What surprises me in texts on herbal NBE is that there is never any reference to old literature. I mean older than the development of modern chemistry and pharmacology as sciences, from the end of the 18th century onwards. The herbs have been studied for at least a millenium, and all the necessary science and technology for even longer. I can't imagine there was a taboo on NBE before Victorian times. So why didn't anyone write about it?
In my program, only the multivitamin is modern. For Eve M's program, all you really need to know about technology is how to make tea. The most elaborate technology needed for NBE, like the bain marie and an earlier version of the soxhlet extractor, were used before the 4th century AD, since they were already described by Mary the Jewess:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_the_Jewess
How to do an experiment is known since the eighth century, from Jābir ibn Hayyān:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C4%81bir_ibn_Hayy%C4%81n
The first good texts on herbs and tinctures for healing are from the 12th century:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hildegard_von_bingen
and the first good herbal from the 16th century:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rembert_Dodoens
I read the hops pages in the 1644 edition of the famous 1554 herbal of Rembert Dodoens:
http://leesmaar.nl/cruydtboeck/deel3/boe...itel21.htm
The Dutch is easy to understand. The gothic script is a little hard to decipher at times. The text in the 1554 edition
http://leesmaar.nl/cruijdeboeck/deel3/capitel058.htm
is only the first page of what's in the 1644 edition.
Especially the added text in the 1644 version is interesting. Although NBE isn't mentioned, it's incredible how much he knew about the anti-androgen and estrogenic properties of hops. The fourth paragraph from the bottom in the right column of page 672 says hops tea clears the skin:
"De selbe scheuten oft tsoppen van de hoppe in wijn ghesoden ende gedroncken, zijn goedt tegen allerhande vergift; insgelijcks het water daer de bloemen van hoppe met de bellen van de selbe in ghesoden zijn, worde nuttelijck inghegheven de ghene die vergeven zijn; oock de ghene die schorft/ruydigh/rappigh/pockigh ende met eenighe andere ghebreken oft zeeren aen de huydt gequelt zijn, als eensdeels voorseydt is."
In my translation:
The same shoots or tops of the hops, boiled in wine and drank, are good against a variety of poisons; also the water in which the flowers of the hops with the cones of the same have been boiled, is usefully administered those who are poisoned; also the ones who are schurft/reddish/rashy/pimply and ailed with some other diseases or sores on the skin, as was already said above.
The next paragraph says it brings on the menses:
"Saedt van hoppe ghepoedert ende ghedroncken 't gewicht van een half draghme, brenght de wormen om, doet de pisse ende de maendtstonden voortkomen. Dit saedt magh oock in Wey te weycke ghestelt worden."
Seed of hops powdered and drank, the weight of half a drachme, kills the worms, makes come forth the piss and the monthly periods. This seed can also be put away to steep in whey.
The fourth paragraph on page 673 is a recipe against hair loss.
"Clusius verhaelt, dat het ghemeyn volck, in sonderheyt de oude vrouwen van Salamanca in Spaegnien, het uytvallen des hayrs, dat van de Pocken ghekomen is, in der volghender voeghen ghenesen. Sij nemen een pondt van dese wortel van hoppe-cruydt, wel gewasschen ende schoon ghemaeckt zijnde, ende laeten se eenen nacht langh in acht pondt waters te weycken staen. 'Sdaeghs daer nae sieden sij de selbe wortel in 't selbe water op een langhsaem vier sonder roock, soo langhe tot dat het derde deel, oft oock de helft versoden zij, nae dat het ghebreck groot oft kleyn is. Dit ghesoden water bewaren sij tot haeren ghebruyck; ende, als 't noodt is, gheven sij acht oncen van 't selbe den krancken 's morghens nuchteren te drincken; ende decken hem wel warm, tot sweetens toe. Somtijdts doen sij daer bij wat wortelen van Eppe oft Peterselie oft van Gras, somtijdts oock wat Rosijnen, sonder de keernen. Ende daerdoor pleegh het hayr wederom te wassen."
Clusius tells, that the common people, in particular the elderly women of Salamanca in Spain, cure the shedding of hair that was caused by smallpocks in the following way. They take a pound of this root of the hops plant, being well washed and cleaned, and let them steep a night long in eight pounds of water. The day after, they boil the same root in the same water on a slow fire without smoke, until a third or half is evaporated, depending on whether the problem is big or small. They keep this boiled water for their use, and, when needed, they give eight ounces of the same to the ill, sober in the morning, and cover him well, until sweating. Sometimes they add to it some roots of parsley or grass, sometimes some raisins too, without the seeds. And because of this, the hair used to grow again.
This shows that Rembert Dodoens was not afraid of boiling an herb, certainly the roots. The recipe reminds me of PattiJT's wife's for ginseng roots:
http://www.breastnexus.com/showthread.php?tid=10576&pid=40573#pid40573
I'll check older literature too. Maybe Avicenna wrote something about hops. The above translations show that an old herbal is just as useful as a modern one.
) i noticed that the herbs, because of the symptoms they had on the body,effect the hormones almost instantly (i.e. - headaches from elevated levels of estrogen, or body hairs from dht)..well how long does it take the herbs to have an effect on fat distribution or (if taking those herbs while on a weight gain regimen) how long does it take to cause hormonal weight gain? i asked this because from reading some of the posts on this forum and others..i noticed some women noticed changes in their hip/butt size or waist size within a few weeks