Oregon Grape, Anyone?
Welcome back friends. Today we wanted to return to our herb series with Oregon Grape Root which is included our Oasis: A Skin Quenching Relief Salve. Oregon Grape botanical name is Mahonia Aquifolium from the berberidaceae (barberry) family. Other common names are Oregon Mountain Grape, California Barberry, Mountain Holly, and Mahonia. Oregon Grape is abundantly found in western North America in the Rocky Mountains from British Columbia to California.
The flowers and berries grow on a 3 feet tall shrub that grows out to 5 feet in width. The leaves are jagged and prickly. Among the mountains, the flowers are a burst of sunshine and blueish black ripened berries. The berries are green before they ripen. Oregon Grape received its name, Oregon, due to it being a food source and medicine for those traveling along the Oregon Trail in the 1800s. It became so popular in the 1800s to 1900s that this plant nearly became extincted.
Here are some receipe ideas for using Oregon Grape berries:
Grape and Lemon Curd
Jam and Jelly
Smoothie
Juice
Cocktail
Coffee Cake
Cobbler/Pie/Crisp
Fruit Tart
Some of the medicinal benefits of this plant, captured in the plants roots, bark, and leaves are anti-fungal, detoxification, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial. These properties can help fight yeast infections (UTI), Lyme Disease, Parasites, boost liver and gallbladder function, kill viruese like Herpes, serves as an antibiotoic, fights acne, and Diabetes. The Berberine content has been reported in several studies to have a postive inpact on patients with Type 2 diabetes.
For our salve, we chose to include due to the antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial benefits. Our skin is the largest organ of our body and can become irritated quickly. So why not reach for an herb that fights not only the invanders but also aids in healing without side effects. Our salve is made from the root.
Hope you enjoyed this post and learned something new. If you have access to Oregon Grape, have you made anything edible or medicinal with this plant? Please share over on Facebook or Instagram. And of course, here is another gift to go with this herb post.
Oregon Grape Root Card
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Research Studies:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16148424 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18072463 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7700998 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0944711311800243?via%3Dihub https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0944711396800584?via%3Dihub https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC101396/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15476315 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10352377 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17890932 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7997469 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11914967 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23909714
Image credit:
Mahonia Aquifolium. Botanical Set of the Yellow flowers and leaves of Oregon grape. Watercolor Illustration. www.dreamtimes.com/mahonia-aquifolium-botantical-set-yellow-flowers-leaves-oregon-grape-white-background-watercolor-illustration-image151410487