Natural Medicine: St. John’s Wort

Last week, during my walk to gather up some blackberries, I stumbled upon some St. John’s Wort.  I have never seen this plant in the wild, but I recognized it from my ID books and I’m familiar with its uses both fresh and dried.

While I have a stash of the dried herb, I wanted some fresh so I could make some herb infused oil to use in healing salves and other herbal preparations.

Harvest

If you are harvesting St. John’s Wort for herb infused oil, collect the flowering tops plus a few inches of the stem and leaves.  The yellow flowers turn red when crushed, and this colour transfers to the oil, so try not to bruise them while you’re harvesting.

The leaves are also very useful and can be collected to be dried and used in herbal teas.  The flavour isn’t the best in the world, but it is excellent medicine.

Medicinal Properties

Legal: This information is for educational purposes only.  For serious issues, contact a qualified medical professional.

St. John’s Wort is a wonderful natural antidepressant and helps alleviate anxiety and insomnia. People with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder,  obsessive-compulsive disorder, exhaustion, headaches, and even smokers who need help quitting can all benefit from this herb, through there are many, many more uses. The dried leaves in a tea or in herbal capsules can be used for these purposes, but please note that new research shows that St. John’s Wort can interact with certain medications.  Talk to your doctor for more information before using St. John’s Wort.

When infused in oil, the herb takes on wonderful skin healing properties, but looses its antidepressant properties.  It is applied topically for bruises, bug bites, minor scratches, inflammation, and all sorts of pain relief.  It is good for relieving pain from minor cuts as well as back and neck pain.  It helps prevent scarring, disinfects wounds, and is even good for stretch mark prevention.  The herb is light sensitive, so keep it in a dark bottle and out of the sunlight.

Making the Medicine: Infused Oil

Making your own oil is very simple and there are a host of healing benefits that come along with it.  What you will need are:

• a sterile glass bottle, preferably dark glass (clear works, just keep it in the dark)
• Fresh St. John’s Wort flowering tops
• Olive Oil, which is also great for keeping the skin healthy
• Vitamin E Oil, optional

First you must sterilize your glass bottle.  To do this, preheat your oven to its lowest setting.  While you’re waiting for it to warm up, thoroughly wash your jar, then pop it in the oven.  After a few minutes when it is completely dry, take it out and it is ready for use.

Next, place the fresh herb inside the jar, and cover with a bit of oil.  Mash the flowers a bit with the back of a spoon against the side of the jar, bruising them slightly.  Then fill the jar up with oil until all of the herb is covered.  You don’t want any piece of the herb to stick out above the oil as it can grow mold.  At this time you can add your vitamin E oil as a preservative, but it is not necessary.

Place the lid on the jar and shake vigorously for a few moments before setting it in a cool dark place.  It’s important to keep it out of sunlight, especially if it’s in a clear jar.

Let the herbs infuse in the oil for at least a month.  The oil will slowly turn deep red, and when it’s rich in colour, you’ll know it’s ready.