This is an OLD post from an OLD friend.
I'm sure he won't mind me putting it here.
It seems to have relevance given that we now know a lot more about the chemistry of Viola spp
Adam Van Wirdum <adam...@ozemail.com.au> wrote:
>Will violets cure cancer?
>An ancient Australian herbalist thinks so. In a facinating new book
>recently published he has shown that violets have been used as an
>anti-cancer remedy for 100 years. They are especially popular in French and
>English country folklore. Documented evidence of total remission of cancer
>has existed for hundreds of years while being ignored by the modern medical
>establishment. Has this plant missed being analysed because it is too
>common? While huge corporations screen thousands of plants from the
>Rainforests of South America the answer could be sitting in their own
>corporate garden.
>Violets
>"Violets secrete a soft substance called mucilage which is useful in cases
>of ..inflammation and irritation of the stomach and intestine. In the
>official medical records there is a case of a man who cured himself of
>cancer of the throat by infusions and compresses of Violets.''
>Maurice Messague 1975
>Violets are one of the best of all blood purifying herbs. Maude Grieve and
>Maurice Messegue, two of the greatest herbalists of this century, speak
>glowingly of the humble Violet, although they are cautious in recommending
>its use for cancer.
>"Of late years, preparations of fresh Violet leaves have been used both
>internally and externally in the treatment of cancer, and though the
>British Pharmacopoeia does not uphold the treatment, it specifies how they
>are employed. From other sources it is stated that Violet leaves have been
>used with benefit to allay the pain in cancerous growths, especially in the
>throat, which no other treatment relieved, and several reputed cures have
>been recorded''
>Maude Grieve 1931
>Maude Grieve in her classic 1931 herb book "A Modern Herbal" gives specific
>instructions for making Violet tea (2 1/2 ounces fresh leaves to one pint
>of boiling water). Interestingly, Violets have a very long tradition of
>being used for cancer. Culpeper says:
> "the green leaves are used with other herbs to make plasters and poultices
>for inflammation and swellings and to ease all pain"
>Catherine Booth, the wife of the founder of the Salvation Army is said to
>have used Violet leaves to ease the pain of her advanced cancer.
>Nelson Coon mentions the case of Lady Margaret Marsham whose throat was
>closed by a malignant growth, External infusions of Violet leaves were made
>and the cancer apparently disappeared very quickly.
>"The Violet plant, as far back as 500 B.C., was used in poultice form as a
>cure for surface cancer. It was used in 18th century England for the same
>purpose. And now only months ago - a letter from a farmer in Michigan tells
>me how he used the Violet plant as a skin cancer remedy. When the remedy
>was tried on a cancerous mouse here at the Institute, we found that it did
>damage the cancer."
>Dr. J.L.Hartwell, National Cancer Institute USA. Quoted in N. Coon 1977
>There are many varieties of .i.violet ;on the market at the moment.
>Commonly "General Herricks", the large florist's violet, is sold in
>nurseries as Viola Odorata. This is not the one I recommend for helping
>treat Cancer. The small old-fashioned, mauve garden violet of grandma's
>garden(Prince of Wales) with small, pretty, fragrant, violet blue flowers
>is the one that has been used for centuries for healing. Other violets may
>works as well , but no-one has really done the necessary extensive research
>on Violet leaves for which the repeated claims over the centuries cry out.
>Violets are simplicitly themselves to take. Pick several leaves and infuse
>them in boiling water and drink. I often have Violet leaf tea when I have
>the flu. Its "nothing" flavour is strangely invigorating and "moreish".
>Perhaps my body is craving what it knows is good for it.
>Fresh Violet leaves can also be picked from the garden, torn and added to a
>salad. They are quite tasty with a dressing. "
>from "The Healing Garden" 1994 Michael Bailes and Kangaroo Press.copyright
Michael
