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Wild Bergamot or Bee Balm
Monarda fistulosa
Ezekiel 47:12 "And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine."
Nicknames: Wild Bergamot; or Bee Balm;[1]
Classification: Herbaceous perennial;
Plant Family: Lamiaceae;[1] Genus: Monarda;[1] Species: M. fistulosa[1] Fun fact: This plant is in the mint family, Lamiaceae.[1]
Ethnobotany: The Native Americans considered Wild bergamot a medicinal plant.[1] The Menominee, Ojibwe, and the Winnebago tribes all used this plant.[1] It's most known for being made into a tea to treat colds, much like Echinacea.[1] It's one of many medicinal plants known and usd by the Chippewa Cree tribe, and the Kootenai.[9] They use it as a tea to treat ailments related to the kidney.[9] It's also placed on rocks in the sweat lodge to serve as an aromatic for those in attendance.[9] The Winnebagoes used it by boiling the leaves for acne, and skin health.[10] Wash your face with the tea made from it. The Dakotas used the fragrant variety of Monarda fistulosa in connection with their Sun dance ceremony.[10] The "Sun dance" is: "a ritual ceremony observed by the Plains Indians of the regions of modern Canada and the United States to awaken the earth, renew the community, give thanks for the sun, and petition or give thanks for favors from the Great Spirit."[12] Beebalm is a stimulant, diaphoretic, and carminative, used for colic, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and the common cold and flu.[10] Wild Bergamot(Bellbalm, or Monarda fistulosa) has also been used as a febrifuge.[11]
Natural Habitat: From Quebec to the Northwest Territories and British Columbia, south to Georgia, Texas, Arizona, Idaho, and northeastern Washington.[1]
What is Phytochemistry? What are Phytochemicals? Phytochemistry is the branch of science that studies the pharmacology of herbal remedies, by studying their phytochemicals. Phytochemicals are pharmacological drugs that are produced by plants. Some examples of popular phytochemicals include: Morphine, cocaine, thc, cbd, caffeine, and nicotine. The best medicine on the planet is herbal medicine, and it is because of these miarculous components that they are able to offer us these medicinal properties. Scientific study into how they work, and whether or not they are effective, always yields incredible positive results. God-made medicine is the best on the planet.
Phytochemicals: thymol, geraniol, carvacrol, p-cymene, γ-terpinene, α-terpinene, and α-thujene[2][3] These are pharmacological phytochemicals that the Bee Balm(Monarda fistulosa) plant produces. Its ability to do this is programmed into the DNA of the plant. Each individual one has a wide range of medicinal actions. Bee-balm also produces: plethora of phenolic compounds, including hydroxycinnamic acids and flavone derivatives in the MFDE, with rosmarinic acid and luteolin-7-O-glucoside.[6] It also produces flavonoids[6] Flavonoids like: rutin, hyperoside, quercetin, quercitrin, and luteolin were discovered in the leaves and flowers of Monarda didyma, grown in Lithuania.[6] Furthermore: Rosmarinic acid and flavonoids hyperoside, rutin, naringin, and naringenin were identified in the Monarda didyma.[6] Anthocyanin pelargonidin 3,5-diglucoside made up 17% of the total flavonoid content in the petals of M. fistulosa flowers![6] More flavonoids like: apigenin-7-O-glucosides, dihydroxyflavone 8-C-glucoside, and 5-hydroxyflavone.[6] Six flavonoid glucosides were isolated from the M. pectinata aerial part: acacetin-7-rutinoside, isosacuranetine-7-rutinoside, and luteolin-7-glucoside[6] The total content of flavonoids calculated as luteolin equivalent at the levels of 1.57% in M. fistulosa, 1.63% in M. didyma, 1.61% in M. citriodora, 1.52% in M. hybrida[6] What is luteolin? It's a natural flavonoid that is abundant in herbs, fruits, and vegetables.[7] Studies have shown that luteolin has anti-apoptosis, anticancer, and antioxidant , anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective activities![7][8] Carvacrol and cymene were identified in the oil of Beebalm as mentioned in another source, as well as thymoquinone and hydrothymoquinone, and thymoquinhydrone.[11] Thymoquinone crystals are yellow in appearance.[11]
Thymol FYI: The phytochemical component known as thymol, is the main active ingredient in modern commercial mouthwash formulas That makes this plant one of many which are of industrial importance. This is why fortune-500 and serpent medical don't want the public to realize where medicine comes from.. It grows from the Earth. Thymol is a phenol which is primarily obtained from Thyme oil(Thymus vulgaris), however it is one of many phytochemicals which are naturally recurring throughout the plant kingdom(in other words, they exist in more than one plant, but primarily have one species as their most abundant source).[5] It can be isolated from plants like Wild Bergamot(Bee Balm), and Thyme.. It can also be produced synthetically, from phytochemicals called m-cresol, or p-cymene, sorta like how chemist can convert CBD into Delta-8, and others..[5] Two methods are used to obtain thymol crystals from thyme oil, one is to freeze it, causing the thymol to crystallize, and the other is to treat it with sodium hydroxide solution, while the aqueous solution of sodium thymol is separated and decomposed with acid, thus isolating the thymol.[5] Thymol is antifungal and antibacterial.[5] IT can be applied topically, or worked into products ( take notes ladies who make DIY products to sell on ETSY )
Pharmacological / Medicinal Properties: Monarda fistulosa has been studied for its anti-microbial activity by scientist.[4] It also demonstrates potent anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities[6] One academic source goes on to state that: The conducted studies revealed that M. fistulosa hydrodistilled residue by-product could be regarded as a new natural source of polyphenols with valuable pharmacological properties.[6] We can see from the cited academic sources in the phytochemistry segment on this page that this plant produces a wide range of pharmacological constituents that contribute to its healing abilites. For example, thymol and p-cymene alone produce strong antiseptic properties. Facts like this show that the plant is an entire pharmacy, rather than one drug, and those drugs it produces work together symbiotically, to produce the ultimate pharmacological effect.
OG Observations: I've observed a lot of patterns when learning about various cultures and their use of plants. One such pattern that I've observed, is that aromatic plants tend to be ones that are associated with ceremonial use. This is especially so with the Native American culture.
Other HerbsPedia Blog Entries: Snakeroot (Eryngium aquaticum) | Dogbane (Apocynum androsaemifolium) | Eyebright (Euphrasia officinalis) | Eriodictyon crassifolium | Frankincense (Boswellia carteri)
Buy Monarda fistulosa Seeds
Academic citations:
[2] Keefover-Ring, Ken (9 May 2015). "Monarda fistulosa: Making Good Scents in Colorado". Colorado Native Plant Society. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
[3] Ghosh, Monica; Schepetkin, Igor A.; Özek, Gulmira; Özek, Temel; Khlebnikov, Andrei I.; Damron, Derek S.; Quinn, Mark T. (22 October 2020). "Essential Oils from Monarda fistulosa: Chemical Composition and Activation of Transient Receptor Potential A1 (TRPA1) Channels". Molecules. 25 (21): 4873. doi:10.3390/molecules25214873. PMC 7659962. PMID 33105614.
[4] Mattarelli, Paola, et al. "Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of essential oils from aerial parts of Monarda didyma and Monarda fistulosa cultivated in Italy." Journal of essential oil bearing plants 20.1 (2017): 76-86.
[6] Shanaida, Mariia, et al. "Polyphenols and pharmacological screening of a Monarda fistulosa L. dry extract based on a hydrodistilled residue by-product." Frontiers in Pharmacology 12 (2021): 563436.
[7] Nabavi, Seyed Fazel, et al. "Luteolin as an anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective agent: A brief review." Brain research bulletin 119 (2015): 1-11.
[8] Kahrizi, Danial, and Shadieh Mohammadi. "Anticancer, antimicrobial, cardioprotective, and neuroprotective activities of luteolin: A systematic-narrative mini-review." Nano Micro Biosystems 2.2 (2023): 1-9.
[9] Magee, Margaret. "An Exploration of Ethnobotanically Significant Plants to the Native American Tribes of Montana." (2021).
[10] Rang, Karl Henry. Pharmacographia Americana: II. Monarda Fistulosa L. University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1926.
[11] Wakeman, Nellie Antoinette. The Monardas, a Phytochemical Study. University of Wisconsin, 1911.
[12] Mark, J. J. (2023, September 05). Sun Dance. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/Sun_Dance/
[5] Robbers, James E, et al. Pharmacognosy and Pharmacobiotechnology. Baltimore, Williams & Wilkins, 1996.
Encyclopedia Sources:
[1] Wikipedia, the Free Online Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarda_fistulosa
Other resources:
M.A.P.S. Ethnobotanical Studies By Scholars
PubChem - pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Neurosoup.com Worlds Largest Drug Library