6 – Plantain’s Medicinal Properties

Nicole Rose: 00:00:00

Welcome to the Frontline Herbalism podcast with your host

Nicole Rose: 00:00:03

Nicole Rose from the Solidarity Apothecary . This is your place for

Nicole Rose: 00:00:06

all things plants and liberation.

Nicole Rose: 00:00:09

Let's get started everyone.

Nicole Rose: 00:00:11

Thank you for coming back to the podcast.

Nicole Rose: 00:00:13

I had a fantasy of maybe recording something while I was in Calais

Nicole Rose: 00:00:18

but as ever failed because it is just so hectic there.

Nicole Rose: 00:00:23

Spent a week there with our Mobile Herbal Clinic, which is the new name

Nicole Rose: 00:00:27

for Herbalists without Borders Calais.

Nicole Rose: 00:00:28

Gonna be doing a bit of a launch, kind of rebrand thing that we'll talk about soon.

Nicole Rose: 00:00:33

So I'll wait till then.

Nicole Rose: 00:00:35

But we had, yeah, quite a long week.

Nicole Rose: 00:00:37

We saw 560 odd people.

Nicole Rose: 00:00:41

In Calais and Dunkirk

Nicole Rose: 00:00:41

. There was like a big eviction in

Nicole Rose: 00:00:44

cops kind of like overturned all the grass with the tractor, which was

Nicole Rose: 00:00:48

where we were doing our clinic and where other groups and projects and

Nicole Rose: 00:00:53

agencies and stuff like give things out.

Nicole Rose: 00:00:55

. Yeah.

Nicole Rose: 00:00:56

It's just all part of this kind of like hostile environment attitude to make it as

Nicole Rose: 00:01:00

difficult as possible to support people.

Nicole Rose: 00:01:03

Yeah, we saw lots of kind of, you know, like similar things that we

Nicole Rose: 00:01:07

see, like huge amounts of coughs and colds, digestive issues.

Nicole Rose: 00:01:11

Some very, very, very badly infected winds.

Nicole Rose: 00:01:14

Had to take someone to hospital cause he couldn't walk.

Nicole Rose: 00:01:17

Cause his leg was so infected and he kind of urgently needed antibiotics.

Nicole Rose: 00:01:21

So, yeah, a very busy week, but a really, a really great team and just been kind

Nicole Rose: 00:01:26

of grounding, getting back to things now.

Nicole Rose: 00:01:28

Yeah, so this show is gonna all be about plantain, which is one of the

Nicole Rose: 00:01:33

herbs in the prisoners' herbal book.

Nicole Rose: 00:01:35

This is the book with 10 profiles of different medicinal plants that you can

Nicole Rose: 00:01:39

find kind of commonly in prison courtyards that I worked with when I was inside.

Nicole Rose: 00:01:45

And yeah, it's like, I know, I know I'm gonna say it and I know

Nicole Rose: 00:01:48

it's in the beginning of the next slot, but it is literally, again,

Nicole Rose: 00:01:51

another, like all time favorite herb.

Nicole Rose: 00:01:53

I really see plantain as this kind of like wound healer and I really

Nicole Rose: 00:01:56

see it as an ally for people doing like heavy, heavy work in the world.

Nicole Rose: 00:02:03

And yeah, it's kind of, yeah, used to getting like,

Nicole Rose: 00:02:08

you know, stood on, but yeah.

Nicole Rose: 00:02:11

Thrives and it, you know, it keeps going and it still provides

Nicole Rose: 00:02:14

medicine despite its conditions.

Nicole Rose: 00:02:16

So, the other exciting thing that happened at the beginning of the month was the

Nicole Rose: 00:02:21

launch of the prisoners herbal in Spanish in, And I'm gonna like butcher

Nicole Rose: 00:02:26

this next section when I talk about the book, cuz my translation is terrible.

Nicole Rose: 00:02:30

I did do GCSE Spanish when I was a kid, but.

Nicole Rose: 00:02:33

Yeah, it's kind of long gone from my brain.

Nicole Rose: 00:02:36

But they had the launch event for the, for the book.

Nicole Rose: 00:02:39

The book that's been the prisoner herbal that's been translated into Spanish

Nicole Rose: 00:02:43

for people in the Spanish day and also for people in Mexico and beyond

Nicole Rose: 00:02:47

called La Herbolaria de Ixs Presxs.

Nicole Rose: 00:02:49

And yeah, the, the launch event was at a site Which is kind of like

Nicole Rose: 00:02:54

an ongoing occupation called the Plantón de Mujeres Mazatecas . Okay.

Nicole Rose: 00:02:58

Sorry.

Nicole Rose: 00:02:59

I'm gonna get Heather and other people who speak Spanish on

Nicole Rose: 00:03:02

the show cuz this is terrible.

Nicole Rose: 00:03:03

But it's basically like a site of an ongoing occupation of women, family

Nicole Rose: 00:03:07

members of political prisoners in Oaxaca.

Nicole Rose: 00:03:11

And yeah, the copies of the books were given to people.

Nicole Rose: 00:03:15

Like their family members inside.

Nicole Rose: 00:03:17

Yeah, the photos are amazing.

Nicole Rose: 00:03:19

I put some on my Instagram, like I totally just balled my eyes out.

Nicole Rose: 00:03:22

Like they made this like incredibly beautiful big banner.

Nicole Rose: 00:03:25

And yeah, they actually wrote a text, which a friend translated

Nicole Rose: 00:03:30

for me, so I'm gonna read it out.

Nicole Rose: 00:03:32

We wholeheartedly thank you for the invitation yesterday to the presentation

Nicole Rose: 00:03:36

of the book La Herbolaria de Ixs Presxs organized by collectives in support

Nicole Rose: 00:03:40

of political prisoners and our beloved Mazatec compañeras who have allowed

Nicole Rose: 00:03:45

us to accompany them in the demand for freedom for our compañeros and compañeras.

Nicole Rose: 00:03:49

It was a very moving event, and we want to share some reflections with you.

Nicole Rose: 00:03:53

First, we want to recognize that a friend at the encampment in dedication to

Nicole Rose: 00:03:57

compañeros and compañeras, who passed to the next world without reaching freedom,

Nicole Rose: 00:04:02

sorry, they had a picture of Taylor there and they had like offerings, like flowers

Nicole Rose: 00:04:07

and bits of food and tobacco and stuff.

Nicole Rose: 00:04:09

And it was just, yeah, it was just so beautiful.

Nicole Rose: 00:04:12

Okay.

Nicole Rose: 00:04:13

Sorry.

Nicole Rose: 00:04:13

. I dunno where that came from.

Nicole Rose: 00:04:14

I just, Yeah.

Nicole Rose: 00:04:16

Perpetual grief hole.

Nicole Rose: 00:04:17

Okay.

Nicole Rose: 00:04:18

Around the world, states use prisons to take the lives of women and, and

Nicole Rose: 00:04:21

men who rebel against the system.

Nicole Rose: 00:04:23

Women who defend their lives, migrants, poor people and peasants.

Nicole Rose: 00:04:27

Prisons are the tumor of our societies, the one that grows and grows,

Nicole Rose: 00:04:31

revealing a sick society incapable of solving problems without punishment.

Nicole Rose: 00:04:36

And.

Nicole Rose: 00:04:37

We remember every woman and man murdered and killed by the prison system and police

Nicole Rose: 00:04:41

brutality in every corner of our world.

Nicole Rose: 00:04:44

We also invite you to check out the book La Herbolaria de lxs Presxxs and

Nicole Rose: 00:04:48

by it in support of our compañerxs it is a very beautiful book made by an ex

Nicole Rose: 00:04:53

political prisoner of the United Kingdom.

Nicole Rose: 00:04:55

Nicole Rose, who knew perfectly well the lack of health inside the prison.

Nicole Rose: 00:05:00

There is no dignity for anyone inside.

Nicole Rose: 00:05:02

There are no doctors, there is no health.

Nicole Rose: 00:05:05

This book is a symbol of hope for all those who resist inside prison wars.

Nicole Rose: 00:05:10

We leave with our hearts full with the pain of knowing that injustices

Nicole Rose: 00:05:13

are repeated in every country, and there are those who call themselves

Nicole Rose: 00:05:16

activists and feminists and are happy to see Karla and Magda in prison.

Nicole Rose: 00:05:20

Here we are and we will give the fiercest fight and with more love until

Nicole Rose: 00:05:23

we embrace them again, them and all the prisoners with whom we walk day by day.

Nicole Rose: 00:05:29

We leave you with this little poem written by Nicole Rose about her resilience

Nicole Rose: 00:05:33

by comparing it to the dandelion.

Nicole Rose: 00:05:35

Here we are resisting like dandelions, and so are Karla and Magda.

Nicole Rose: 00:05:38

We love you sisters.

Nicole Rose: 00:05:39

And this is the little poem.

Nicole Rose: 00:05:42

It's called Outlaw.

Nicole Rose: 00:05:43

It's in the prisoners.

Nicole Rose: 00:05:44

Her book.

Nicole Rose: 00:05:46

Just for a moment, I lose myself and all that I am is the plant in my hand.

Nicole Rose: 00:05:50

My heart engaged in a language older than words.

Nicole Rose: 00:05:54

I ask your permission, take in your bitter healing.

Nicole Rose: 00:05:57

I am no longer VM 93 85.

Nicole Rose: 00:06:00

Tasting the wild.

Nicole Rose: 00:06:01

I am alive just for a moment.

Nicole Rose: 00:06:03

No prisoner, no criminal, but a wise woman who talks with plants like

Nicole Rose: 00:06:08

ancestors who heard their whispers, thousands of generations before.

Nicole Rose: 00:06:12

Alive in the wilderness.

Nicole Rose: 00:06:13

A wild outlaw.

Nicole Rose: 00:06:15

All right.

Nicole Rose: 00:06:17

Gosh, literally dunno what's going to me today, but I think I

Nicole Rose: 00:06:20

just need to have a bit of a cry.

Nicole Rose: 00:06:23

I appreciate everyone.

Nicole Rose: 00:06:24

Thank you so much for listening.

Nicole Rose: 00:06:26

No one's left a review yet.

Nicole Rose: 00:06:27

And I'm way too shy to ask, but like, If you could, that would be amazing.

Nicole Rose: 00:06:34

I had one email from someone being like, I'm one of the six queers listening.

Nicole Rose: 00:06:38

And it just, it just made like all the difference to know

Nicole Rose: 00:06:41

that someone was listening.

Nicole Rose: 00:06:43

But anyway, so.

Nicole Rose: 00:06:44

If you wanna support the show that in that way, that would be amazing.

Nicole Rose: 00:06:47

And yeah, haven't talked about Ukraine and the horror of yesterday, but I'm

Nicole Rose: 00:06:54

gonna, yeah, gonna get Lana Ukrainian herbalist blist on the show very soon,

Nicole Rose: 00:06:58

and we're gonna talk about the project and everything that's happening.

Nicole Rose: 00:07:02

But for now, just again, yeah, like a general request for donations.

Nicole Rose: 00:07:08

Okay.

Nicole Rose: 00:07:08

All right.

Nicole Rose: 00:07:09

Enjoy this section about plantain.

Nicole Rose: 00:07:11

I hope plantain becomes one of your favorites too.

Nicole Rose: 00:07:14

And yeah, lots of love speaks soon.

Nicole Rose: 00:07:17

Okay, Plantain.

Nicole Rose: 00:07:18

I know I said that I would do this, but.

Nicole Rose: 00:07:21

And I would say that every, every plant was my favorite in the last episode,

Nicole Rose: 00:07:24

but honestly, plantain is my favorite.

Nicole Rose: 00:07:26

Okay.

Nicole Rose: 00:07:26

Maybe second to dandelion, but like definitely top three.

Nicole Rose: 00:07:30

Okay.

Nicole Rose: 00:07:30

Latin or snake weed.

Nicole Rose: 00:07:32

LA name plantago major and plantago lanceolata.

Nicole Rose: 00:07:36

And I should have gone to private school to learn how to pronounce

Nicole Rose: 00:07:39

Latin because I would be much more impressive on this podcast anyway.

Nicole Rose: 00:07:43

Okay.

Nicole Rose: 00:07:44

Plant family.

Nicole Rose: 00:07:45

Plantaginaceae, the plantain family.

Nicole Rose: 00:07:47

Identification.

Nicole Rose: 00:07:48

Ribwort plantain, which is the lanceolata one, low rosettes of

Nicole Rose: 00:07:53

narrow dull or greyish-green, hairy leaves with numerous parallel veins

Nicole Rose: 00:07:57

running through the length of the leaf leaves, taper very gradually to their

Nicole Rose: 00:08:02

narrow bases and very short stalks.

Nicole Rose: 00:08:04

They have short, dense blackish flower heads with creaming stamens.

Nicole Rose: 00:08:08

I mean, how hot does that sound?

Nicole Rose: 00:08:10

Oh my God.

Nicole Rose: 00:08:11

I need to stop adlibbing.

Nicole Rose: 00:08:12

This is terrible.

Nicole Rose: 00:08:12

Okay.

Nicole Rose: 00:08:13

On Leafless stems in comparison, greater Plantain has broader leaves, which are

Nicole Rose: 00:08:19

hairless or with short hair and taper more abruptly into distinct leaf stalks, which

Nicole Rose: 00:08:24

can be as long as the leaves themselves.

Nicole Rose: 00:08:26

The flower head is long, narrow, and green.

Nicole Rose: 00:08:29

Or brown when dead.

Nicole Rose: 00:08:29

Other species.

Nicole Rose: 00:08:30

Narrow leaf plantain (P.

Nicole Rose: 00:08:32

minor), Sea plantain (P.

Nicole Rose: 00:08:32

maritima), Indian plantain (P.

Nicole Rose: 00:08:33

afra), Psyllium (P.

Nicole Rose: 00:08:34

ovata).

Nicole Rose: 00:08:35

All 34 species of plantain are edible and medicinal folk names in English.

Nicole Rose: 00:08:40

Plantain (P.

Nicole Rose: 00:08:40

lanceolata), Greater plantain (P.

Nicole Rose: 00:08:41

major), Waybread, Snakeweed, Soldiers, Kemps, Fireleaves, White Man’s Foot,

Nicole Rose: 00:08:41

White Man’s Footsteps, Waybroad, Ripple Grass, English man’s foot,

Nicole Rose: 00:08:41

Broadleaf, Cuckoo’s Bread, Rat-tail.

Nicole Rose: 00:08:42

Planta in Latin means foot.

Nicole Rose: 00:08:43

Chemical constituents.

Nicole Rose: 00:08:45

Okay, here we go.

Nicole Rose: 00:08:46

I hate this bit.

Nicole Rose: 00:08:47

I'm just, I'm just gonna do my best.

Nicole Rose: 00:08:49

Okay.

Nicole Rose: 00:08:49

And if anything, I hope it makes you laugh.

Nicole Rose: 00:08:53

Okay.

Nicole Rose: 00:08:53

Iridoid glycosides (aucubin, catalpol); tannins; polysaccharides,, (galactose,

Nicole Rose: 00:09:00

glucose, xylose, arabnose, and rhamnose IE mucilage); alkaloids

Nicole Rose: 00:09:05

(plantagonine, asperuloside); flavonoids (baicalein, apigenin, scutellarin.

Nicole Rose: 00:09:12

nepetin, hispidulin, luteolin, plantagoside).

Nicole Rose: 00:09:19

Yeah, I should like ask for donations to send me on the Plant chemistry

Nicole Rose: 00:09:23

course so that I can actually hear some videos of someone pronouncing

Nicole Rose: 00:09:25

these names, not just in the textbook.

Nicole Rose: 00:09:28

Okay.

Nicole Rose: 00:09:28

Food and Nutrition all plants are all plants.

Nicole Rose: 00:09:32

All parts of plantain are edible.

Nicole Rose: 00:09:34

Mark Petterson writes in the nutritional herbal that Plantain

Nicole Rose: 00:09:37

major seed is very high in calcium, crude fiber, dietary fiber and fat.

Nicole Rose: 00:09:42

It is also high in protein, silicon, sodium, and zinc.

Nicole Rose: 00:09:45

Katrina Blair describes how Plantain seeds are a sustainable food rich in proteins,

Nicole Rose: 00:09:51

carbohydrates, fatty acids, amino acids, omega-3 fatty acids, and other minerals.

Nicole Rose: 00:09:56

The seed coat is made up of 30 percent mucalige.

Nicole Rose: 00:10:00

The mucilage absorbs toxins in the digestive tract and greatly

Nicole Rose: 00:10:03

supports effective elimination.

Nicole Rose: 00:10:06

The seeds act gently in lubricating the colon with its mucilaginous nature making

Nicole Rose: 00:10:11

the perfect food and medicine in one.

Nicole Rose: 00:10:14

The plantain seeds are a relative of psyllium seeds and have the same

Nicole Rose: 00:10:18

gelatinous quality, making a valuable base for thickening soups in recipes for

Nicole Rose: 00:10:23

binding crackers and firming up desserts.

Nicole Rose: 00:10:25

Plantago lanceolata is also grown as a perennial salad crop in

Nicole Rose: 00:10:29

Italy and other parts of Europe.

Nicole Rose: 00:10:31

Ecological role.

Nicole Rose: 00:10:33

Plantain grows on dryish neutral to basic soils in short, grazed,

Nicole Rose: 00:10:36

unimproved grasslands and also in improved grasslands along hedgerows

Nicole Rose: 00:10:40

and roadside and on waste ground.

Nicole Rose: 00:10:42

Plantain is an excellent cover crop for soils harmed by extractive European

Nicole Rose: 00:10:46

agriculture or repeated trampling.

Nicole Rose: 00:10:49

She also makes good forage for animals, domestic or wild.

Nicole Rose: 00:10:52

You'll see plantain wherever there is bare soil.

Nicole Rose: 00:10:55

She is somehow the lands living plaster.

Nicole Rose: 00:10:58

Plantain is called White Man's Footsteps because of how it followed

Nicole Rose: 00:11:01

European settlers on native land.

Nicole Rose: 00:11:03

Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of the beautiful book, Braiding

Nicole Rose: 00:11:05

Sweet Grass, describes plantain.

Nicole Rose: 00:11:08

"Our people have a name for this round leaf plant, white man's footsteps,

Nicole Rose: 00:11:12

just a low circle of leaves.

Nicole Rose: 00:11:14

Press close to the ground with no stem to speak of it.

Nicole Rose: 00:11:17

Arrived with the first settlers and followed them everywhere they went.

Nicole Rose: 00:11:20

It trotted a long path through the woods and along wagon roads and railroads

Nicole Rose: 00:11:24

like a faithful dog, so as to be near."

Nicole Rose: 00:11:27

I love how Hawthorne references plantain as a tool for decolonization.

Nicole Rose: 00:11:31

They write "Plantago reminds us that good allies take the backseat.

Nicole Rose: 00:11:35

They remain unobtrusive and supportive until called upon.

Nicole Rose: 00:11:38

They do not take up extra space or time that others need, unlike other introduced

Nicole Rose: 00:11:43

plants, buckthorne, knotweed etc.

Nicole Rose: 00:11:45

Plantain has not disrupted ecosystems or threatened endangered native species.

Nicole Rose: 00:11:50

She only takes up space where there are already empty spots,

Nicole Rose: 00:11:53

putting herself with the edge of eroded areas or busy sidewalks.

Nicole Rose: 00:11:57

She helps keep the soil healthy by holding it in place and healing compaction, but

Nicole Rose: 00:12:00

then moves on to allow others to thrive".

Nicole Rose: 00:12:04

Cultivation.

Nicole Rose: 00:12:06

Plantain commonly propagates itself by seed with one source saying that

Nicole Rose: 00:12:09

plantain seed can remain viable for up to 60 years, which is fucking amazing.

Nicole Rose: 00:12:14

While plantain is generally found on bare and disturbed soils where it does

Nicole Rose: 00:12:18

have access to more fertility, it will become impressively lush and large.

Nicole Rose: 00:12:22

You should see photos of Plantain in my polytunnel, like you've

Nicole Rose: 00:12:25

never seen anything like it.

Nicole Rose: 00:12:27

Everyone's like, Oh my God, it's so big.

Nicole Rose: 00:12:30

Which also sounds weird.

Nicole Rose: 00:12:31

Sorry, it's a weird day.

Nicole Rose: 00:12:33

Okay, Energetics.

Nicole Rose: 00:12:35

Temperature, cooling.

Nicole Rose: 00:12:36

Moisture, astringent and demulcent.

Nicole Rose: 00:12:39

And the tissue states heat excitation, dry atrophy, damp

Nicole Rose: 00:12:43

stagnation, and the taste is bitter.

Nicole Rose: 00:12:46

Herbal Actions.

Nicole Rose: 00:12:47

Alterative, antibacterial, antidote, astringent, antiseptic,

Nicole Rose: 00:12:52

demulcent, deobstruent, diuretic, expectorant, febrifuge, hemostatic,

Nicole Rose: 00:12:52

inflammation modulating, moistening expectorant, ophthalmic, vulnerary.

Nicole Rose: 00:12:55

Whew, that wasn't too bad.

Nicole Rose: 00:12:56

That list much better with herbal actions than I am constituents.

Nicole Rose: 00:13:02

Health Challenges supported by Plantain .Plantain has been used

Nicole Rose: 00:13:05

medicinally for thousands of years.

Nicole Rose: 00:13:07

It was one of the nine sacred herbs of the Anglo Saxons who called

Nicole Rose: 00:13:10

plantain Lacnuga, the mother of worts.

Nicole Rose: 00:13:14

Below is some medicinal uses of plantain.

Nicole Rose: 00:13:16

Topical first aid.

Nicole Rose: 00:13:18

Plantain is a supreme ally for wound healing and skin injuries from bites,

Nicole Rose: 00:13:23

cuts, scrapes, and stings to punctures.

Nicole Rose: 00:13:25

Plantain is your plant.

Nicole Rose: 00:13:26

This is because plantain works simultaneously as a fantastic drawing

Nicole Rose: 00:13:30

agent and is an astringent and vulnerary.

Nicole Rose: 00:13:33

Astringent means that the cells and tissues are contracting and tightening.

Nicole Rose: 00:13:37

Vulnerary is another word for wound healing.

Nicole Rose: 00:13:40

In Ireland, a single plant leaf served both actions.

Nicole Rose: 00:13:43

One side of the leaf was meant to be used for drawing out and the

Nicole Rose: 00:13:46

other side of the leaf for healing.

Nicole Rose: 00:13:49

Plantain has the ability to suck out dirt, splinter, stings and poisons.

Nicole Rose: 00:13:53

I remember being bit by a spider, bitten by a spider or some other, my mystery

Nicole Rose: 00:13:58

insect, while being at a hardcore show.

Nicole Rose: 00:14:00

After leaving my hoodie in a dusty cupboard, I searched outside, and even in

Nicole Rose: 00:14:04

the middle of the city of Bristol, I found Plantain growing through the concrete.

Nicole Rose: 00:14:08

I washed it and chewed it up in my mouth before placing it on my bite, and lo and

Nicole Rose: 00:14:12

behold, I drew out whatever had gotten in there and the swellings subsided.

Nicole Rose: 00:14:16

Plantain also has the ability to treat infected wounds due to its antibacterial

Nicole Rose: 00:14:20

and antiseptic antiseptic actions.

Nicole Rose: 00:14:24

Herbalist, Sajah Popham writes how Plantain applied topically has the ability

Nicole Rose: 00:14:28

to draw out that infection, bring fresh, fresh blood to the surface, stimulate

Nicole Rose: 00:14:32

local immunity, detoxify the area, and provide its own antiseptic properties.

Nicole Rose: 00:14:38

It's super powerful as a spit poultice..

Nicole Rose: 00:14:41

A loved one of mine from Siberia jokes that in russia, plantain is used

Nicole Rose: 00:14:45

for everything with a comedy sketch.

Nicole Rose: 00:14:46

If your arm gets chopped off, just use Plantain.

Nicole Rose: 00:14:49

You can also line your socks and shoes with the leaves and it help

Nicole Rose: 00:14:52

and it helps prevent blisters.

Nicole Rose: 00:14:54

This links to one of its names, way broad as it is found along roadside, and you

Nicole Rose: 00:14:58

can use it when you walk long distances.

Nicole Rose: 00:15:01

Leaky gut syndrome.

Nicole Rose: 00:15:03

Leaky gut syndrome with gut issues, almost endemic in our Western cultures.

Nicole Rose: 00:15:07

Due to chronic stress, overuse of antibiotics, food, allergens,

Nicole Rose: 00:15:10

and intolerances, non-organic food and pollution, plantain

Nicole Rose: 00:15:14

can be an important ally.

Nicole Rose: 00:15:16

This is due to its astringent, and vulnerary action, literally

Nicole Rose: 00:15:19

healing our internal wounds.

Nicole Rose: 00:15:21

Imagine the gut lining as our inner skin.

Nicole Rose: 00:15:24

Sajah writes once again, We see the combination of astringency and

Nicole Rose: 00:15:28

vulnerary actions helping to heal and tonify the lining of the gut.

Nicole Rose: 00:15:32

A reduction in inflammation directly on the gut wall, but also systemically,

Nicole Rose: 00:15:36

a soothing demulcent action, as well as the antiseptic quality,

Nicole Rose: 00:15:39

helping to alleviate any possible flora imbalances or infection.

Nicole Rose: 00:15:43

Plantain is literally like a formula unto itself when it comes

Nicole Rose: 00:15:46

to treating leaky gut syndrome.

Nicole Rose: 00:15:48

The slight bitterness of the remedy also supports digestion as a whole.

Nicole Rose: 00:15:52

If using plantain for gut healing, then similarly to mallow you need to really

Nicole Rose: 00:15:55

cover as much surface area as possible.

Nicole Rose: 00:15:57

So decoctions or infusions are best

Nicole Rose: 00:16:00

. Constipation.

Nicole Rose: 00:16:02

Plantain seeds can help treat constipation, adding a bit of

Nicole Rose: 00:16:05

moisture and a bulking laxative to help to help getting things moving.

Nicole Rose: 00:16:09

It is important to also increase fiber.

Nicole Rose: 00:16:12

For example, more fruits and vegetables and stay well hydrated.

Nicole Rose: 00:16:15

Doing small massage, self-massage circles, clockwise around the abdomen

Nicole Rose: 00:16:20

while you're lying down, can also help.

Nicole Rose: 00:16:22

Plantain can also be used for hemorrhoid.

Nicole Rose: 00:16:25

Respiratory Tracted infections.

Nicole Rose: 00:16:27

Plantain is a fantastic resource for a dry, irritable cough because

Nicole Rose: 00:16:30

it is soothing and moistening, but also has an expectorant action.

Nicole Rose: 00:16:34

An expectorant helps you to bring up phlegm and expel it.

Nicole Rose: 00:16:37

It's great if you have one of those lingering coughs

Nicole Rose: 00:16:39

that will not go away easily.

Nicole Rose: 00:16:40

Dental Care .Herbalists, Julie and Matthew Seal right how a word of fresh plantain

Nicole Rose: 00:16:45

can be placed against sore teeth and its drawing action is particularly powerful

Nicole Rose: 00:16:49

for tooth infections, cankers or ulcers.

Nicole Rose: 00:16:53

Tea can be held in the mouth or you can soak cotton well in a strong infusion

Nicole Rose: 00:16:56

or tincture and pack it into the area.

Nicole Rose: 00:16:59

Urinary tract infections.

Nicole Rose: 00:17:01

Sajah describes how plantain is a good herb for urine tract infections.

Nicole Rose: 00:17:05

The herb is a mild but effective diuretic agent providing its astringent and

Nicole Rose: 00:17:09

mucilagnous properties to the mucosal membranes, which line the urinary tract.

Nicole Rose: 00:17:14

This makes it highly beneficial for urinary tract infections where

Nicole Rose: 00:17:17

there is an excess of irritation, heat, dryness and bleeding.

Nicole Rose: 00:17:21

Plantain effectively causes and sedates the heat and inflammation soothes

Nicole Rose: 00:17:25

the irritation, moistens the dryness, astringes the bleeding, assists in

Nicole Rose: 00:17:29

drawing out the infection, and also provides an antiseptic action and

Nicole Rose: 00:17:33

a bit of local immune stimulation.

Nicole Rose: 00:17:35

How to practically use plantain in prison.

Nicole Rose: 00:17:38

Where you might find plantain?

Nicole Rose: 00:17:39

Plantain is likely to be where people walk and on the edges of paths and beds.

Nicole Rose: 00:17:44

I commonly found it on the edges where the curbs were when we were

Nicole Rose: 00:17:46

working in the prison gardens.

Nicole Rose: 00:17:48

It might also be growing in beds, but it prefers poorer soil.

Nicole Rose: 00:17:51

Fresh leaf bites, cut scr, scrapes and stings.

Nicole Rose: 00:17:54

Chew a leaf in your mouth and then apply directly to the area.

Nicole Rose: 00:17:57

Hold there until the pain goes away or until the bleeding stops.

Nicole Rose: 00:18:01

You might want to swap to a new leaf if needed, especially if one has

Nicole Rose: 00:18:04

already drawn something out of there, like bits of gravel or insect poison.

Nicole Rose: 00:18:08

Bigger wounds.

Nicole Rose: 00:18:09

See the wound care section.

Nicole Rose: 00:18:11

Sore teeth and gums, tooth infections and mouth ulcers.

Nicole Rose: 00:18:14

You can chew and apply the leaf directly to the area and or you

Nicole Rose: 00:18:18

can make a strong tea and hold it and swish it around the mouth.

Nicole Rose: 00:18:21

Hemorroids, a strong infusion drunk internally will aid

Nicole Rose: 00:18:24

recovery from hemorrhoids.

Nicole Rose: 00:18:25

Addressing the root causes not so much bringing symptomatic relief.

Nicole Rose: 00:18:29

Fresh or dried leaves.

Nicole Rose: 00:18:31

Leaky gut syndrome, plantain is most effective at treating leaky

Nicole Rose: 00:18:35

gut when combined with other herbs.

Nicole Rose: 00:18:37

Commonly combined include calendula, chamomile,

Nicole Rose: 00:18:41

peppermint, fennel, and licorice.

Nicole Rose: 00:18:43

I think it is unlikely in prison that you would have access to all these plants.

Nicole Rose: 00:18:46

However, you might be able to buy camomile and peppermint on canteen.

Nicole Rose: 00:18:50

You would want to make a tea of whatever you can mix together or

Nicole Rose: 00:18:54

plantain, fresh or dry on its own and drink it throughout the day.

Nicole Rose: 00:18:57

It would be ideal for several weeks, if not months, if you were

Nicole Rose: 00:19:00

trying to recover from leaky gut, irritable bowel syndrome, or or other

Nicole Rose: 00:19:04

inflammatory digestive conditions.

Nicole Rose: 00:19:07

Respiratory infections and dry irritable coughs.

Nicole Rose: 00:19:09

Make a cold infusion with Plantain leaves to soothe an irritable, irritable cough,

Nicole Rose: 00:19:13

or to help clear a chest infection.

Nicole Rose: 00:19:15

Urinary tract infections.

Nicole Rose: 00:19:16

Plantain is a powerful ally for UTI infections, providing

Nicole Rose: 00:19:19

their hot in nature eg.

Nicole Rose: 00:19:22

Burning sensation, dryness, irritation or bleeding.

Nicole Rose: 00:19:25

Drink, strong infusions of cold plantain.

Nicole Rose: 00:19:27

It works well combined with the yarrow too.

Nicole Rose: 00:19:29

Seeds.

Nicole Rose: 00:19:30

Constipation, eat the seeds fresh or dried for extra roughage.

Nicole Rose: 00:19:34

Thanks so much for listening to the Frontline Herbalism podcast.

Nicole Rose: 00:19:37

You can find the transcript, the links, all the resources from the show