tonic herbs are not used during acute illnesses such as colds and the flu. Some Western herbal practitioners also consider astragalus contraindicated during acute illness, while others specifically suggest it as an immune support during viral infection (Mills & Bone, 2005).

Safety: Astragalus may increase the effects of corticosteroids and cyclophosphamide in individuals with autoimmune disease (Gardner & McGuffin, 2013).

Dose: Decoction: 9-30 g dried root/day divided into 1-3 doses (Mills & Bone, 2005); Tincture: 4-8 mL (1:5, 40%) 3x/day (Hoffmann, 2003).

Shiitake is a mushroom native to China, Japan, and other parts of Asia that typically grows on broadleaf trees, including the shii tree, from which the mushroom takes its common name. It is among the most well-known of the mushrooms used in herbalism and is particularly well-suited for use as a therapeutic food—it has a long culinary history and a rich, earthy taste.

Actions: Antiviral, hepatic, hypocholesterolemic, immunomodulant

Energetics: Neutral to warming and slightly moistening

Use: Like other mushrooms used in herbalism, shiitake contains polysaccharides that stimulate immune function, notably T-cell activity. Compounds in shiitake also support the function of the innate immune response by stimulating white blood production and activity of natural killer cells (Stamets, 2002).

Several clinical trials have examined the therapeutic use of shiitake; one trial found that simply consuming 5-10 grams of dried shiitake mushrooms daily for 4 weeks increased levels of natural killer and T-cells, both important immune responders, and caused a decrease in markers of inflammation (Dai et al., 2015).

Shiitake mushrooms are both tasty and nutrient-rich, containing vitamins B2 and C, minerals such as potassium, calcium, and magnesium, essential amino acids, and, if grown in sunlight, vitamin D2 (Smith et al., 2002); they can easily be used fresh or dry in food-based preparations, including soup stocks and stir fries. Preparing high-quality tinctures of shiitake or other mushrooms is more complex than a simple maceration-extraction, and requires a two-phase extraction method that combines a water-based decoction with an alcohol-based extract.

Safety: Shiitake is food-like and generally well-tolerated, although large amounts may cause gastrointestinal disturbance in sensitive individuals. If you have autoimmune disease or are taking immunosuppressant drugs, therapeutic doses of shiitake are best used under the guidance of an experienced practitioner; culinary use is generally considered safe (Gardner & McGuffin, 2013).

Dose: Decoction (as tea or broth): 6-16 g dry mushroom daily, simmered for at least 1 hour (Hobbs, 1998).

Often called the herb of immortality, reishi comes to Western herbalism from the Chinese materia medica, where its name, ling zhi, translates as “spirit plant.” The species commonly used in China, Ganoderma lucidum, is less commonly found in the United States than G. tsugae; many herbalists find these two species can be used interchangeably. In addition to wildcrafting, reishi can be cultivated at home from commercially available plugs or spores.

Actions: Adaptogen, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, cardioprotective, hepatic, hypolipidemic, hypotensive, immunomodulant, kidney tonic, nervine

Energetics: Drying and neutral to warming

Use: As an immunomodulant, reishi can boost immunity when it is depressed, and can also help rebalance immune overactivity. Reishi is particularly useful when there is hypersensitivity with lung deficiency, as in allergic asthma, and is commonly used in Chinese medicine during chemotherapy to help restore deficient immune function (Winston & Maimes, 2007).

Reishi has a strong hepatoprotective effect, and in one study was shown to reverse signs of mild fatty liver disease (Chiu et al., 2017). It has a history of use as a cardioprotective and may help lower high cholesterol levels and protect against atherosclerosis, although this has yet to be demonstrated in clinical trials (Klupp et al., 2015).

Extra care is required when preparing reishi as a decoction or tincture; decoctions should be allowed to simmer for a minimum of 1 hour, and can benefit from a much longer extraction, up to 24 hours. (A slow cooker can be an excellent tool here!) There are some extra steps required when making a mushroom tincture, so if you’re planning to make your own, take time to do a little research on the best methods first—that way you can be sure you’ll get the most benefit out of your extract!

Safety: Reishi should be used with caution in individuals taking immunosuppressant, anticoagulant, or antiplatelet medications and should be avoided by individuals with mushroom allergies (Gardner & McGuffin, 2013).

Dose: Decoction: 3-12 g dried mushroom/day divided into 1-3 doses; Tincture: 4-8 mL (1:5, 30%) 3x/day (Kuhn & Winston, 2008).

The root of this native North American perennial is one of the most commonly used herbs, which is one reason it’s listed as an at-risk plant, so be sure to purchase only sustainably cultivated echinacea, or grow your own! Echinacea is a prairie flower that prefers full sun; it is drought-tolerant, easy to grow from root divisions or starts, and attracts butterflies and other pollinators.

Actions: Alterative, antimicrobial, immunomodulant, immune stimulant, lymphatic, sialagogue

Energetics: Cooling

Use: Echinacea is primarily an immunostimulant, but it can also have a role in addressing allergies and autoimmunity. It is frequently used at the onset of infections—especially upper respiratory infections with swollen glands—for colds, the flu, and sinus, throat, and lung infections; it can also be used to help resolve infected wounds and improve lymphatic function (Awang, 1999).

In contemporary herbalism, echinacea is often recommended for short-term use. If you’re trying to stave off upper respiratory infection, any herb, including echinacea, should be used as soon as possible after the onset of symptoms—but that doesn’t mean echinacea is contraindicated after the first day or two of illness. In vitro research looking at the effect of echinacea in cells infected with rhinovirus, the microbe that causes the common cold, found that echinacea upregulates the activity of healthy cells, while simultaneously reducing the inflammatory activity of infected cells (Sharma et al., 2006). Thus, while echinacea does stimulate the immune system, it can also have overall anti-inflammatory activity during infection; this is one mechanism for its anti-inflammatory and vulnerary actions, and suggests that it can be appropriate to use echinacea throughout the course of active illness and infection.

If your tongue starts to tingle after taking an echinacea tincture—congratulations! This means your tincture is potent and contains all the right compounds. If you’re troubled by the temporary tingle, try diluting it with extra water.

Safety: Individuals with allergic sensitivity to other plants in the Asteraceae (daisy) family may be sensitive to echinacea. There is a theoretical concern with the use of echinacea in systemic diseases such as tuberculosis, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and autoimmune diseases, but definitive data supporting or refuting this theoretical concern is lacking (Gardner & McGuffin, 2013).

Dose: Tincture: 1-4 mL (1:5, 40%) 3x/day (Hoffmann, 2003); for acute situations, 30 drops every hour (Buhner, 2012).

There are a number of different types of elder, but only some of them are used in herbalism. Luckily, it’s not hard to tell them apart if you’re harvesting the fruit: all of the elders with dark berries (blue, purple, or black) are varieties of black elderberry; red elderberry, from Sambucus racemosa, is mildly toxic and generally not used.

Actions: Berry: Anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiviral, immune stimulant; Flower: Alterative, anticatarrhal, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, diaphoretic, diuretic, nervine

Energetics: Cooling (berry); Cooling and drying (flower)

Use: The dark berries of the elder tree have a range of anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and antioxidant properties that support the immune system; elder is particularly useful during colds, the flu, and other respiratory ailments. Elderberry extract has antiviral properties, and helps cell membranes inhibit cold and flu viruses from attaching; it also boosts innate immune function, so it’s a great choice to help you stay healthy and stave off infection during cold and flu season (Hoffmann, 2003).

If you do come down with an infection, both elderberry and elderflower are useful to ease the discomforts of colds, the flu, and sinus infections. The elder berry is generally used for its immune stimulant and antiviral properties; elder flower is diaphoretic and relaxing, which makes it particularly appropriate in managing fever with restlessness. Elderflower also helps to ease mucous membrane inflammation and sinus congestion.

Safety: Elder bark, leaves, roots, seeds, and unripe berries are considered toxic (they may cause nausea, diarrhea, and depression of the central nervous system) due to the presence of cyanide-producing glycosides (American Botanical Council, 2004). Fresh elderberries also contain cyanogenic glycosides; however, the ripe fresh berries are considered safe unless consumed in high quantities or by someone sensitive to the compounds in the plant (Buhner, 2013). Cooking or drying elderberries reduces the cyanogenic glycoside content (Gardner & McGuffin, 2013).

Dose: Decoction (berry): 10 g dried berry several times/day (American Botanical Council, 2004); Tincture (berry): 4-6 mL (1:2, 25%) 4-6x/day (Kuhn & Winston, 2008); Infusion (flower): 9-15 g dried flower/day divided into 3 doses; Tincture (flower): 2-4 mL (1:5, 40%) 3x/day (Hoffmann, 2003).

Garlic is beloved by herbalists and cooks alike for its strong flavor and long history of use as a culinary herb, immune booster, and heart-helper. Garlic can be grown in almost any climate and acts as a beneficial companion in the garden—some of the same compounds that promote cardiovascular health act as natural insect deterrents and fungicides for other plants growing nearby.

Actions: Anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, cholagogue, diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant, hypolipidemic, hypotensive

Energetics: Warming

Use: Garlic is strongly antimicrobial, with an affinity for the digestive and respiratory systems. It may act directly against pathogenic organisms in the gut, and active volatile oils are excreted through the lungs and the skin—as you (or your friends) may have noticed, if you’re a garlic lover! While this helps counteract infection, it also causes a notable body aroma that makes some people averse to using garlic therapeutically. Encapsulated aged garlic extract causes less odor on the breath and skin, and appears to improve overall immune function (Percival, 2016), although it is unlikely to have the same direct antimicrobial activity.

In addition to its direct action on pathogens, garlic can also ease some of the discomforts of a cold through its anti-inflammatory action, as well as shorten the duration of infection by stimulating the immune system, thinning mucus, and, by acting as a diaphoretic, helping to resolve fever.

To retain garlic’s beneficial properties it should not be heated at a high temperature or for too long. Spread on toast or add to tea towards the end of steeping time and add plenty of sweetener and lemon!

Safety: Not surprisingly, the most commonly reported side effect from garlic use is halitosis. Gastric upset and reflux can occur in sensitive individuals. Those with gastrointestinal sensitivities or ulcers may find that garlic aggravates their condition. Use only culinary amounts if taking blood thinners and during pregnancy, in the postpartum period, and during lactation. Avoid 2 weeks before and after surgical procedures (Mills & Bone, 2005).

Dose: A clove of garlic can be eaten daily for general support or 1 clove of garlic can be taken 3x/day during acute infections (Hoffmann, 2003).

Spilanthes is a small, short-lived annual native to South America. It’s often grown as an ornamental—you may have seen it sold as “button-flower”—and makes an easy garden addition in most climates, though it is not frost hardy. Spilanthes grows quite quickly; the flowers can be harvested successively throughout the growing season before harvesting the whole plant, root to blossom, in late summer.

Actions: Analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, immune stimulant, sialagogue

Energetics: Cooling and moistening

Use: Spilanthes contains some of the same compounds found in echinacea, including the alkylamides that give both plants a tongue-tingling, locally numbing effect; this is much more pronounced in spilanthes, which is often used as an herb for toothache—spilanthes has a fairly strong local anesthetic effect and can be used to temporarily numb the mouth. It also has a systemic analgesic effect and may help alleviate trigeminal nerve pain (Prachayasittikul et al., 2013).

Spilanthes is also similar to echinacea in its antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and immune-stimulating properties; it hasn’t yet been subject to the same level of clinical research as echinacea, but spilanthes has been used in traditional herbalism for upper respiratory infection, infectious skin disease, and snake bite. It can be particularly useful when infection is accompanied by swollen lymph nodes near the jaw.

In contemporary Western herbalism, spilanthes is best known as an herb that promotes oral health; in addition to temporarily numbing pain, it can be used as an antimicrobial to help stave off or resolve tooth and gum infection, help prevent tartar accumulation, and moisten a dry mouth and dry socket conditions. Spilanthes also has some antifungal activity, which can make it useful in addressing oral thrush. It can also be used topically to resolve fungus on other parts of the body, such as the feet and toes.

Safety: There is limited safety data for spilanthes, and it is generally considered safe. Because of its strong dispersive nature, spilanthes should be used with caution during pregnancy. Chewing the plant or holding tincture in the mouth will cause oral numbness and increase salivation, which can lead to perceived difficulty swallowing; although the actual ability to swallow is not affected, this can be a distressing sensation if it’s unexpected.

Dose: Fresh flower heads or leaves can be chewed as needed for oral pain; Tincture: 5 drops to 1 mL (fresh plant: 1:2, 95%; dried plant: 1:5, 50%) 3x/day (Easley & Horne, 2016).

Andrographis is a long-season annual—it can take 160 days to mature—native to China and India. The aerial parts can be harvested before the plant reaches maturity, so andrographis can also be grown in temperate climates (Cech, 2009). Also known as “the king of bitters,” andrographis has long been used in Ayurveda, in which it is known as bhunimba (“neem of the earth”) because of its similarity in taste and action to neem (Azadirachta indica) (Pole, 2012).

Actions: Anthelmintic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiplatelet, antipyretic, bitter, choleretic, febrifuge, hepatic, immune stimulant

Energetics: Cooling

Use: As a bitter and immune stimulant, andrographis supports both antigen-specific and non-specific immune responses by affecting the stimulation and proliferation of immune cells and substances (Braun & Cohen, 2010). As an antioxidant, andrographis protects the body from the damaging effects of free radicals. The herb is also hepatic, shielding the liver from the damaging effects of toxins (Bone & Mills, 2013).

Studies have shown andrographis’ effectiveness in easing symptoms of upper respiratory tract infections, as well as preventing recurrence of infection when used alone and in conjunction with other herbs (e.g., Eleutherococcus senticosus) (Amaryan et al., 2003; Gabrielian et al., 2002; Saxena et al., 2010). Rhinitis, sinus pain, headache, and fatigue are some of the symptoms eased with the use of andrographis (Braun & Cohen, 2010).

While it is possible to take andrographis in tea form, it is extremely bitter and most individuals will prefer it as a tincture.

Safety: Andrographis should not be taken during pregnancy (Gardner & McGuffin, 2013).

Dose: Infusion: 1.5-5 g dried aerial parts/day divided into 1-4 doses; Tincture: 1-3 mL (1:5, 30%) 3x/day (Kuhn & Winston, 2008).