Hyssop Information

Hyssop is also known by the name Issopo. This herb is native to Europe and temperate Asia. Hyssop grows wild in warm countries with dry soil, and is now cultivated in the warmer parts of the United States. The part of this plant used medicinally is the above ground portion.

The name Hyssop is derived from the Greek "azob" and Hebrew "ezob", meaning "holy herb", as it was once used in purifying places of worship. Hyssop was well known in ancient Egypt, and is mentioned in the Book of Exodus (scholars believe the Hyssop of this reference was Origanum aegyptiacum, rather than Hyssopus officinalis). In 17th century Europe, it was used as a strewing herb to be walked upon, and to deter the spread of infection.

Hyssop flowers are much relished by bees and butterflies, especially since the plant has such a long flowering season.

Hyssop's anti-spasmodic action makes it useful in treating many respiratory conditions, such as asthma, cough and bronchitis. The primary chemical constituents include essential oil (pinene, camphene, camphor, terpinene), tannin, flavonoid (hyssopin), glycoside (diosmin), and bitter lactones (marrubiin, ursolic acid). Hyssop's diaphoretic properties also make it useful in the common cold. As a nervine, it may be used in anxiety states and hysteria. Hyssop is the herb-like fragrance used in Chartreuse, Benedictine, and other liqueurs. It is often planted as a companion to cabbage (deters the cabbage moth) and grapes.

Topical applications of this herb have include use as a gargle for sore throat, as a poultice or compress for bruises, sprains, wounds, & insect bites, as a bath herb for rheumatism, and as a salve or chest rub for congestion. The essential oil has been used to enhance mental alertness, and to relieve anxiety & exhaustion. The diluted essential oil has also been used to treat herpes lesions & scars.
 

Hyssop (huo xiang)

What is hyssop? What is it used for?

Hyssop is a thin, medium-sized plant believed to have originated in Asia, in the region surrounding the Black Sea. It is now found throughout Asia, especially in arid regions, partly because of its ability to survive in harsh climates. Hyssop has a light odor, with small, needle-like leaves and fragrant purple flowers. Both the leaves and flowers are used in herbal preparations.

Traditionally, hyssop has been used to soothe sore throats and clear up congestion in the chest. Some herbalists use hyssop to relieve intestinal disorders, such as cramping and flatulence.

Recent research has shown that the volatile oils contained in hyssop may relieve some upper respiratory tract infections, as well as coughing and bronchitis. Lab studies conducted in the mid-1990s found that certain compounds found in hyssop could impede progress of the HIV virus, but these studies have not been conducted in human subjects.


How much hyssop should I take?

The recommended dosages of hyssop are as follows: 2–3 teaspoons of hyssop steeped in one cup (250 ml) of hot water for 10-15 minutes, with no more than three cups of tea per day. As an option, some practitioners recommend 1–4 ml of hyssop tincture three times per day. If hyssop is being used for a sore throat, it is recommended that patients gargle with the tea or tincture before swallowing.


What forms of hyssop are available?

Hyssop is available as a tincture or extract. Dried hyssop can also be combined with hot water to make a hyssop tea.


What can happen if I take too much hyssop? Are there any interactions I should be aware of? What precautions should I take?

Although hyssop tea and tinctures are unlikely to cause any unwanted side-effects, the volatile oil in hyssop has been shown to cause seizures in adults taking more than 10 drops per day, or in children taking more than 2-3 drops over several days. For these reasons, it should not be taken by patients with epilepsy or other seizure-related conditions. It should not be taken by women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.

As of this writing, there are no well-known drug interactions with hyssop. As always, make sure to consult with a qualified health care practitioner before taking hyssop or any other herbal remedy or dietary supplement.

 

Description

Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis) is a member of the Labiatae or mint family. This aromatic evergreen, classified by botanists as a sub-shrub, should not be confused with several distinct species of plants also called hyssop, including giant hyssop, hedge hyssop, prairie hyssop, or wild hyssop. Hyssop is native to southern Europe and Asia. The London surgeon and apothecary John Gerard, author of the Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes brought hyssop to England in 1597. The attractive herb soon became a component in many ornamental knot gardens. The sun-loving hyssop has naturalized throughout North America, and grows wild in chalky soil and on dry and rocky slopes in the Mediterranean.

Hyssop has a short and fibrous rhizome. The stalk emerges from a woody base and divides into numerous erect, square, and branching stems that may reach a height of 2 ft (61 cm). The small leaves are opposite, without stems, and lance-shaped, with fine hairs and smooth margins. They have a somewhat bitter taste. Flowers have a tubular, two-lipped corolla, and four stamens. They bloom in successive whorls in the leaf axils at the top of the stems, only growing along one side. The blooms may be in shades of rose, purple, mauve, blue, and sometimes white, depending on the variety. Hyssop comes into flower from June through October, and the blossoms are well loved by bees. The perennial hyssop is a sweet and warming aromatic with a camphor-like scent. This garden favorite is especially useful in companion planting. Hyssop attracts the white butterfly, a pest to cabbage and broccoli, thus sparing the food crops from the infestation. The herb also has been used to increase the yield of grapevines and the flavor of the fruit when it is planted nearby.

The Hebrew people called this herb azob, meaning a holy herb. Hyssop was used in ancient times as a cleansing herb for temples and other sacred places. It was also used to repel insects. The Romans used hyssop to bring protection from the plague, and prepared an herbal wine containing hyssop. In ancient Greece, the physicians Galen and Hippocrates valued hyssop for inflammations of the throat and chest, pleurisy, and other bronchial complaints. In the early seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, hyssop tea and tincture were used to cure jaundice and dropsy.

General use

The flowers and leaves of hyssop are medicinally valuable. The herb has antimicrobial and anti-viral properties. It is especially useful in helping the immune system to combat respiratory infections and colds. Hyssop, taken in a warm infusion, acts as an expectorant and will help to expel phlegm and break up congestion in the lungs. It is also a beneficial herb for treatment of the cold sore virus, Herpes simplex. An infusion has also been used to relieve the distress of asthma. Hyssop is a diaphoretic, and acts to promote perspiration. It will help to reduce fever and eliminate toxins through the skin. Hyssop also acts as a carminative and digestive aid, relieving flatulence and relaxing the digestive system. This versatile herb is also a nervine, which calms anxiety. It is useful in children's digestive and respiratory herbal formulas, as well.

 

 

Used externally as a skin wash, a decoction of the flowering tops can help the healing of burns and relieve skin inflammations. The fresh, crushed leaves promote healing of bruises, and relieve the discomfort of insect bites and stings . When applied as a hair rinse, hyssop may help eliminate head lice. Hyssop preparations have also been used to relieve muscular pain and rheumatism when taken as a tea or as a bath additive. The hot vapors of a steaming decoction of hyssop may bring relief for earache and inflammation.

Research reported in 1990 confirmed that hyssop leaf extract demonstrates strong anti-HIV activity, though the specific compounds responsible for this anti-viral action were not identified in the study. Hyssop contains volatile oil consisting of camphene, pinenes, terpinene, the glycoside hyssopin, flavonoids (including diosmin and hesperidin), tannins, acids, resin, gum, and the bitter substance known as marrubiin. Marrubiin is also found in white horehound (Marrubium vulgare).

Preparations

Harvest hyssop when the herb reaches a height of about 1.5 ft (46 cm). Frequent cuttings from the tops of mature plants will keep the foliage tender for use in salads, soups, or teas. Used sparingly in culinary preparations, hyssop's tender shoots are a digestive aid, especially with greasy meats. When harvesting the herb for medicinal uses, the flowering tops are used. Gather the herb on a sunny August day after the dew has dried. Hang the branches to dry in a warm, airy room out of direct sunlight. Remove leaves and flowers from the stems and store in clearly labeled, tightly sealed, dark-glass containers.

Infusion: Place 3 Tbsp dried, or twice as much fresh, hyssop leaf and blossom in a warm glass container. Bring 2.5 cups of fresh, nonchlorinated water to the boiling point, and add it to the herbs. Cover and infuse the tea for 10 to 15 minutes. Strain and drink warm. The prepared tea will store for about two days if kept in a sealed container in the refrigerator. Hyssop tea may be enjoyed by the cupful up to three times a day. Hyssop may be combined with white horehound for additional expectorant action to relieve coughs. For sore throats, a warm infusion of hyssop combined with sage (Salvia officinalis) is a home remedy recommended by some herbalists.

Tincture: Combine four ounces of finely-cut fresh or powdered dry herb with one pint of brandy, gin, or vodka, in a glass container. The alcohol should be enough to cover the plant parts. Place the mixture away from light for about two weeks, shaking several times each day. Strain and store in a tightly-capped, dark glass bottle. A standard dose is 1-2 ml of the tincture three times a day.

 



Hyssop is a name of Greek origin.

The Hyssopos of Dioscorides was named from azob (a holy herb), because it was used for cleaning sacred places. It is alluded to in the Scriptures: 'Purge me with Hyssop, and I shall be clean.'
---Cultivation---It is an evergreen, bushy herb, growing 1 to 2 feet high, with square stem, linear leaves and flowers in whorls, six- to fifteen-flowered. Is a native of Southern Europe not indigenous to Britain, though stated to be naturalized on the ruins of Beaulieu Abbey in the New Forest.

Hyssop is cultivated for the use of its flower-tops, which are steeped in water to make an infusion, which is sometimes employed as an expectorant. There are three varieties, known respectively by their blue, red and white flowers, which are in bloom from June to October, and are sometimes employed as edging plants. Grown with catmint, it makes a lovely border, backed with Lavender and Rosemary. As a kitchen herb, it is mostly used for broths and decoctions, occasionally for salad. For medicinal use the flower-tops should be cut in August.

It may be propagated by seeds, sown in April, or by dividing the plants in spring and autumn, or by cuttings, made in spring and inserted in a shady situation. Plants raised from seeds or cuttings, should, when large enough, be planted out about 1 foot apart each way, and kept watered till established. They succeed best in a warm aspect and in a light, rather dry soil. The plants require cutting in, occasionally, but do not need much further attention.


Medicinal Action and Uses---Expectorant, diaphoretic, stimulant, pectoral, carminative. The healing virtues of the plant are due to a particular volatile oil, which is stimulative, carminative and sudorific. It admirably promotes expectoration, and in chronic catarrh its diaphoretic and stimulant properties combine to render it of especial value. It is usually given as a warm infusion, taken frequently and mixed with Horehound. Hyssop Tea is also a grateful drink, well adapted to improve the tone of a feeble stomach, being brewed with the green tops of the herb, which are sometimes boiled in soup to be given for asthma. In America, an infusion of the leaves is used externally for the relief of muscular rheumatism, and also for bruises and discoloured contusions, and the green herb, bruised and applied, will heal cuts promptly.

The infusion has an agreeable flavour and is used by herbalists in pulmonary diseases.

It was once much employed as a carminative in flatulence and hysterical complaints, but is now seldom employed.

A tea made with the fresh green tops, and drunk several times daily, is one of the oldfashioned country remedies for rheumatism that is still employed. Hyssop baths have also been recommended as part of the cure, but the quantity used would need to be considerable.


Preparation---Fluid extract, 30 to 60 drops. The Hyssop of commerce (Hyssopus officinalis) occurs in Palestine, but is not conspicuous among the numerous Labiatae of the Syrian hillsides, which include thyme and marjoram, mint, rosemary and lavender. Tradition identifies the Hyssop of Scripture with the familiar herb, Marjoram (origanum), of which six species are found in the Holy Land. The common kind, so well known in cottage gardens (O. vulgare), grows only in the north, but an allied species (O. maru) abounds through the central hills, and a variety is common in the southern desert.

Dr. J. F. Royle disagrees, and identifies the Hyssop of the Bible with the Caper-plant (Capparis spinosa) which grows in the Jordan Valley, in Egypt, and the Desert, in the gorges of Lebanon, and in the Kedron Valley. It 'springs out of the walls' of the old Temple area. This view is supported by Canon Tristram and others. The Arabs call it azaf.

The leaves, stems and flowers of H. officinalis possess a highly aromatic odour and yield by distillation an essential oil of exceedingly fine odour, much appreciated by perfumers, its value being even greater than Oil of Lavender. It is also much employed in the manufacture of liqueurs, forming an important constituent in Chartreuse. Bees feed freely on the plant and the odour of the honey obtained from this source is remarkably good. The leaves are used locally as a medicinal tea. As a kitchen herb it has gone out of use because of its strong flavour, but on account of its aroma it was formerly employed as a strewing herb.


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RECIPE FOR HYSSOP TEA

'Infuse a quarter of an ounce of dried hyssop flowers in a pint of boiling water for ten minutes; sweeten with honey, and take a wineglassful three times a day, for debility of the chest. It is also considered a powerful vermifuge.' (Old Cookery Book.)

 

Hyssop is a bushy evergreen plant introduced into the warmer parts of the U.S. from Southern Europe. Once widely cultivated for medicinal uses, it is now grown mostly as an ornamental shrub. The plant consists of several square, branched, downy stems which are woody at the bottom and bear opposite, sessile, glabrous to hairy, linear-lanceolate leaves. The rose-colored to bluish-purple flowers grow in successive axillary whorls at the tops of the branches and stems from June to October.
 

Hyssop has been used effectively as an astringent, carminative, emmenagogue, expectorant, stimulant, stomachic, and tonic. Hyssop is used in essentially the same way as sage, with which it is sometimes combined to make a gargle for sore throat. Hyssop tea can be used for poor digestion, breast and lung problems, coughs due to colds, nose and throat infections, mucous congestion in the intestines, flatulence, scrofula, dropsy, and jaundice. The decoction is said to help relieve inflammations, and it can also be used as a wash for burns, bruises, and skin irritations, and as a gargle for sore throat or chronic catarrh. Apply the crushed leaves directly to bruises or to wounds to cure infection and promote healing.
 

Quick and easy holiday recipes: Hyssop cranberry bean salad recipe


This zesty, easy to make salad recipe combines cranberry beans, French beans, garlic, fresh hyssop and Thai rice with Boursin cheese on a bed of lettuce.  Serves 4


INGREDIENTS:

20 oz. canned cranberry beans, drained
8 oz. French beans, cut into 1 inch sticks
2 large cloves elephant garlic, crushed
4 tbsp. lemon juice
4 sprigs fresh hyssop, finely chopped
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
14 oz. precooked tender Thai rice, drained
4 oz. Boursin cheese, cubed
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 tbsp. sunflower oil
1 tbsp. lemon juice
8 iceberg lettuce, shredded


METHOD:

Combine cilantro, sunflower oil and lemon juice. Toss lettuce in dressing and arrange on a salad platter.

In another bowl, combine cranberry beans, French beans, garlic, lemon juice, hyssop, salt, black pepper, Thai rice and Boursin cheese. Spoon bean mixture on top of the lettuce salad. Serve cold with a light green salad and buttered sourdough bread.
 

Hyssop Tea for Diabetes

Hyssop is another herb that we have been pleasantly surprised with. People find that if they make a cup of Hyssop tea as an after dinner drink, they will significantly lower their blood sugar. It is important to monitor a persons blood sugar.

With these herbs, both the hyssop and the goat's rue can lower the blood sugar too low (even if you are no longer taking insulin).  

In Psalms David writes: "Purge me with Hyssop and I will be white as snow." It appears even in biblical time hyssop was used medicinally for cleansing.

The PDR for Herbal Medicines and other herbal references all state that Hyssop is anti-microbial, anti-viral and anhelmintic (anti parasitical). It is also mildly spasmolytic meaning that it increases contraction of smooth muscle tissues. This means that you will see an increase in peristalsis which will mean more frequent bowl movements, and stools that are softer and healthier.

Hyssop is used in diseases of the respiratory tract for things like colds and chest and lung ailments as well as intestinal problems and it stimulates circulation.

I believe it is important to cleanse the body, the rid the body of toxins, pathogens and the increase in movement through the bowls. But these things occur over months of drinking Hyssop tea, and not instantly. However, diabetics will notice right away a lowering of their blood sugar if they drink Hyssop tea. It tastes nice and it a wonderful beverage to have at meal times or during the day.

You will need to be careful that your blood sugars do not get too low, though. Hyssop is very effective at lowering blood sugar.

Choose Hyssop (cut) if you plan to make tea. Place 4 tablespoons of herb in a quart jar and pour in boiling water. Let steep for 20 minutes, strain and drink. You may chill the tea if you prefer it cold. I would recommend you drink 1 to2 quarts of tea a day.
 

Extracts of Hyssop have been shown to have anti-viral properties and have been used to combat the Herpes Simplex virus. It was used for cleansing and purifying (see Psalm 51:7) It has a particular cleansing effect on the mucus membrane lining of the respiratory tract, stomach and bowels.

Hyssop can be applied as a compress and used as a gargle.

The leaves when applied to inflamed areas and bruises will remove pain and discoloration. It is effective for bee stings and bites. Hyssop will kill body lice. For use as a poultice soak the herb for 15 minutes in boiling water and place in a cloth.

Because of its camphor-like smell, Hyssop has a long history of use as a cleansing herb. It will also strengthen the immune system and builds resistance to infectious disease. It is an excellent to consider using in your own cough syrup or cough drops.

This herb is an excellent cardio-regular since it both increases the circulation and lowers blood pressure.

We have discovered it works wonderfully to help diabetics to get their blood sugar levels under control. If you are diabetic, as you drink hyssop tea, be sure to take you blood sugar to make sure you do not go too low as you adjust.  Many diabetics need less and less insulin because of the hyssop tea.  For diabetics it is recommended you drink 1-2 quarts of tea per day.

Simmer a tbsp. of herb in a pint of water or a heaping tsp. in a cup of boiling water. Take from 1-3 cups/day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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