Plantain

We are going to talk about what was an illegal substance. No, I'm not talking about Cocaine or Marijuana. I am going to discuss a weed called Plantain or Plantago major, not to be confused with the Plantain that looks like bananas.

This little weed grows in every yard that hasn't been sprayed. For those of you who are fussy about your yard, the bad thing about Plantain is that its wide leaves tend to spread out and when the plant is pulled out by its single root, it leaves a large bare spot about the size of a dinner plate. In my state, we mostly find the wide leaf variety but there is a narrow leaf variety also.

The spoon-shaped wide leaves are very identifiable by the fact that the leaf stem is an extension of the leaf. Its seeds are on a spike that grows 5 to 10 inches up from the center of this plant. These seeds are used as a laxative.

Before I tell you about the "miracles" this little plant does, let's go back to why it is illegal. In 1997 a company called RISE AND SHINE from the Northwest United States bought some Plantain and received Fox Glove by mistake. According to the source of this information, A Healthier You, which is a newsletter put out by David Christopher M.H., It was caught before anyone got hurt (Fox Glove is the source of Digitalis which affects the heart muscle.) The Food and Drug Administration decided that there was a big problem and in 1997 banned Plantain. Did they ban Fox Glove? According to David, they did not.

A few years ago the FDA banned Chaparral and sprayed large sections of desert where it grew. Chaparral is very effective as a blood cleanser, so much so that it is used with success for certain cancers.

Now, why is Plantain so exciting to herbalist? First, because it is very safe. It is so safe that it can be eaten like lettuce. Also, because it is the very best herb at drawing poisons out of the body. With a bug bite or sting, the crushed leaf of the Plantain will draw the poison, along with the stinger out promptly.
At a rally being held at an organic farm that I was attending, a couple of workers came running up to me telling me that there was a problem. It seems that one of the other guests had put a soda can down and when he went to drink it, he swallowed a bee. They wanted to see if there was something that could be done. I talked to the man and it seemed that he had been stung in the esophagus. So we went to the garden and pulled up some plantain. I told him to chew on the leaves but only swallow the juice of the leaves. While he was doing that, I got some Cayenne and water ready. After chewing on a few leaves and spitting them out, I had him drink the Cayenne water.

This did not make him happy. My next thing was to tell him that if at any time he was having trouble taking a deep breath or swallowing, he was to go to the local hospital about 5 miles away. I kept an eye on the man for the rest of the time that I was there and he didn't seem to be in a hurry to leave. His family was playing around having a lot of fun.

A couple of weeks later, I asked the manager of the organic farm if he knew what had happened to that man. He said that he didn't know but gave me a phone number. I called and asked the man what had happened. He was so angry over the phone. He told me how terrible it was that I gave him the cayenne water as his throat burned all afternoon. I told him that I was sorry to hear that but I was smiling while I said this. After hanging up I knew that this man didn't have a clue how dangerous this was. The Plantain had pulled some of the toxin out of the area and the cayenne drew the blood to this area to clean up the problem. He could have had a real problem.

Dr. John Christopher recommending using Plantain to draw toxin out when one has stepped on a nail. He mixed the crushed or dried leaves with Olive Oil and applied it to the bottom of the foot. As the Oil dried or was absorbed, a fresh poultice of Plantain would be applied until the redness was gone.

Using this same factor, Sister Ann Marie contacted me about a foot problem. She has diabetes and one of her legs was already taken off years ago but she is fighting to keep the second one. I went to visit her and her foot was dark red and disfigured to the point of looking like a sweet potato. It was strange that the red and swelling didn't go up her leg but stayed only on the foot. She wanted very much to keep this leg. On the heal of this foot was an ulcerated sore, so my first suggestion was to apply Plantain salve to that area. I suggested that she could do this every night and because it would weep, she would have to make sure she had material that would absorb the liquid that would be coming out. During the daytime, I suggested that she get the circulation going in that foot and the way she was going to do it was to alternate between hot and cold water baths on the foot in the day time.
I didn't get back to see her for a month but when I did, the ulcerated sore was puckered white scar tissue and the foot was its normal shape and color. She told me that the doctor that checks her was amazed and told her to keep doing whatever it was that she was doing as it looked great.

The Christopher Herb Company makes an ointment that contains Plantain, called Black Ointment. I have used it on boils and staph infections to "draw them up" for identification. My sister showed me something on her hand and wanted to know what it was. I applied the Black Ointment and in three days I could tell her what it was and we could treat it. Usually it takes about three days of applying the Black Ointment to bring the boil to the breaking point. After it has opened one must allow the "anger" to weep by continuing to draw it out with the ointment. When this is done, it is time for healing and the drawing ointment is replaced with a healing ointment.

Ointments can be made by putting plant material into some Olive Oil and simmering it for a while, then straining the plant material out. In some cases the plant material can be left in the oil and when cooled, used for the purpose it was intended.

Plantain can be used in the winter by drying it and putting the dried material into clean glass jars with labels. Dried Plantain works as well as the fresh plant. Historically it was used to reduce swelling and it reduces the heat and pain of inflammation.

Having checked Dr. Dukes Database, I find that this plant contains almost 80 constituents to keep it in balance. Everything from Anticancer elements to some that are sedative and some that dilate the veins.