Plants and their European monographs
- Oak — Quercus robur L., Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl. or Quercus pubescens Willd., bark
European Medicines Agency monograph (EMA/HMPC/3203/2009): traditional use for the symptomatic treatment of mild diarrhea and for minor inflammation of the oral mucosa and of the skin.
From “Before You Begin”
The book’s safety page, quoted as it stands. Read the whole page — it is free.
- Seven recipes are remedies, taken on a course. Nothing is gained by drinking them for pleasure.
- Oak bark, Chapter 39, delays the absorption of any medicine taken at the same time; leave an hour either side.
- Oak and buckthorn bark are the furthest from a drink in this book — oak bark is an astringent that is as often gargled as swallowed and is not taken internally beyond three days, and buckthorn bark is a laxative taken at night, two or three times, and then stopped.
- Pregnancy. Twenty-six of the twenty-eight recipes here are restricted in pregnancy — most because safety has not been established rather than because harm has been shown, but the answer is the same either way. The two that carry no restriction are the rosehip brew of Chapter 26 and the sea buckthorn of Chapter 28, both of them fruits eaten as food across Europe.
The recipe is in the book
Chapter 39 gives the rest:
- the amounts and the steps
- what each plant does in the cup, and on what basis
- who should not drink it, from what age
- how much, and for how long