Category: C

A substance or reaction that acts against chemical or biological damage to cell membranes. The most common cytoprotectant actions are on the skin and the liver (hepato-protectant), although there has been recent research involving lymphocyte T-cell cytoprotectants.  

A dried, unprocessed plant, properly referring to one that was or is an official drug plant or the source of a refined drug substance. A crude botanical, on the other hand, is one of our herbs that has no official standing. (Examples: Digitalis leaves [crude drug], White Sage [crude botanical].)  

Leaves having rounded, scalloped teeth along the edges.  

The mountain ridge that spans North America, from Mexico through the Rocky Mountains into Alaska.  

The accumulation of an excess volume of fluid, including blood, in an organ or tissue. I use it in the subclinical definition, with fluid buildup as a consequence of unremitting inflammation, with edema of the parts, and resultant venous and lymphatic drainage, impairment, causing a distinctly less organic and more functional problem: thick and boggy…

Plants that are found worldwide, encircling the lands around the north pole.  

The part of metabolism that deals with destruction or simplification of more complex compounds. Catabolism mostly results in the release of energy. (Examples: the release of glucose by the liver, the combustion of glucose by cells.) Describes the destructive phase of metabolism. Regarding the subject of catabolism, which refers to the process by which complex…

Sugar-containing plant substances that, in proper doses, act as heart stimulants. (Examples: digitoxin, stropanthin.)  

A type of colitis that occurs primarily in middle-aged women. Collagenous colitis is a rare but treatable inflammatory disorder of the mucous membranes lining the colon. It is a poorly understood disorder that has not received much attention in the research (Microscopic/Collagenous Colitis FAQ, 1999). Collagenous colitis is often referred to as a form of…

A syndrome that includes leg swelling, enlarged veins, leg pain, itching, and skin ulcers.