The Sneezin' Season

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Herbal inflammation fighters

Chamomile (Matricaria recutita) contains flavonoids and two other anti-allergy substances, azulene and chamazulene. Rob McCaleb, president of the Herb Research Foundation in Boulder, Colorado, and coauthor of The Encyclopedia of Popular Herbs (Prima, 2000), says azulene and chamazulene are among the substances that may block the release of histamine. Chamomile also has anti-inflammatory activity.

You can take 10 to 40 drops of tincture three times a day. To make tea, steep a teaspoon of dried flowers in a cup of hot water for five to ten minutes. Strain, and drink 3 to 4 cups a day. You can also use chamomile externally. Simply dampen a clean cloth with cool tea and apply to inflamed skin, whether that’s a red, itchy nose or allergically provoked hives. Or try a commercial chamomile-containing cream. McCaleb notes that a very small number of allergies to chamomile have been reported.

Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) contains quercetin and other flavonoids, plus ginkgolides. Ginkgolides inhibit the action of the body’s platelet activating factor (PAF), a chemical involved in the biochemistry of allergies and asthma. In people who have asthma, PAF causes airways to constrict, making breathing more difficult. Preliminary studies show that ginkgolides reduce airway constriction in response to inhaled allergens or exercise. If you’re going to take ginkgo, you’ll need to take a standardized extract; the compounds in ginkgo leaves need to be highly concentrated. Duke recommends a dosage of 80 mg of standardized extract one to three times a day. Because of ginkgo’s blood-thinning actions, don’t combine this herb with a prescription blood thinner.

Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), particularly the leaves’ stinging hairs, are rich in histamine and other chemicals that modify the inflammatory response. This herb also contains anti-inflammatory substances, flavonoids, and a host of vitamins and minerals.

You may well wonder how histamine actually improves a condition caused by histamine. Brinker explains that, theoretically, additional histamine can inhibit some aspects of the body’s inflammatory response. Other plant components probably contribute to the end result, he says.

Contradictory as it might seem, research does suggest that nettle works. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of sixty-nine patients with hay fever, 58 percent rated freeze-dried, encapsulated nettle effective, and 48 percent said the herb was as good as or better than previously used medicines. Wiancek sees similar results in her clinic in Vail, Colorado. “It works in about 50 percent of my patients, but for that 50 percent it does wonders,” she says.

If you want to try using nettle, seek a product made from the fresh freeze-dried herb, says Brinker. The reason is that the leaves lose their histamine upon air drying. He recommends one to two 300-mg capsules every three to four hours as needed. Don’t use nettle during pregnancy.

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