The Herbal Medicine-Maker's Handbook_ A Home Manual - James Green [165]
Depending on the menstruum and the herbs, a liniment is employed for various purposes: to draw, to warm, and to dry an area of the skin; to disinfect cuts and wounds; to help heal wounds, bruises, sprains, burns, and sunburns; as an anodyne to soothe strained muscles and ligaments; or to work as a counterirritant (revulsive).
There is a classic herbal liniment formula whose praise is sung in the notebooks of every attentive herb student in America. This is The Jethro Kloss Goldenseal & Myrrh Liniment, the Florence Nightingale of compound rubs for injured athletes and sundry adventurers. This liniment will last forever and will always be there for you when you need it.
1. Mix together 1/2 oz. of powdered Goldenseal root, 1 oz. of powdered Myrrh, and 1/4 oz. of powdered Cayenne.
2. Add to this dry mixture, 1 pint of (rubbing) alcohol.
3. Let stand for seven days; shake well every day.
4. Decant and bottle.
According to Mr. Kloss in his classic herbal, Back to Eden, “If you don’t have Goldenseal, make it without.” I think a 1/16 to an 1/8 ounce of this endangered herb is more than adequate.
Of course, you can use ethyl alcohol as the menstruum in place of the rubbing alcohol, whereby this tincture can be used internally as well.
A lesser-known, quickly prepared liniment that is enthusiastically recommended by Mr. Kloss is a simple vinegar preparation:
1. Combine 1 tablespoonful of powdered Cayenne red pepper with 1 pint apple cider vinegar.
2. Simmer gently for 10 minutes.
3. Bottle it hot, unstrained.
This makes, “a powerfully stimulating external application for deep-seated internal congestion and inflammation, sprains, etc.” The application of this Cayenne liniment arouses strong circulation upon the surface of the skin inducing smarting and redness, but does not injure the skin.
LOZENGES (ALSO CALLED TROCHES OR PASTILLES)
Lozenges are small, solid, flattened cakes of very finely powdered therapeutic herbal substance, prepared from a mass made with a base of sugar for its pleasant flavor and a mucilage prepared from Slippery Elm bark, or Comfrey root, or Marshmallow root, or from a mucilage prepared from gum Acacia (a.k.a. gum Arabic), or gum Tragacanth as an adhesive to give form and consistency. Water (plain or aromatic flower water) is used to supply the necessary moisture. Any suitable essential oil (Anise, Peppermint, Wintergreen, etc.) may be triturated (see “Trituration” below) with the sugar before this is mixed with the other powders.
Lozenges are placed on the tongue and allowed to dissolve slowly. They are especially useful when the herbal ingredients are intended to come into contact with the mucous surface of the mouth, throat, and upper respiratory tract. The remedial action of lozenges is generally designed to be local rather than systemic. (There may, however, be a place for a Damiana lozenge for enhancing staying power.) The action of a lozenge is normally expectorant, demulcent, sedative, or antiseptic.
The creation of the lozenge-mass is the critical step in making this vehicle. The dry herbal powders and sugar must be made into an adhesive mass that will be sufficiently plastic to enable it to be rolled into a flat cake without crumbling; at the same time it must dry quickly, and the lozenge must not become brittle due to insufficient adhesiveness. Mucilages are thick, viscid, adhesive liquids that are produced by dissolving gum in water, or by extracting by cold infusion the mucilaginous principles of Slippery Elm, Marshmallow, or Comfrey.
When making the lozenge-mass, using a (moist) mucilage is a preferred technique to mixing the dry gum powder with the other dry ingredients and then adding the water. In this method it is often difficult to avoid an excess of moisture.
Preparing a Mucilage
Using mucilaginous herb:
1. Macerate overnight 6 parts (6 Gm)