Aya Healing
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Plant Medicine

Plant Medicine refers to plant species containing substances with some medicinal value which can be used for the betterment of the human condition. Plants have been the primary source of medicine for cultures around the world for thousands of years and to this day are the source of many common drugs<a href=”#1″><sup>1</sup></a>. Plant medicines have played a fundamental role in the development of medical practices since prehistoric times and in many cultures are the basis for entire systems of plant-based health practices.

Plant medicines are created and administered in a wide variety of ways. While most commonly referring to ingesting ayahuasca brew while attending a retreat, there are indeed many ways in which plant medicines are taken, some of which are represented among the many other natural modalities used by healers of the Shipibo-Conibo tribe with whom AYA Healing Retreats works.

A few of the most common means through which plant medicines are created include:

  • Poultices – plant matter is pulverized and often combined with water, alcohol or oil to create a balm or salve which is applied to wounds such as cuts, scrapes or burns
  • Hot water infusions – plant matter is cut or ground into small pieces and immersed in hot water, releasing healing compounds into the water. The water is then drank as tea.
  • Alcohol tincture – plant matter is immersed in alcohol and left to release its healing compounds for a period of time, often for several weeks or even months. The alcohol is then used topically or taken orally depending on the use case.
  • Oil extracts – much like alcohol tinctures, plant matter is left immersed in vegetable oil to release its healing compounds into the oil. The oil acts as a preservative of many beneficial compounds, particularly antioxidants, found in plant medicine species.
  • Powder capsules – Plant matter is dried, powdered, and encapsulated so it can be easily swallowed.
  • Vapor bath and/or inhalation – Plant matter is immersed in hot water, or a prepared extract is added to hot water, and the hot water vapor carries the plant matter’s beneficial compounds with it, allowing for exposure to the skin and inhalation into the lungs.

Evidence for the use of plant medicines dates back well into ancient history. A few of the most well-known systems of traditional health practices that use plant medicines include:

Ayurveda – The ancient South Asian practice of ayurveda has employed plant medicines using species native to the Indian subcontinent for at least 4,000 years. A few of the most important ayurvedic plant medicines include ashwagandha root, used for increasing energy, circulation, and balancing sleep; turmeric root, used as a powerful antioxidant for purifying the blood and fighting or preventing infection; and amla, the fruit of the Phyllanthus emblica tree, used for balancing blood sugar, digestive problems, and as an immune booster.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) – Traditional Chinese Medicine is a loosely related group of traditional medical practices from the ancient far-east Asian continent in what is now modern-day China. Traditional Chinese medicine uses a prolific number of plant medicines. A few of the more well-known include ginseng, used a tonic for palpitations, digestion, and building vitality; astragalus, used to promote recovery, clean the blood, and strengthen the immune system; and goji berry, used to strengthen and support vision and respiration and maintain health organs.

Traditional Amazonian Medicine – With approximately 10% of the world’s species of flora and fauna located in the Amazon jungle, it is not surprising that indigenous people of the Amazon have developed a rich system of health using natural plant medicines. A few of the most important native species used as plant medicine in the Amazon include ayahuasca, used to purge negative energy and receive divine knowledge, ajo sacha, used as an antiparasitic and blood cleanser, and bobinsana, used to induce vivid dreaming as well as improve joint strength and relieve joint pain.

Much of modern Western medicine, which relies heavily on the use of pharmaceutical drugs, ultimately can be traced back to the use of plant medicines. Many of the most important drugs in the world were first discovered in their naturally-occurring plant medicine forms. A few examples, which are notably included in the World Health Organization’s List of Essential Medicines, include:

  • Ephedrine – first used in ancient China for over 2000 years, found naturally in plants of the ephedra genus.
  • Morphine – used for thousands of years, occurring naturally in poppy plants.
  • Aspirin – used since ancient Egypt, found naturally in willow trees and other plants.
  • Quinine – found naturally in cinchona tress and other plants, used by native Amazonian people for centuries to fight malaria.
  • Senna – found naturally in several plants of the senna genus, has been used as a laxative for centuries in South Asia.

It is a well-understood fact that modern pharmacology uses the largely undiscovered and unexplored wilds of places like the Amazon to source and test new plant species for pharmacoactivity in the hopes of discovering new and patentable drug compounds. In this sense, many of modern medicine’s drugs can be thought of as little more than systhesized and mass-produced versions of traditional plant medicines2.

 
References

1 S.M.K Rates, Plants as source of drugs. Toxicon, 39.5, 2001, Pages 603-613. ISSN 0041-0101, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0041-0101(00)00154-9.

2 Schultes RE. Amazonian ethnobotany and the search for new drugs. Ciba Found Symp. 1994;185:106-12; discussion 112-5. doi: 10.1002/9780470514634.ch8. PMID: 7736849.

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