Herbs & Herbal Remedies @ Green Papaya

Toothache Treatment

Family: Compositae; (includes Daisy, Dandelion, Marigold)

Genus and Species: Artemisia Dracunculus

Also known as: French or Russian Tarragon, Estragon, Dragon Herb

Parts used: Leaves

Tarragon is best known as the main seasoning in bearnaise sauce, but like all aromatic herbs, it also has a long history in herbal Healing. Unlike most other aromatics, however, it fell from Healing fashion in the 17th century and has only recently been rediscovered as an oral anesthetic with some potential for the prevention of heart disease.

Pilgrim’s Plant

The ancient Greeks knew chewing tarragon numbs the mouth and used it to treat toothache. They also figured that its anesthetic power-not to mention its wide-ranging root runners made it the herb of choice to relieve the discomforts of traveling.

Roman naturalist Pliny wrote that the herb prevents fatigue on long journeys. And during the Middle Ages, pilgrims placed tarragon sprigs in their shoes.

Oddly enough for an herb that numbs the mouth, around the 10th century, Arab physicians recommended tarragon as an appetite stimulant.

Under the Doctrine of Signatures-the medieval belief that an herb’s appearance reveals its medicinal value-tarragon’s serpentine roots were considered a sign it could cure snakebite. Over the centuries, the belief expanded to include the bites of rabid dogs. But by the 17th century, this belief had faded.

Later, herbalists virtually abandoned tarragon because it loses most of its aromatic Healing oil as it dries Even America’s 19th-century Eclectic physicians, who prized botanical drugs, had no use for it.

Few contemporary herbalists value tarragon except in French cooking. Those who do recognize it reiterate its traditional uses as a diuretic, appetite stimulant, digestive aid, and treatment for toothache.