Herbal Antibiotics Natural Alternatives for Treating Drug-Resistant Bacteria

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cover next page > cover next page > title: author: publisher: isbn10 | asin: print isbn13: ebook isbn13: language: subject publication date: lcc: ddc: subject: < previous page page_i next page > Page i Herbal Antibiotics Natural Alternatives for Treating Drug-Resistant Bacteria Stephen Harrod Buhner Foreword by James A. Duke, Ph.D. A Medicinal Herb Guide Schoolhouse Road Pownal, Vermont 05261 < previous page page_i next page > cover next page > cover next page > title: author: publisher: isbn10 | asin: print isbn13: ebook isbn13: language: subject publication date: lcc: ddc: subject: < previous page page_ii next page > Page ii The mission of Storey Communications is to serve our customers by publishing practical information that encourages personal independence in harmony with the environment. This publication is intended to provide educational information for the reader on the covered subject. It is not intended to take the place of personalized medical counseling, diagnosis, and treatment from a trained health professional. Edited by Deborah Balmuth Cover design by Meredith Maker Cover art production and text design by Betty Kodela Text production by Susan Bernier Illustrations by Beverly Duncan, except on pages 1, 23, 33, 57, and 102 by Sarah Brill; pages 18, 49, 60, 87, and 93 by Brigita Fuhrmann; and pages 26, 89, and 91 by Alison Kolesar Indexed by Peggy Holloway Professional review by David Hoffmann Copyright © 1999 by Stephen Harrod Buhner All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages or reproduce illustrations in a review with appropriate credits; nor may any part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other without written permission from the publisher. The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. All recommendations are made without guarantee on the part of the author or Storey Books. The author and publisher disclaim any liability in connection with the use of this information. For additional information please contact Storey Books, Schoolhouse Road, Pownal, Vermont 05261. Storey Books are available for special premium and promotional uses and for customized editions. For further information, please call Storey's Custom Publishing Department at 1-800-793-9396. Printed in the United States by R.R. Donnelley 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Buhner, Stephen Harrod. Herbal antibiotics : natural alternatives for treating drug-resistant bacteria / Stephen Harrod Buhner ; foreword by James A. Duke. p. cm. (A medicinal herb guide) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-58017-148-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Antibacterial agents. 2. Herbs Therapeutic use. 3. Bacterial infections Alternative treatment. 4. Drug resistance in microorganisms. I. Title. II. Series. RM409.B84 1999 616´.014dc21 99-33056 CIP < previous page page_ii next page > < previous page page_iii next page > Page iii Dedication Rosemary Gladstar, Susun Weed, and David Hoffmann for knowing (and living) that it is essential to risk exposing the deepest weaknesses of the self for the work that we are here to do to come through. Matthew Wood for having the courage to begin finding a unique Western herbal diagnostic system and for being the first to publicly say that Samuel Thompson knew what he was doing. Mary Shelley for bringing the dangers of our times so clearly into story form and into our collective consciousness. Acknowledgments Thanks to Barbara Griggs for the Latin quotation in the Epilogue which is from the Middle Ages text, A Treatise on Scurvy. Thanks are also due to Paul Bergner and K. P. Khalsa for the excellence of their clinical work and research, and to Marc Lappé for understanding that bacterial resistance is an ecological and not an overuse problem. < previous page page_iii next page > < previous page page_iv next page > Page iv Contents Foreword by James A. Duke, Ph.D v Preface vii 1 The End of Antibiotics? 1 2 Botanical Medicines with the Strongest Antibiotic Properties 18 3 The First Line of Defense: Strengthening the Immune System 67 4 Making and Using Herbal Medicines 85 Epilogue 106 Glossary 107 Resources 110 Suggested Reading 110 Selected Bibliography 110 General References 127 Index 128 < previous page page_iv next page > < previous page page_v next page > Page v Foreword by James A. Duke, Ph.D. Stephen Buhner has arrived at (and shares with you, the reader) the frightening truth that you won't find in the Journal of the American Medical Association: We are running out of weapons in the war on germs. Since germs can go through a generation in 20 minutes or so, instead of the 20 years or so it takes us humans to reproduce ourselves, it's no small wonder that the germs are evolving resistance to our chemical weapons as rapidly as we develop them. When the drug vancomycin falls completely by the wayside, as it will, we may, just as Stephen predicts here and I have predicted elsewhere, fall back on the bimillennial biblical medicinal herbs such as garlic and onion. These herbs each contain dozens of mild antibiotic compounds (some people object to using the term "antibiotic" to refer to higher plant phytochemicals, but I do not share their disdain for such terminology). It is easy for a rapidly reproducing bug or bacterial species to outwit (out-evolve) a single compound by learning to break it down or even to use it in its own metabolism, but not so easy for it to outwit the complex compounds found in herbs. Scientists are recognizing this fact and developing more complex compounds such as the AIDS cocktail and multiple chemotherapies for cancer. The same super-scientists who downplay the herbalists' claims of synergies that account for the effectiveness of particular herbs and herbal formulas, are now resorting to synergies of three or four compounds in their pharmaceutical formulas. It is certainly easier to demonstrate how two compounds can work synergistically than it is to figure out how 200 or 2000 different compounds (and more, as are present in all herbs) can work synergistically. < previous page page_v next page > < previous page page_vi next page > Page vi So, the scientific community will be reluctant to consider the remarkable synergistic suites of compounds that have evolved naturally in plants. But we really cannot afford to ignore these. For nature favors synergies among beneficial, plant-protective compounds within a plant species (with antibacterial, antifeedant, antifungal, antiviral, and insecticidal properties), and selects against antagonisms. When we borrow the antibiotic compounds from plants, we do better to borrow them all, not just the single solitary most powerful among them. We lose the synergy when we take out the solitary compound. But most important we facilitate the enemy, the germ, in its ability to outwit the monochemical medicine. The polychemical synergistic mix, concentrating the powers already evolved in medicinal plants, may be our best hope for confronting drug-resistant bacteria. THE EVOLUTION OF "MODERN" MEDICINE (as imagined and adapted by Jim Duke from Internet surf castings) 8,000,000 years ago: One chimp to another: "I have a tummy ache . . . " (in chimpanzeze, rubbing tummy). Response: ''Here, chimp, eat these bitter herbs!" (in chimpanzeze) 5,000,000 years ago: "Here, Hominid, eat these bitter herbs" (in hominidese) 2,500,000 years ago: "Here, Homo, eat these bitter herbs and leave some for the Leakeys to find!" (in humanoid sign language) 2500 B.C.: "Here man, eat these bitter herbs!" (in Arabic, Coptic, Farsi, Hebrew, etc.). A.D. 0: "The saviour is borne! Faith can heal. Eat these bitter herbs (if faith should fail!)." A.D. 1200: "These bitter herbs aren't Christian. Say a prayer when you take those bitters!" A.D. 1850: "That prayer is superstition. Here, drink this bitter potion!" A.D. 1900: "That bitter potion is snake oil. Here, swallow this bitter pill!" A.D. 1950: "That bitter pill is ineffective. Here, take this bitter antibiotic!" A.D. 2000: "That bitter antibiotic is artificial, ineffective, and toxic; besides all the microbes are resistant, and some even feed on it (even vancomycin). Here, eat these bitter herbs. And pray they will help you (95 percent of Americans, but only 33 percent of psychologists, are reported to pray)." < previous page page_vi next page > < previous page page_vii next page > Page vii Preface I came to herbal medicine as many of us do: I became ill, and modern medicine could not help me. I felt betrayed. I was shocked, then angry. Then I began to think about a great many things in new ways. Because I was raised in a family of powerful political physicians, I was raised with the belief that after millennia, man (and modern medical science) had defeated disease. I was taught to believe that we were all on the threshold of everlasting, disease-free life. It was a tremendous shock, then, when reality took me aside and whispered in my ear. That murmured secret was an antibiotic-resistant ear infection. My physician at the time leafed futilely through pharmaceutical advertising circulars, trying one antibiotic after another to no avail. Unknown to both of us, all that we were doing was killing off the friendly bacteria in my body and leaving the way open to the antibiotic-resistant strain to multiply unhindered. Eventually I turned to herbs for treatment when it was clear that pharmaceuticals could not help. And, as they often do, herbal medicines worked. This was not the first time the plant world had cured what, for me, was a painful disease. But it was the final catalyst that caused me to abandon modern approaches and enter fully into the plant world. It was also the catalyst for my interest in epidemic disease and antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In the many years since that painful event, I have continued to deepen my knowledge and interest in such bacteria, and to write and speak often about them. They fascinate me. They are also the origin of a < previous page page_vii next page > < previous page page_viii next page > Page viii deepening humility. The two great lessons they have taught me are that human arrogance about the natural world has an inevitable, unpleasant outcome and that this sacred Earth upon which we live, without fanfare or personal aggrandizement, offers to humankind medicines with which to treat the bacterial superbugs that we, in our arrogance, have created. Like so many people before me, I had always known that I should work to save the Earth. I never knew before my illness that it was a two-way street: that the Earth also works to save us. This book explores some of the realities of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and some of the most powerful herbal medicines with which to treat them. In the coming years, I think many of us will need to understand both. I hope that for you, as it has been for me, this knowledge will be useful. < previous page page_viii next page >
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