Re: Uny, question about your Lobelia Tincture

The Lobelia available from both Mountain Rose and Pacific Botanicals includes the pods. I've used both very successfully. I always prefer Pacific Botanicals for herbs they grow on their farm (but I noticed in the past a few times there were more pods in what I got from M/R...which could simply be due to how it was 'scooped up' and put into the bag).

To my knowledge (and I've searched for 'hundreds of hours') there is no longer a source for lobelia pods without other plant parts.

As far as tincturing method, we do NOT press our separate tinctures (one in ACV, one in alcohol) before mixing them together. And whatever I originally posted ('haven't looked at the original post in years), we don't follow the "2 week thing" (just the moon cycles). So our separate batches tincture for several moon cycles before being mixed together; and then after mixing them, it tinctures for several more moon cycles before being pressed.

Back to a 'pods only' Lobelia tincture. I'm sure you know, Lobelia in excess can induce nausea/vomiting...and you might also know (or not) that too much/too strong Lobelia can induce respiratory distress (where it relieves respiratory distress in small amounts), along with many other similar flip/flop scenarios. The effects of Lobelia are VERY dose/strength/size dependent, and it's VERY important that an herbalist understand the conditions for which Lobelia is contraindicated (especially in the hands of the under-educated who tend to think 'more is better').

For example, since Lobelia 'relaxes the bronchials' (hence stopping an asthma attack), and will stop a grand mal seizure in progress (which seems to be an action related to 'relaxing something'), it seems logical one would use Lobelia to relax the arteries...say for high blood pressure, or in the event of a stroke. But with a 'dose/strength' dependent herb, logic may NOT dictate correctly.

We have great old healers by which to 'chart our course', but they did not have modern information available to them (and they rarely had to deal with people that were taking multiple pharmaceuticals similar to what people take now). And they did not deal with people that have the same level of compromise and toxicity that we see now. I cannot emphasize enough how EXTREMELY important it is to research FULLY (the information & Science that may appear to be villainizing herbs; that of the old healers, and the empirical data)...while learning what Science knows of the biological & physiological truths of the body. There are many instances where the old healers were in error.

For instance - Dr. Christopher classified Echinacea as a "blood cleanser" along with other alterative herbs. It is far from that (and much more than that). Dr. Schulze claims (as do many other modern herbalists) that it "bolsters" and "revs up" the immune system. But it actually MODULATES the immune system (echinacea will stop a cytochine/chemokine storm by modulating an immune system forced into hyperdrive). And because it modulates the immune system, it can be extremely beneficial for auto-immune issues. Yet even with these 'errors of knowledge', they both used Echinacea appropriately. That's something that comes from "mileage" and from being seriously in-tune with our healer/spirit within.

I said all that to say, I'd be VERY cautious/careful about making a "lobelia pod only" tincture and putting it into the hands of people that don't have adequate knowledge to use the herb safely. Dr. Christopher claimed (basically) that Lobelia is "100% safe"...but give too much Lobelia to someone with certain lung conditions combined with a weak heart (or odd arrhythmias), and the result could be terrible.

Knowledge IS the key...there's no such thing as too much of it! :)

Blessings,

Unyquity