GRGR (8) 169.37-170.10

[Michael D. Workman]

169.37 "valerian root" (Valeriana officinalis) Parts used and where grown:
Although valerian grows wild
all over Europe, most valerian used for medicinal extracts are cultivated.
The root is used. In what conditions might valerian be supportive? 
	
o anxiety
	
o dysmenorrhea
	
o insomnia

"Historical or traditional use: The Greek physician Dioscorides recommended
valerian for a host of medical problems, including digestive problems,
nausea, liver problems, and even urinary tract disorders. Use of valerian
for insomnia and nervous conditions has been common for many centuries. By
the eighteenth century, it was an accepted sedative and was also used for
nervous disorders associated with a restless digestive tract."

"Active constituents: Valerian root contains many different constituents
including essential oils that appear to contribute to the sedating
properties of the herb. Central nervous system sedation is regulated by
receptors in the brain known as GABA-A receptors. Valerian may weakly bind
to these receptors to exert a sedating effect."

"How much should I take? Many people take 300-500 mg of valerian root
herbal extract in capsules or tablets one hour before bedtime for insomnia.
As an alcohol-based tincture, 5 ml can be taken before bedtime. Combination
products with lemon balm, hops, passion flower, and scullcap can also be
used. Children aged six to twelve often respond to half the adult dose."

"Are there any side effects or interactions? Valerian should not be taken
with alcohol. Recent research indicates that valerian does not impair
ability to drive or operate machinery. Valerian does not lead to addiction
or dependence. There are no known contraindications to using valerian
during pregnancy or lactation."

For more, see http://www.mothernature.com/ency/Herb/Valerian.asp

169.37 "motherwort" Family: Labiatae; Genus and species: Leonurus cardiaca;
also known as: Lion's tail, heartwort; medicinal parts: leaves, flowers,
stems. Properties and Uses: Lowering blood pressure, mild tranquilizer.
Preparation: Infusion -- add sugar or honey to improve taste. Cautions:
Those with blood clotting disorders should avoid this herb. From
http://www.dreamscape.com/morgana/deimos.htm#MOT 

169.37 "lady's-slipper" (By Sandra Stalford Austin at 
http://www.htnp.com/vol06/quarter3/39SLIPPE.HTML): Along the trails in the
deep forest, the Lady's Slipper bends and sways her beautiful pouch-like
slipper in the breeze beneath the trees. The oval green leaves gather on
the stems behind the slipper as the lip jauntily pushes forward to meet
each and every passerby. 

The Lady's Slipper loves the early spring and from April till June her
yellow moccasin-like lip is easy to recognize in the dry to moist woodlands
and bogs. If you live in North America, she is found from Nova Scotia to
the southlands of Alabama and westward to Missouri and Minnesota. This
beautiful wild herb is part of the Orchid family and like many other wild
herbs, the Lady's Slipper is becoming increasingly rare, especially in the
shrinking American forests area. What a shame it would be to walk beneath
the tall trees and miss this perennial herb growing one to two feet tall
with its eight inch long green leaves waving a friendly hello. 

The Lady's Slipper is valued not only for its beauty, but also for its
medicinal uses. The plant was used many years ago by the American Indian
and the early day settlers. They used a boiled extract of the root to calm
nerve disorders. The extract was made by boiling the root after drying it
on a wire rack and with mortar and pestle, the root was crushed into a
powder. By the middle of the 19th century, American doctors were
prescribing the root for hysteria, delirium, irritability, headache,
epilepsy, neuralgia, muscle spasms and nervousness.

The Lady Slipper is an endangered species in Connecticut, and should not be
disturbed in nature.

169.39-169.40 "He is descended directly from the Welshman in Henry V who
ran around forcing people to eat his Leek." (GRC): "This is Fluellen, who
wears a leek on St. David's Day (March 1) in honor of the Welsh patron
saint. A nationalist, Fluellen takes offense when the English soldier
Pistol disparages the custom. So he forces Pistol (pronounced "pizzle") to
"eat, look you, this leek; because, look you, you do not love it, nor your
affections and your appetites and your digestions doo's not agree with it,
I would desire you to eat it." This sexual punning becomes more blatant
when Fluellen commands Pistol to eat, "Or I have another leek in my pocket,
which you shall eat." Henry V was also a very successful film starring
Lawrence Olivier. A certain nationalistic fervor lay behind this success:
the drama celebrated the only other invasion of Europe that England had
attempted before the Normandy Invasion of June 6, 1944."

Here's Kenneth Branagh giving commentary on the planning of his screenplay
(from http://webware.princeton.edu/Lit131/W-H5.HTM): "I started work on the
first draft [of the screenplay] in January 1988. It seemed clear that a
great deal of the text would have to be cut, as I was determined that the
film should be of commercial length...The cuts dictated themselves. The
more tortuous aspects of the Fluellen/Pistol antagonism, culminating in the
resoundingly unfunny leek scene, were the first to go. The double-edged
exchange between Henry and Burgundy in Act V also...added little to the
aspects of the play we wanted to explore...I wanted there to be no fat on
the film at all..."

170.5 "Ashkenazic Jews...Harley Street" (GRC): "The Ashkenazic, or Central
European, Jews occupied London's East End, so their accents would not be
heard among the immensely successful doctors whose offices are on London's
Harley Street."

170.10 "BMRs run low as -35, -40." Basal metobolic rate; a body's base rate
of metabolism (the process, in an organism or a single cell, by which
nutritive material is built up into living matter).

Cheers,

Michael Workman
Northwestern University
Department Of Cardiology
________________________________________________________________

"The intelligent man who is proud of his intelligence is like the condemned
man who is proud of his large cell." 

--Simone Weil