Herbal Antibiotics: Natural Alternatives for Treating Drug-Resistant Bacteria (36 page)

The ancient Egyptians used the plant as a major medicinal; the plant has often been found in their tombs. The Greek Theophrastus, in the third century
BCE
, noted the plant's use for asthma, dry coughs, and respiratory problems. The Romans called the plant
liquiritia
, which eventually was corrupted to the word
licorice
. It was a primary medicine in ancient Rome for coughs. It was used throughout Europe as a primary medicinal and although harvested in the wild originally, it has been a main agricultural crop for over a thousand years.

The American Eclectics used it intensively, as did most medicinal practitioners in the Americas. The Eclectics used it for coughs, catarrhs, irritation of the urinary passages, diarrhea, and bronchial diseases. It was an early agricultural medicinal, grown by most people in their medicinal gardens. The indigenous tribes of the Americas used the indigenous species similarly; that is, for sore throat, chest pains, swellings, coughs; as an antidiarrheal; for stomachache, fevers, toothache, skin sores, spitting blood; and as a general tonic.

The medicinal species have been intensely studied for years. This look will be brief, as a full monograph would run to hundreds of pages.

As an immune stimulant:
A double-blind, repeated (within subject), randomized trial with
Echinacea purpurea
,
Astragalus membranaceus
, and
Glycyrrhiza glabra
found that licorice significantly increased CD25 expression on T cells. It also increased CD69, CD4, and CD8 expression on T cells.

Postoperative sore throat:
Forty adults about to undergo elective lumbar laminectomy were split into two groups. One received water, the other water with licorice. The use of licorice gargle performed 5 minutes before anesthesia was effective in reducing or eliminating the incidence and severity of postoperative sore throat in patients.

Tuberculosis:
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study with 60 people with sputum-positive pulmonary tuberculosis was conducted. They were split into two groups, one taking placebo, the other licorice—in addition to their regular therapy. Sputum conversion was seen in 80 percent of the licorice group, and 70 percent in the placebo group. Fever was relieved in all in the licorice group, and 80 percent in the placebo group. Cough was relieved in 96 percent of the licorice group, and 81 percent of the placebo group. GI side effects were seen in 20 percent of the placebo group, and none of the licorice group. ALT and AST levels were raised in 6 percent of the licorice group, and 30 percent of the placebo group. Elevated uric acid in serum was observed in 3 percent of the licorice group, and 16 percent of the placebo group.

Hepatitis:
A single compound, an interferon stimulator, from licorice was used to treat patients with subacute hepatic failure. The survival rate was 72 percent compared to 31 percent in those who received traditional therapies.

Atopic dermatitis:
A licorice gel was used to successfully treat atopic dermatitis in a double-blind clinical trial, 30 people in each group. The gel significantly reduced erythema, edema, and itching over the 2-week trial.

Aphthous stomatitis:
Bioadhesive patches containing licorice were used to control the pain and reduce healing time in recurrent aphthous ulcer. Licorice patches caused a significant reduction in the diameter of the inflammatory halo and necrotic center compared with placebo. (There have been three of these trials, all successful.)

Pharmaceutical side effects:
In a comparative trial, licorice, when used along with spironolactone in the treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome, significantly reduced the side effects from spironolactone when used alone.

Peptic ulcer:
Licorice was found in a trial with 100 people with peptic ulcer (86 of whom were unresponsive to conventional treatment) to be effective: 90 percent experienced good effects, 22 were cured, 28 were significantly improved.

Hepatitis A:
In 13 cases of infectious hepatitis treated with licorice, the icterus index normalized in 13 days, urinary bile pigments were negative in 10 days, marked reduction of hepatomegaly took 9 days, pain over the liver disappeared in 8 days.

Hepatitis C:
Glycyrrhizin has been used in Japan for more than 60 years in the treatment of hepatitis C. In several clinical trials it has been found to significantly lower AST, ALT, and GGT concentrations while reversing histologic evidence of necrosis and inflammatory lesions in the liver.

Lichen planus:
In a clinical trial, 66 percent of people with lichen planus who took glycyrrhizin were cured.

Oral herpes:
Glycyrrhizic acid cream, applied six times daily in people with acute oral herpetic infections (HSV1), resolved pain and dysphagia within 24 to 48 hours.

There have been a number of trials using licorice in combination with other herbs. It reduced risperidone-induced hyperprolactinemia in patients with schizophrenia. Reduced hyperuricemia in vegetarians. Was effective in the treatment of advanced pancreatic and other gastrointestinal malignancies. Was successful in the treatment of 138 cases of intestinal metaplasia and 104 of atypical hyperplasia of the gastric mucosa.

In vivo studies have found licorice to be potently antioxidant, to stimulant immune activity, to be anticonvulsant, to be potently anti-inflammatory on skin eruptions, to be hepatoprotective, to be cerebroprotective, to heal aspirin-induced ulcers, to be antispasmodic to the lower intestine, to be strongly antitussive, and to protect the mitochondria from damage.

Licorice is a fairly potent synergist through a number of avenues. Importantly, it is directly active against the efflux mechanism AcrAB-TolC in the Enterobacteriaceae family of bacteria, which are Gram-negative organisms. This efflux mechanism can extrude many diverse antibacterials including tetracyclines, fluoroquinolones, and chloramphenicol. Licorice, then, can effectively be added to formulations treating infections from that Gram-negative family, including, among others,
Yersinia, Shigella, Serratia, Salmonella, Morganella, Klebsiella, Enterobacter,
and
Escherichia
.

Licorice increases the potency of both herbs and pharmaceuticals when used with them. It has been found, for example, to enhance the action of anti-tuberculosis drugs, increasing positive outcomes in treatment; to increase the action of hydrocortisone; and to potentiate oseltamivir against resistant influenza strains. Chinese trials have shown that it increases the potency of other herbs in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and increases the anti-oxidant actions of other herbs such as astragalus and the isolated compound lycopene. Licorice enhances the anticancer activity of various herbs against prostate cancer cell lines; increases the effect of the neuromuscular blocking agent paeoniflorin; and significantly increases the immune-stimulating action of herbs such as
Echinacea purpurea
and
Astragalus
.

Licorice increases the strength of tincture formulations if added to the herbs prior to tincturing. For example, it enhances the solubility of compounds from other plants (e.g., the sapogenin isoliquiritigenin, the saikosaponins from ginseng) by a factor of up to 570.

Licorice also reduces toxicity in other plants; it prevents toxicity from aconite alkaloids and reduces the toxicity from a number of herbs used to treat rheumatoid arthritis in Chinese clinical trials.

Family:
Zingiberaceae. There are about 1,400 members of the family, of which the genus
Zingiber
is usually referred to as the
true
gingers. The species in the
Alpinia
genus are probably the other most commonly used medicinals in the family.

Species Used:
There are 85 or maybe 100 species of plants in the genus
Zingiber.
(Why have taxonomy anyway?)
Z. officinale
, the common food ginger, is the most famous and the one generally used for medicine. Many of the species in this family contain similar constituents and can be used medicinally, but their actions do differ. This short monograph looks only at the culinary ginger,
Z. officinale
.

The root. The root of ginger is really a rhizome, but nobody cares about the distinction but phytogrammarians, so I will just call it a root, as nearly all people who use language do.

The best form of the herb is the fresh juice of the root taken as a hot tea; it is most potent like this. Large quantities of the juice can be stabilized with alcohol (in an 80:20 juice-to-alcohol ratio) and then added to herbal combinations to blend the juice's synergistic actions into the formula.
If you are using the plant to treat resistant infections, this is the way to do it in tincture combinations.
Fresh tincture of the root is nearly as good. Dried root is relatively useless.

The hot tea from the fresh juice is exceptionally potent in serious infection. It takes about 30 minutes after drinking the fresh juice hot tea for ginger's compounds to enter the bloodstream; they reach peak concentration in about 60 minutes and then begin to decline. The fresh juice tea should be consumed every 2 to 3 hours in acute conditions to keep the constituents at high levels in the blood.

Juice one or more pieces of ginger, in total about the size of a medium to large carrot, or four pieces the size of your thumb.
Save the plant matter that is left over
(for making an infusion; see below).

Combine ¼ cup fresh ginger juice with 12 ounces hot water, 1 tablespoon wildflower honey, the juice from ¼ lime (squeeze the juice into the cup, then drop in the rind), and
⅛
teaspoon cayenne.

Drink 4–6 cups per day. (If you don't own a juicer, use infusion method two, below.)

In acute conditions:
Drink 6 cups per day minimum.

Method One:
The leftover plant matter from juicing ginger can be put into 1–2 cups hot water, depending on how much you have left, and allowed to steep for 4–8 hours, covered. Strain, and use the infused liquid as you would fresh ginger juice in making fresh ginger juice tea (above). It will be almost as useful as the fresh juice but not quite.

Method Two:
Grate or chop gingerroot (a piece about the size of your thumb) as finely as you can. Steep in 8–12 ounces hot water for 2–3 hours,
covered
in order to preserve the essential oils in the tea. Drink 4–6 cups daily.

Ginger juice is exceptionally good (sometimes) in relieving the pain of burns and speeding up healing. Apply the fresh juice topically to the affected area with a cotton ball. It is also a good antibacterial and antifungal when applied to skin infections.

Fresh root, 1:2, 95 percent alcohol, 10–20 drops, up to 4x daily. (I do not prefer this approach, as the fresh juice is much, much better—nevertheless it is a million … well, okay, a billion … times better than using the dried root.)

In everything and anything, often.

Large doses should be avoided in pregnancy due to the plant's emmenagogue effect, though the dried root can be used to help morning sickness in moderate doses. May aggravate gallstones, so caution is advised. Rarely: bloating, gas, heartburn, nausea—usually when using the dried, powdered root.

The root is synergistic with a number of antibiotics, especially the aminoglycosides, increasing their potency, especially against resistant organisms.

The exact geographical location of the original ginger plant is unknown—most likely someplace in Asia. It has been cultivated for four thousand or more years in China and India and reached the West around two thousand years ago. The genus name
Zingiber
is of ancient Hindu extraction; it means “horn-shaped.” (“They” say it's from the shape of the root, but I don't believe it; I've seen gingerroot roots.) The roots form dense clumps as they grow and that is what everyone harvests.

The plant is a perennial and likes warm, humid climates from sea level up to about 5,000 feet (1500 m) in altitude. It is rarely found wild; it's a cultivated medicinal.

The plant grows 2 to 3 feet (up to 1 m) in height and looks like sort of a shortish bamboo with a thin central stalk.
Zingiber
plants look much alike and are often confused with the alpinias, another genus in the family.

Ginger is almost always cultivated from pieces of the living root, like potatoes. Simply allowing some gingerroot to begin budding, then
cutting it into pieces, each with a bud, and planting them is usually how it is done. Most ginger plants on Earth are rootstock clones. And it is one of the most heavily cultivated plants on Earth.
Everybody
loves it. The plant is considered a perennial, but it generally depletes the soil in which it is grown so it's usually rotated every other year. Unless it is in the exact right location it won't last once the soil is depleted.

Ginger is a tropical plant. It likes sheltered locations, filtered sunlight, warmth, humidity, rich soil. It hates direct sun and so on; basically it wants to be pampered and protected from the elements. It can't take freezing.