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INTRODUCTION
Since the publication of Duke's first
phytochemical works (Duke 1992a, 1992b), we have almost doubled the
phytochemicals, biological activities and species in our database. With
this new contribution, we include much new data in the aromatic mint
family, Lamiaceae. Data on the mint family are presented here in much the
same format and with many of the same caveats and interpretations as
before.
Aggregated vs. Non-Aggregated Entries
This volume differs from earlier volumes in
that we maintain the integrity of many entries, publishing the
phytochemical quantitative data for a given analysis, rather than strictly
aggregating the data. Over the years it has become clear to us that the
aggregated data, which report the highs and lows for a given phytochemical
in parts per million (ppm), are most useful for showing the range of
variation of these individual phytochemicals, which can be quite striking.
For some species of thyme, this variation can be as much as 13,900-fold.
One common mistaken interpretation of the
aggregated data is that a species might appear to be high in two closely
related compounds, for example thymol and carvacrol. However, the
non-aggregated analyses show that, rather than positive correlations
between levels of closely related compounds, there is often compensation -
when one compound is raised in quantity, another is lowered.
Synergy
We have learned in the last five years, that
most species have many phytochemicals with many biological activities and
that many of the phytochemicals we use for medicines, especially the
antibiotics (anthelminthics, bactericides, fungicides, viricides,
vermifuges, etc.), serve as natural pesticides for the species containing
them. As we would expect, evolution seems to favor a synergy among such
pesticides, which often carries over into their medical potential.
By examining the non-aggregated entries, one
can, through various computational techniques, ask which of the mint
analyses cited in this volume have the greatest reported variety or total
concentration of phytochemicals with a specific activity (for instance
which mints have the greatest number of antispasmodic compounds and which
have the greatest total reported concentration of one or all of these
spasmolytic compounds). A number of tools have been developed by the
authors to allow these types of queries to be made for the entire
phytochemical database (including the mints) on the Internet
(Beckstrom-Sternberg and Duke) at the following URL:
http://www.ars-grin.gov/duke/.
Properties of Aromatic Compounds
Because of the unique properties of aromatic
compounds, which are important for both herbal medicine and aromatherapy,
there's more to aromatherapy than meets the nose. It has been clearly
demonstrated that many of the aromatic compounds are biologically active
whether inhaled, ingested, or applied topically. Cineole for example, via
its CNS activities, can improve a rodent's ability to work its way through
a maze, whether ingested or inhaled. Likewise, cineole, as well as other
aromatic compounds, can speed up and increase the transdermal absorption
of other compounds, sometimes by as much as 100-fold. The implications of
this are inspiring as well as sobering. The increased absorbtion allows
smaller amounts of an active compound to be used, and puts it directly
into the bloodstream rather than passing through the gut, where it could
be altered or inactivated. On the down side, too much of a good thing
could be fatal, pointing to the need for standardization of topically
applied compounds and their carriers, especially in light of the huge
variation in the concentrations of plant chemical constituents.
Ecotypes
One interesting speculation to us is that
rosemary, the herb of remembrance, may in fact be preventively active,
perhaps even transdermally, against Alzheimer's disease. Rosmarinic acid,
namesake of rosemary, has three different activities that might be useful
in Alzheimer's disease: anticomplement activity, antioxidant activity,
and choline sparing activity. There are over a dozen antioxidants in
rosemary and more than five anticholinesterase compounds. By analyzing the
non-aggregated, individual assay data we can see which ecotype or variety
is best endowed with these biologically active compounds. This ecotypic
variation could form the basis of an industry dedicated to cultivating
specialized ecotypes of the same species for different medicinal
applications.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
With the new labeling laws signed by
President Clinton on October 15, 1994, it seems legal and possible for
herbalists to say that rosemary contains these compounds, but not to say
that rosemary will prevent or decelerate Alzheimer's. We believe that
rosemary, the herb of remembrance, can be proved useful in Alzheimer's,
and that it may be more useful than some FDA-approved drugs for
Alzheimer's. However, we doubt that anyone will invest the required 500
million to prove that rosemary is safe and efficacious for Alzheimer's. So
for economic reasons, we may not be getting the best medicine for
Alzheimer's. It would be difficult to secure a patent for rosemary for
Alzheimer's. Strangely though, one could analyze different varieties of
rosemary to find which one was richest in the anticholinesterase compounds
and patent that variety as unique phytochemically, to be clonally
reproduced, under ecological conditions that increase the quantities of
the anticholinesterase compounds.
Aromathematics
Of course, as new data accumulates, other
edible and non-edible mints may prove even richer in antialzheimeran
phytochemicals. Mints other than lavender and melissa may prove richer in
sedative compounds. Mints other than peppermint and spearmint may prove
richer in carminative compounds and antipruritic phytochemicals. Mints
other than perilla may prove richer in breast-cancer preventive
phytochemicals like carvone, limonene, and perillyl-alcohol. That's
what's so exciting about this new field we call aromathematics (so as not
to offend long-term advocates of aromatherapy), which is here defined as
the study of aromatic compounds and their biological activities; with each
new detailed analysis published, a new candidate may emerge for several
diseases.
Standardized Extracts vs. the Silver Bullet
We feel that in many cases, standardized
extracts of these potent mints, may be safer and just as efficacious as
many of the more expensive synthetic options. Consider the following
example. If your physician has diagnosed you correctly (with Lyme disease,
the physician is wrong nearly half the time), and if you do not have any
co-morbid factors (most of us do), and if you are not deficient in some
mineral, vitamin, or vital phytochemical that has not yet proven vital
(and most of us are deficient in at least one), then the physician's
silver bullet may help. But if all three conditions are not satisfied,
then the safe herbs may have more to offer. The homeostatic human body is
good at sequestering from an herb tea those phytochemicals that it needs
and rejecting things it doesn't need. Thus the menu of thousands of
phytochemicals in an herb tea may give the human body opportunity to
select those that it needs, rejecting those that might be harmful.
The Asthma Challenge
"Three months of 5-lipoxygenase inhibition
produced a significant improvement in asthma control"
(JAMA#275(12):931.1996). This tells us that the American Medical
Association believes that 5-lipoxygenase inhibition can help with asthma.
So we pose to you, the reader, the question, which of the mints mentioned
herein has the greatest variety and/or quantity of lipoxygenase inhibitors
reported? Would that be worth taking for asthma in a desperate situation:
no physician, no medicine? The above cited paper in the Journal of the
American Medical Association states that inhibition of 5-lipoxygenase is
associated with improved asthma control as evidenced by reduced asthma
exacerbations, objective measures of lung function, quality of life, and
medication use. We suspect that antileukotrienic activity in many of our
mints could likewise be channeled into antiasthmatic utility.
Further, we suspect that, on average,
through synergy, lower doses of total mixed LO-inhibitors will be more
effective than an equal dose of a single LO-inhibitor, and possibly less
likely to have serious side effects, especially from mints that are GRAF
(Generally Recognized As Food).
With fewer and fewer Americans able to
afford the synthetic silver bullets offered us by the Pharmaceutical
Industry, we anticipate that North Americans will be clamoring for a
program like the TRAMIL program in the Caribbean countries. Experts in the
fields of botany, chemistry, medicine, and pharmacy review the folk
medicines available and select the safer and/or more effective among these
herbs. We believe that data like those presented in this book will help
select the best and safest medicinal mints for those of us who prefer
herbal alternatives for economic, medicinal or mystical reasons.
Caveats, Details and Abbreviations
In order to make this book as useful as
possible, it has been divided into two distinct parts. Part 1 lists the
chemicals found in each plant, with quantities listed in parts per million
(ppm), unless otherwise stated. Part 2 is a list of some reported
biological activities of those chemicals. The astute reader may notice
that a number of rather common chemicals are missing from these pages;
this is done by design. Chemicals which the authors deemed ubiquitous, or
common to all or most plants, are omitted when there is no quantitative
data, since they communicate little of real value when quantitative data
are lacking. The quantitative data for many of the minerals are often more
a mirror of the soil's mineral content rather than an indication that the
plant is specially endowed, since few plants are true accumulators.
The list of non-quantitative ubiquitous
chemicals excluded from this work is found below:
Non-Quantitative Ubiquitous Chemicals Excluded from the Analysis
ACETALDEHYDE
ACETONE
ALANINE
ALPHA-TOCOPHEROL
ALUMINUM
AMMONIA(NH3)
ANTHOCYANINS
ARACHIDIC-ACID
ARACHIDONIC-ACID
ARGININE
ARSENIC
ASCORBIC-ACID
ASH
ASPARTIC-ACID
BARIUM
BEHENIC-ACID
BETA-CAROTENE
BETA-SITOSTEROL
BETA-SITOSTEROL-GLYCOSIDE
BETA-TOCOPHEROL
BORON
BROMINE
BUTYRIC-ACID
CADMIUM
CALCIUM
CAPROIC-ACID
CARBOHYDRATES
CELLULOSE
CHLORINE
CHLOROPHYLL
CHOLESTEROL
CHOLINE
CHROMIUM
CITRIC-ACID
COBALT
COPPER
CYSTEINE
CYSTINE
DOCOSAHEXAENOIC-ACID
DOCOSAPENTAENOIC-ACID
EICOSAPENTAENOIC-ACID
EO
ERUCIC-ACID
ETHANOL
FAT
FIBER
FLUORINE
FOLACIN
FRUCTOSE
GADOLEIC-ACID
GALACTOSE
GLUCOSE
GLUTAMIC-ACID
GLUTAMINE
GLYCINE
GOLD
HISTIDINE
INDOLE-ACETIC-ACID
IODINE
IRON
ISOLEUCINE
KILOCALORIES
LAURIC-ACID
LEAD
LECITHIN
LEUCINE
LIGNOCERIC-ACID
LINOLEIC-ACID
LINOLENIC-ACID
LITHIUM
LYSINE
MAGNESIUM
MANGANESE
MERCURY
METHIONINE
MOLYBDENUM
MUFA
MYRISTIC-ACID
NIACIN
NICKEL
NITROGEN
OCTADECATETRAENOIC-ACID
OLEIC-ACID
PALMITIC-ACID
PALMITOLEIC-ACID
PANTOTHENIC-ACID
PECTIN
PEROXIDASE
PHENYLALANINE
PHOSPHORUS
POTASSIUM
PROLINE
PROTEIN
PUFA
RESIN
RHAMNOSE
RIBOFLAVIN
RIBONUCLEASE
RUBIDIUM
SELENIUM
SERINE
SFA
SHIKIMIC-ACID
SILICON
SITOSTEROL
SODIUM
STARCH
STEARIC-ACID
STIGMASTEROL
STRONTIUM
SUCCINIC-ACID
SUCROSE
SULFUR
SYRINGIC-ACID
TANNIN
TARTARIC-ACID
THIAMIN
THREONINE
TIN
TITANIUM
TOCOPHEROL
TOCOTRIENOL
TRYPTOPHAN
TYROSINE
URONIC-ACID
VALINE
VANADIUM
VIT-B12
VIT-B6
VIT-D
VIT-E
WATER
XANTHOPHYLLS
XYLOSE
ZINC
ZIRCONIUM
(See Appendix 1: Deck of Cards)