Vanilla

Siliqua Vanilla
Picture Darstellung und Beschreibung Pharmacopoea Borussica, Berg, 1861

Picture 1. Bourban Vanilla     2. Mexican Vanilla;      3. Tahitian Vanilla;     4. Wild Vanilla      
(A Manual of Organic Materia Medica and Pharmacognosy, Sayre, 1917)

Picture 1–6 are different types of commercial Bean; 7 is the Wild form.
Squibb’s Atlas of the Official Drugs, Mansfield, 1919

Botanical name:


Vanilla planifolia (syn. V. fragrans, Myrobroma fragrans) and related species

Parts used:


Fruit

Temperature & Taste:


Warm, dry. Pungent, aromatic

Uses:


1. Opens the Orifices, Stops Spasms:
-damp or phlegm obstructing the Brain or Nerves
-Spasm, Cramping from Wind-Phlegm
-Melancholy, low spirit

2. Clears Phlegm, Moves the Qi, Opens Obstructions:
-abdominal or hypochondriac spasm and pain
-Wind-colic
-Phlegm obstructing the Lungs, Cough
-Typhus

3. Moves the Blood:
-Amenorrhea, Dysmenorrhea
-also for Uterine Bleeding
-Hysteria

4. Warms the Kidneys:
-Male weakness, Impotence

5. Used in flavoring
-an important flavoring compound

6. Externally:
-Caries
-applied to Wounds
-Cosmetic

Dose:


Powder: 500mg–2 grams
Tincture (1:10): 10–40 drops in wine
Picture

Main Combinations:


1. To aromatically awaken the Brain, clear Damp and settle Wind:
i. Vanilla with Storax, Nutmeg
ii. Vanilla with Pyrethrum, Cinnamon, Clove, Saffron, Lavender, Amber (Planche)
2. Stomach pain, Vanilla with Ginger and Orange peel
3. Cold Phlegm obstructing the Lungs:
i. Vanilla with Balsam of Tolu and Tragacanth
ii. Vanilla with Benzoin and Licorice
4. Amenorrhea, Metritis, Uterine Bleeding, Vanilla with Cinnamon
5. As a stimulant, Vanilla with Cocoa, Cinnamon
6. As a cosmetic, tinctures of Vanilla and Benzoin in Rose water

Major Formulas:



1. Honey Water, Aqua Mellis odorata regia
i. Coriander (8 oz.), fresh Lemon peel (1 oz.), Nutmeg, Storax, Benzoin (½ oz. each), Vanilla (3 drams), Alcohol (48 oz.). Infuse 24 hours and distil. Cephalic, nervine, cardiac, pectoral, cosmetic. Dose: half oz. (Pharmacopoeia Generalis, 1783)

Cautions:


Avoid large doses in Pregnancy

Main Preparations used:


Tincture, Extract

1. Tincture of Vanilla:
i. Vanilla (1 part), Alcohol (10 parts). Digest 8 days. Dose: 40 drops in Wine.