Medicinal Herbs

STUDY MEDICINAL HERBS ONLINE

Learn how to Grow and Use Meducinal Herb Plants: A correspondence course for the enthusiast or commercial grower.

This eight lesson course is not designed to train naturopaths (That would involve a far more involved course), but will teach you the basics of how to identify and correctly administer herbs for medicinal purposes.

Lesson cover: Introduction to Medicinal Herbs; Culture of Medicinal Herbs; History; Main Medicinal Herbs; Herbal Remedies; Preparing Herbal remedies; Poisonous Plants; Developing a Production Plan.

Lesson Structure

There are 8 lessons in this course:

1. Introduction to Medicinal Herbs
   • Scope and Nature of Herbal Medicine
   • Being Cautious
   • Growing and Knowing Medicinal Herbs
   • Accurate Plant Naming
   • Pronouncing Plant Names
   • Finding Reliable Resources
2. Culture of Medicinal Herbs
   • What is a Herb
   • Soils and Nutrition
   • Cultivation
   • Fertilizing Herbs
   • Compost, Mulch, Watering
   • Propagation
   • Pest and Disease
3. History
   • Introduction
   • Hippocrates
   • Chinese Herbalists
   • Egyuptian Influence
   • Greek Influences
   • The Dark Ages
   • German and English Herbals
   • Other Influences
4. Main Medicinal Herbs
   • Introduction and Varieties to Grow
   • Production Plan
   • Improving Soil Fertility
   • Cover Crops and Legumes
   • Cultivation, Growing Methods, Compost
   • Growing and using Ginger
   • Garlic Culture
   • Echinacea Culture
5. Herbal Remedies
   • Alternatives
   • Anthelmintic
   • Astringents
   • Bitter Tonics
   • Calmatives
   • Carminatives and Aromatics
   • Cathartics
   • Diaphoretics
   • Dietetics
   • Demulcents
   • Emollients
   • Expectorants
   • Nervines
   • Relaxants
   • Vulnerary Herbs
   • Common Herbs with Medicinal Properties
   • Nervines as Healing Agents
   • Natural Chemicals in Plants and their Affect on Health; saponins, phenolglycosides, anthraglycosides, flavonoids, mustard oils, polysaccharides, prussic acid, glycosides, coumarin, tannins, bitters, essential oils, alkaloids, purines, essential minerals
   • Chemistry of Herbs
   • Herbal Sources for Human Nutrients
6. Preparing Herbal remedies
   • Infusion
   • Decoction
   • Poulice
   • Medical Preparations
   • Problem of Accurately Formulating Herbal Medicines
   • How herbalists used to work
   • The Difference Today
   • Harvesting Material for Herbal Preparations
   • Post Harvest Handling of Herbs
   • Post Harvest Preservation; Fresh, Modified Atmospere Packaging
   • Herbal Preparations for Teas, Rinses and Baths
   • Producing Essential Oils; Water distilation, Steam distilation
   • Uses for Eucalyptus Oil
7. Poisonous Plants
   • Introduction
   • Review of Plant Poisons
   • Hazardous Herbs
   • Carcinogens, Potosensitizers, Allergens, Hormone Like Affects, Teratogens, Respiratory Inhibitors, etc
   • Toxic Plant Constituents
8. Developing a Production Plan
   • Managing a Market Garden
   • Deciding What to Grow
   • Production Planning
   • Types of Problems
   • Standards
   • Crop Schedules
   • Farming Medicinal Herbs
   • Production Requirements for Different Herbs

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

Aims

• Distinguish between medicinal herbs in cultivation including twenty-five different genera and fifty different varieties.
• Discuss the history of medicinal herb usage.
• Compare the chemical components of different medicinal herbs in terms of their general affect on the human body.
• Prepare simple and safe herbal remedies in a domestic situation.
• Explain the potential dangers involved in dealing with plants.
• Prepare a schedule of cultural practices for a medicinal herb crop.
• Develop a production plan for a medicinal herb crop.

What You Will Do

• Define the term "medicinal herb" according to both horticultural and naturopathic meanings.
• Compile a resource file of fifty different sources of information regarding medicinal herbs.
• Distinguish between fifteen different plant families which common medicinal herbs belong to.
• Prepare a plant collection of fifty different medicinal herb varieties.
• List ten different medicinal herbs which were often used more than one hundred years ago, but are no longer commonly used.
• Identify modern trends in the use of herbs in medicines in your country.
• Discuss the role of home remedies in modern society.
• Discuss the role of the naturopath in modern society.
• Summarise the history of medicinal herbs since early civilisation, to modern times.
• Explain the characteristics of different types of chemicals found in medicinal herbs.
• Write brief definitions to explain the mode of action of different herbal medicines.
• Write an essay describing the chemical actions which two different herbs have upon the human body.
• Explain various factors which can influence the effectiveness of active constituents of a herb.
• List herbal remedies derived from forty different commonly grown herbs.
• Identify the morphological parts of fifteen different herbs which are used medicinally.
• Explain thoroughly how to prepare six different types of simple medicines, including a:
  • Poultice
  • Infusion
  • Decoction
  • Tincture.
• Develop a list of safety procedures to follow when preparing a given herbal medicine.
• Explain methods to administer six different herbal medicines which are safe and appropriate for an unskilled person to make and use at home. (ie. medicines which do not have any dangerous risks if prepared or administered incorrectly).
• Describe, in summaries, twelve commonly occurring plants which contain poisonous substances, including:
  • names (botanical and common)
  • dangerous parts of the plant
  • poisonous substances
  • mode of action of poison
  • remedy (if any).
• List five herbs that should never be taken internally.
• List five herbs which should never be used by pregnant women.
• List three herbs which should never be used by children.
• Describe, including at least two specific examples, precautions when dealing with unknown herb materials.
• Develop guidelines for the culture of a specified variety of medicinal herb.
• Explain natural pest and disease control methods for five medicinal herb varieties.
• Prepare a sample of soil suitable for growing a specified herb variety in the open ground.
• Demonstrate propagation techniques for five different medicinal herbs.
• Produce container plants of two different medicinal herbs, propagating and growing on the plants to a marketable stage and condition.
• Record the development of two medicinal herbs in a log including a summary of the condition of the plant, growth, and cultural practices carried out.
• Develop a list of criteria for selecting the most commercially viable variety of a nominated medicinal herb species available.
• List thirty different varieties of a medicinal herb species which are readily available for purchase as "reliable" seed or tubestock.
• Compare different varieties of six nominated medicinal herb species to determine a commercially viable variety to grow in your locality.
• List tasks to be undertaken in the production of a selected medicinal herb variety, including:
  • soil preparation
  • planting
  • growing practices
  • harvest and post harvest.
• Write a production schedule for a medicinal herb variety which designates tasks to be undertaken systematically at each stage of crop development.
• Explain the facilities which would be required to produce a specified commercial medicinal herb crop, including:
  • equipment
  • materials
  • land.
• Estimate the cost of producing a specified medicinal herb crop, itemising the cost components into at least five categories.

Some of our Horticulture Tutors

Maggi Brown Cert.Ed.(Environment)
Maggi is regarded as an expert in Organic Growing throughout the UK, having worked for two decades as Education Officer at the world renowned Henry Doubleday Research Association (now Garden Organic). She has been active in education, environmental management and horticulture across the UK for more them three decades.

Yvonne Sharpe RHS Cert.Hort, Dip.Hort, M.Hort, Cert.Ed., Dip.Mgt.
Over 30 years of experience in horticulture, education and management, Yvonne hastravelled widely within and beyond Europe, and has worked in many areas of horticulture from garden centres to horticultural therapy. She has served on industry committees and been actively involved with amateur garden clubs for decades. Yvonne is also a member of the National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners (NSALG).

John L. Mason Dip.Hort.Sc., Sup'n Cert., FIOH, FPLA, FAIH, MACHPER, MASA
Mr Mason has had over 40 years experience in the fields of Horticulture, Business, Education and Journalism. He has extensive experience both as a public servant, and as a small business owner. He has held positions ranging from Nurseryman and Landscape Designer to Director of Parks and Recreation (City of Essendon) and magazine editor.
John is a well respected member of many professional associations, and author of over forty books and of over two thousand magazine articles. Even today, John has written a number of best selling reference texts used by horticultural courses at universities and colleges internationally. His publishers include Simon and Shuster, and Landlinks Press (CSIRO Publishing

Dr. Lynette Morgan B. Hort. Tech., Ph.D. in Horticultural Science   Dr Morgan has a broad expertise in horticulture and crop production, and a keen appreciation of the global scene. She travels widely as a partner in Suntec Horticultural Consultants, and has clients in central America, the USA, Caribbean, South East Asia, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand.

Gavin Cole B.Sc., Psych.Cert., Cert.Garden Design, MACA
Gavin has over 20 years of industry experience in  Landscaping, Publishing, Business and Psychology. He was operations manager for a highly reputable British Landscape firm (The Chelsea Gardener) before starting up his own firm. He has exhibited at Chelsea Flower Show, and designed gardens across England and Australia.  He spent the best part of three years working in our Gold Coast office, partly as a writer for Your Backyard (gardening magazine), and partly as a tutor in both psychology and horticulture.

Martin Powdrill, Bsc (Hons) Applied Science (Resources Option), MSc Computer Studies, Permaculture Design Certificate. Martin’s goal as a catalyst for sustainable change brings together his strengths and experience in his environmental, project management, and business backgrounds. For 25 years, Martin has been involved in Telecommunications, IT, Organisational Development, and Energy Conservation & Efficiency, prior to setting up his own Permaculture consulting business. He wishes to make a real difference to people and the planet, by actively bringing new perspectives to current challenges and exciting opportunities. To realise this, he enables diverse groups of people to flourish and release their untapped potential, by re-igniting their passion and creativity. Additionally, Martin volunteers with many local environmental and community groups, and facilitates discussions on climate change, peak oil, and transition towns. Martin has an allotment, and is currently enrolled in the Scottish Mountain Bike Leader Award programme.

Rosemary Davies Dip Hort Sc.    Rosemary trained in Horticultural Applied Science at Burnley, a campus of Melbourne University. Initially she worked with Department of Agriculture Victoria as an extension officer (Garden Advisory Service), taught horticulture students, worked on radio with ABC radio (clocking up over 24 years as a presenter of garden talkback programs, initially the only woman presenter on gardening in Victoria) and she simultaneously developed a career as a writer. She is author of several booka and hundreds of articles.

Diana Cole B.A. (Hons), Higher Dip. (Garden Design), RHS Advanced Cert. Horticulture, Cert Admin.Mgt., Dip. Inst. Personnel Management In addition to her RHS horticulture, garden design, City & Guild construction, NPTC pesticide/legislation and business/management qualifications, Diana has a variety of skills drawn from setting up Arbella Gardens, a landscape gardening business. She also has administrative, management and training delivery experience drawn from her employment in other organisations such as the NHS and other educational institutions such as schools & universities. She has augmented her training expertise having gained the Preparing to Teach in the Life Long Learning Sector qualification. She also has experience gained through working as a volunteer in a number of different roles including amenity style gardening in parks and practical conservation work. Diana is also a member of the National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners Limited (NSALG).

FAQ's

What qualification will I achieve for completing this course?

This is an individual module course. The individual module courses are 100 hour long usually and can be taken on their own or as part of a larger program of study.
If you wish to take an individual module course as a stand alone course, you can elect to sit an optional exam at the end of it.
If you successfully pass the exam and all assignments, you will receive a Statement of Attainment. You can take examinations at a time and location to suit you. If you enrol, you will be sent further information on how to arrange examinations at the end of the course.
If you do not wish to take the exam, you will receive a Course Completion letter when you have passed all assignments.
There is an assignment at the end of each lesson. So for example, if an individual module course contains ten lessons, you will need to complete ten assignments. Assignments can be sent to us via email, post or fax.
Other qualifications, such as certificates, diplomas etc may require examinations to be taken as part of the overall assessment process.
You can find further information on the examinations process by clicking on the “Enrolment” link above.
You can find further information on other courses by clicking on the “Courses” link above.

More Information on ACS Distance Education and our courses

Who are our tutors?
Our tutors are all highly experienced and professional, knowledgeable in their field of study. We have staff from around the world, enabling us to gain a wide variety of perspectives. We have a school in the UK and in Australia. If you would like to have a look at our tutors, then click on the “About Us” in the boxes above and choose “The Staff” option.

Sample Course Notes
Our courses are all written by highly qualified tutors and writers, who also teach on the courses, so know them well. We strive to update our courses and improve them with new information, methods and knowledge on an ongoing basis. If you would like to see examples of some of our courses, then choose the “Enrolment” option above, and then click on “Sample Course Notes”.

What learning method should I choose?
We offer three learning methods – e-learning, correspondence and online. If you are not sure which is the right choose for you, then click on the “Learning” box above, then “Learning Methods.”

How Long will it take to complete the course?
This obviously varies from student to student. Some students will have more time for study than others. Some students may work quicker than others, so it is an individual thing. We estimate that most students will take, for example, 4 – 6 months to complete a 100 hour individual module, but we allow up to 12 months for you to complete it.
Longer courses will obviously take longer. You can find more information on the length of time required and so on the “Enrolment” box, then selecting “Terms and Conditions of Enrolment.”

What Do Our Students think of us?
If you would like to read comments from our previous students, then choose the “About Us” option above, then “Student Testimonials”.

I don’t think this is the right course for me.
If you’re not sure about this course, then why not look at our wide range of other courses. Click on the “Courses” box above.
You may also wish to design your own course to fit in with exactly what YOU want. To do so, click on the “Enrolment” box, then “Design your Own Course”.
If you would like more advice on a course, then you can contact us and ask a tutor about the courses. You can contact us by calling 0800 328 4723 or +44(0) 384 442752 or emailing info@acsedu.co.uk

Recognition and Accreditation
For more information on our recognition and accreditation, click on “The School”, then “Recognition”.

Who is ACS Distance Education?
If you want to know more about ACS and our history, then please click on “The School”, then “About us.”
We also offer a Herbs ebook. Click here for more information.