Coffee as an Herbal Medicine
Coffee as an Herbal Medicine
PLANT NAME: Coffea arabica
SIMILARLY USED SPECIES: C. liberica, C. excelsa, C. robusta, C. canephora, C. maclaudii, C. stenophylla
COMMON NAMES: KOPE [Hawai’i]; Coffee, Java, Joe [USA] Kope [Hawai’i] Qahwah, Caova, Cova [Middle East] Cabi [Panama]; Cafe [Spanish]
NOMENCLATURE: The name Coffee is thought to come from Caffa, an Abyssinian province. Some Arabic names for the Coffee fruit are Cova and Qahwah.
FAMILY: Rubiaceae
CATEGORY: Aromatic open Orifices~ (~ = extrapolated)
PROPERTIES: Sweet, bitter, neutral~
STATUS IN HAWAI’I: Alien pest. Drink it all.
MERIDIAN AFFINITIES: Bladder, Discovery, and Large Intestine
WESTERN FUNCTIONS REPORTED: Addictive, analeptic, analgesic (as an additive), anaphrodisiacal. , anorexic, anti soporific, anti-emetic, anti-soporific, antidote to narcotics, cardiotonic, cardiotonic (increases blood flow through the coronary arteries), cholegogue, counterirritant, diuretic (loses its effect with continued use), hypnotic, increases peristalsis, intellectual aid, nervine, stimulant
TRADITIONAL CHINESE ENERGETIC FUNCTIONS (~ = extrapolated): Regulates and sinks the Qi~, opens the chest~, drains dampness~, opens the orifices~, moves the bowels~
COMMON MEDICINAL USES:
* Constipation
* Depression
* Acute asthma
* Fatigue
* Hangover
MEDICINAL USES
COSMETIC
* Coffee grounds are used in Japan as a body scrub and skin cleanser. [Japan]
CARDIOVASCULAR
* Cardiac insufficiency [Eclectics]; right heart failure [General]; heart disease [General]
DERMATOLOGICAL
* Cold coffee is used by fishermen to wash the smell of fish off their hands.
DIGESTIVE
* Chronic diarrhea (?) (black coffee) [Eclectics, India]; constipation (when not due to
excessive use of coffee) [Eclectics]; nausea [Turkey]; slow digestion [Eclectics, Science]
HEAD AND THROAT
* Headache [Curacao, Haiti, USA]; migraine. [Eclectics, Global, Science]; unpleasant sense of fullness in the head [Eclectics]
HEPATIC
* Ascites [General]; jaundice [General]; pleural effusion [General]
INFECTION
* Charred as a dressing for gangrenous ulcers [Eclectics]; fever [General]; intermittent fever (unroasted beans as a quinine substitute) [General]; malaria [Eclectics]; sores [General]; typhoid-type fevers [Eclectics, General]
MUSCULOSKELETAL / TRAUMA
* Gout [Eclectics, Turkey]; rheumatism (not commonly used) [Eclectics]; scorpion sting, snakebite [General]
NEUROLOGICAL
* Delirium tremens [Eclectics]; vertigo [Curacao]
PEDIATRIC
* Whooping-cough [Eclectics]
PSYCHOSPIRITUAL
* “Anemic condition of the brain” [Eclectics]; depression [Eclectics, Global]; hysteria [Eclectics]
REPRODUCTIVE
* Abnormal uterine bleeding [Eclectics]; amenorrhea (green kernals) [Eclectics]; post partum hemorrhage [Eclectics]
RESPIRATORY
* Asthma (acute and chronic) [Eclectics, Global, Science, Trinidad]; bronchitis, chest congestion [General]; emphysema [General]; hiccough [Eclectics], influenza [General, Science];
URINARY
* Kidney stones [Eclectics, France, Turkey]; renal “torpor” [Eclectics]
OTHER MEDICINAL USES
* Coffee enemas used for “cleansing” [Central & South America, USA]; To prevent “rapid wasting of the tissues of the body” [General]; cancer [General]; convalescence from acute disorders [Eclectics]; drowsiness after meals [Eclectics]; to improve athletic performance [General]; intoxication [Charles Belyea, China, Eclectics, General]; low energy [Global]; narcotic poisoning [Dominican Republic, Haiti, Science, Turkey], “opium narcosis” [Eclectics, General]
USE AS FOOD: Yep.
PLANT PART USED: Berries, kernal, leaves
CONSTITUENTS: chlorogenic acid (antioxidant) http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/press/releases/press01052004.html
ENERGETIC CAUTIONS:
* Not with Stomach Heat.
* Small doses only for liver qi stagnation.