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| antispasmodic herbs, they alleviate the processes that underlie most muscle contraction and tension headaches. |
| "Natural Aspirin" |
| A large range of plants contain natural "aspirin-type" chemicals called salicylates. It is worth noting that the whole aspirin group of drugs was originally isolated from plant sources. In fact the name aspirin comes from the old botanical genus name for meadowsweet, Spiraea aspirin, and salicylate derives from willow's Latin name, salix. Those herbs with significant quantities of salicylates have a marked anti-inflammatory effect, without the dangers to the stomach of aspirin itself. In fact meadowsweet, rich in salicylates, can be used to staunch mild stomach hemorrhage even though pharmaceutical salicylates can cause such problems. Other plants rich in such constituents include willow bark, wintergreen, birch, many of the poplars, and black haw. |
| Salicylates are indeed "aspirin-like" in terms of their chemistry but their properties are subtly different. The main difference is that salicylates do not cross what is known as the blood-brain barrier and so cannot directly effect neurons or block pain transmission. No other body organ is so absolutely dependent on a constant internal environment as is the brain. Other body tissues can withstand the rather small fluctuations in the concentrations of hormones, ions and nutrients that continually occur, particularly after eating or exercising. If the brain were exposed to such chemical changes, uncontrolled neural activity might result Consequently, neurons are kept separated from blood-borne substances by a so-called blood-brain barrier composed of the least permeable capillaries |
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