Chestnut Leaf Cut & Sifted (Castanea sativa) 1 lb: K
This is Frontier’s double wall silverfoil pack. Some Frontier packs are double wall wax-lined paper. Used as an infusion, extract and tincture. Grieve’s classic, ‘A Modern Herbal’: ‘Part Used Medicinally: The leaves, picked in June and July when they are in best condition and dried. They have also been used in the fresh state.’ ‘Chestnut leaves have no odour, but an astringent taste.’ ‘In some places Chestnut leaves are used as a popular remedy in fever and ague, for their tonic and astringent properties.’ ‘Their reputation rests, however, upon their efficacy in paroxysmal and convulsive coughs, such as whooping-cough, and in other irritable and excitable conditions of the respiratory organs. The infusion of 1 OZ. of the dried leaves in a pint of boiling water is administered in tablespoonful to wineglassful doses, three or four times daily.’ ‘Culpepper says: ‘if you dry the chestnut, both the barks being taken away, beat them into powder and make the powder up into an electuary with honey, it is a first-rate remedy for cough and spitting of blood.’ King’s 1898 Dispensatory: ‘These leaves have, thus far, been employed mainly in the treatment of pertussis, in which malady they have proved remarkably efficient; but their manner of action has not yet been determined. It is very probable that they may be found useful in other irritable or excitable conditions of the respiratory nerves.’ ‘Dr. Unzicker employed an infusion of the leaves, an ounce to a pint of boiling water, and administered this in tablespoonful, or small wineglassful doses, repeated several times a day. The fluid extract, when properly made, will be found reliable; its dose is from 1/2 to 1 fluid drachm, repeated 3, 4, or 5 times daily.’ Eclectic Materia Medica, 1922 (Felter): ‘The freshly prepared infusion of the leaves is a remedy for paroxysmal or convulsive cough. For some unexplained reason it is sometimes one of the most effective medicines for whooping cough. In many cases it acts remarkedly well, while in others its effects are not so apparent. It is seldom, however, that it does not do some good. The infusion (which is by far the best preparation) may be sweetened if desired, and given freely to the patient several times a day.’
