Vanilla

Siliqua Vanilla

Darstellung und Beschreibung Pharmacopoea Borussica, Berg, 1861

1. Bourban Vanilla   2. Mexican Vanilla;    3. Tahitian Vanilla;   4. Wild Vanilla  
(A Manual of Organic Materia Medica and Pharmacognosy, Sayre, 1917)

1–6 are different types of commercial Bean; 7 is the Wild form.
Squibb’s Atlas of the Official Drugs, Mansfield, 1919

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Uses:

1. Opens the Orifices, Stops Spasms:
-damp or phlegm obstructing the Brain or Nerves
-Spasm, Cramping from Wind-Phlegm
-Melancholy, low spirit
2. Clears Phlegm, Moves the Qi, Opens Obstructions:
-abdominal or hypochondriac spasm and pain
-Wind-colic
-Phlegm obstructing the Lungs, Cough
-Typhus
3. Moves the Blood:
-Amenorrhea, Dysmenorrhea
-also for Uterine Bleeding
-Hysteria
4. Warms the Kidneys:
-Male weakness, Impotence
5. Used in flavoring
-an important flavoring compound
6. Externally:
-Caries
-applied to Wounds
-Cosmetic

Dose:

Powder: 500mg–2 grams
Tincture (1:10): 10–40 drops in wine

Main Combinations:

1. To aromatically awaken the Brain, clear Damp and settle Wind:
i. Vanilla with Storax, Nutmeg
ii. Vanilla with Pyrethrum, Cinnamon, Clove, Saffron, Lavender, Amber (Planche)
2. Stomach pain, Vanilla with Ginger and Orange peel
3. Cold Phlegm obstructing the Lungs:
i. Vanilla with Balsam of Tolu and Tragacanth
ii. Vanilla with Benzoin and Licorice
4. Amenorrhea, Metritis, Uterine Bleeding, Vanilla with Cinnamon
5. As a stimulant, Vanilla with Cocoa, Cinnamon
6. As a cosmetic, tinctures of Vanilla and Benzoin in Rose water

Major Formulas:

1. Honey Water, Aqua Mellis odorata regia
i. Coriander (8 oz.), fresh Lemon peel (1 oz.), Nutmeg, Storax, Benzoin (½ oz. each), Vanilla (3 drams), Alcohol (48 oz.). Infuse 24 hours and distil. Cephalic, nervine, cardiac, pectoral, cosmetic. Dose: half oz. (Pharmacopoeia Generalis, 1783)