Botanical Index No. 1065

Vanilla

vanilla planifolia

Medicinal Actions

Allergenic, Anticancer, Antioxidant, Antipyretic, Antisickling, Antispasmodic, Carminative, Choleretic, Emmenagogue, Stimulant

Primary Conditions Treated

Aphrodisiac Vulnerary Cancer Caries Cramp Dysmenorrhea Fever Gas Hysteria Polyp Rhinosis Sickle-Cell Anemia

General Dosage

Few located. Cover 4–6 pods with alcohol and steep 21 days, take 24 drops/day with sweetened water as stimulant; steep 8 g 8 days in alcohol, take 5–20 drops/day as aphrodisiac. Mom used to give me a half teaspoon of vanilla extract for upset stomach when she was out of Castoria, which also smelled, to me, of vanilla. I thoroughly enjoyed both, perhaps contributing to my latent love for herbal tinctures.

Safety & Contraindications

Class 1. Not treated. The folk emmenagogue activity will no doubt trigger nitpickologists to warn pregnant women against using this spice. And the plant does contain allergenic compounds, as do most plants.

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