St. John's Wort - A Must for your Herbal Medicine Cabinet
For years we have had St. John’s Wort in capsule form in our herbal medicine cabinet. But only recently have we considered growing our own. This year we have taken the leap and already have seeds started in our growing room. By the time spring comes, we’ll be ready to plant our own and have enough to share with you, our customers and friends!
Why would we want to grow this flower?
The wide range of health benefits make this flower an important item for our herbal medicine cabinet and we want to know for certain we are getting a good quality. Growing our own ensures that we are harvesting the plant at just the right time to gain all the benefits.
In recent years, St. John’s Wort has become extremely popular as a potential healing herbal remedy for many health problems.
St. John’s Wort is also known as Hypericum perforatum: it is a small flowering plant of genus Hypericum (scientific name) which grows wild in Europe but extends to America, Russia, Asia, China, and the Middle East.
You can find it in the form of a capsule, tincture, and in oil. Chemical components include bioflavonoids and a number of antioxidants that can have a significant impact on the body’s hormonal, physical and chemical behavior.
Although ingredients are very valuable to human health, there are some possible side effects or complications that may arise with certain conditions or drugs along with the use of St. John’s Wort. Just like any herbal remedy, be sure to consult with your doctor or naturopath provider when using.
We plan to make an oil with our home-grown St. John’s Wort and include it in our pain-relieving salve made from Arnica Oil.
How to make St. John’s Wort Oil
The oil used to make salve or use directly on the skin, is made by obtaining the flowers which we will collect near the ends of the flowering branches of the plant. Either fresh or dried, these are added to jars filled with a good, quality olive oil. In 6 weeks with proper care, the oil will be ready to be strained and used.
This oil is widely consumed in various countries by applying it to heal wounds without any trace and is also consumed to heal stomach wounds.
We plan to use the oil in our Arnica Oil Pain Relief salve to get the extra benefits.
Benefits of St. John’s wort Oil or Salve
Antidepressant – Perhaps the most famous feature is the antidepressant ability of this flower. Used for generations to reduce symptoms of depression and is even prescribed by doctors to their patients for this purpose.
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