Active ingredients

Lemons are the source for lemon oil, an essential oil or active ingredient of lemons.

Topic in Gardening courses

Active ingredients in herbs are substances in plants that have medicinal benefits. In herbal medicine the active ingredient is often unknown or requires other factors for a therapeutic effect.

Plants give us not only active ingredients, but also nutrients in the form of minerals, vitamins and other substances. See Nutrients in foods.

Alkaloids

Main article: Alkaloids

Alkaloids are a group of naturally occurring chemical compounds that contain mostly basic nitrogen atoms.

Anthraquinone

Main article: Anthraquinone

Anthraquinone is a building block of many dyes and is used in bleaching pulp for papermaking. Anthraquinones act to stimulate muscular contraction of the large intestine and therefore have a laxative effect.

Flavonoid

Main article: Flavonoid

Flavonoids are the most important plant pigments for yellow or orange colors in herbs. Many animals, and also humans, ingest significant quantities in their diet. Many flavonoids have a diuretic action, others are antiseptic.

Mucilage

Main article: Mucilage

Mucilage is a sweet, gel-like substance produced by most plants and some microorganisms. It has the tendency to draw water to it - so that when water is added it swells to form a viscous fluid.

Saponin

Main article: Saponin

Saponins are found in many plants. Saponins are glycosides. Like soap they lather when they are mixed with water. Soapwort has a high saponin content and can be used to make natural soap. Saponins have an expectorant effect on the body (bring up mucus from the lungs), are diuretic (elevate the rate of urination), and are said to be beneficial for the circulatory system.

Tannin

Main article: Tannin

Tannins are compound bio-molecules that are found in species throughout the plant kingdom, for example in tea, in wine and tree bark, generally in leaf, bud, seed, root, and stem tissues. Tannins act as an astringent (tends to shrink or constrict body tissues).

Essential oil

Main article: Essential oil

Also called: Volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetherolea.
They give the aroma and flavor to herbs that we use in foods. An oil is "essential" in the sense that it carries a distinctive scent, or essence, of the plant. Essential oils do not form a distinctive category for any medical, pharmacological, or culinary purpose.

External links

• Active ingredients in herbs Herb Health Guide
• Active ingredient Wikipedia

Videos

• Difference Between Herbs & Drugs Some plants contain relatively more nutrients and other plants more active ingredients.