Gemmotherapy – a powerful ally for our well-being
Gemmotherapy is a branch of herbal medicine that makes use of the therapeutic properties of embryonic phyto-extracts (EPE), i.e. remedies made from the embryonic tissue of plants such as gemmae, shoots, catkins, sap, roots and more.
EPEs are rich in substances like phyto-hormones, growth factors and nucleic acids that enable young plants to grow and regenerate, as well as vitamins, minerals, trace elements, amino acids and enzymes. In other words, EPEs possess the very life potential of a plant, which means that besides their phytotherapeutic effects, they also promote the body’s regeneration and biochemical regulation.
Each EPE can be used either on its own or combined with others to effectively promote well-being; having no side effects, EPEs are also suitable for babies and pregnant women.
The following is a short overview of some of the most common gemmotherapy remedies.
Blackcurrant is known for its anti-inflammatory effects and may be used to support adrenal cortex functions. The gemmae of this fine plant can give us precious support whenever we find ourselves in stressful situations that challenge our resilience and coping mechanisms to the point of inducing fear of failure.
If emotional stress causes us to experience anticipatory anxiety, insomnia or gastrointestinal spasm, however, linden tree might be the gemmotherapy remedy of choice due to its calming effects.
A combination of birch and ash extractsmight prove the ideal remedy to tackle extracellular water retention and cellulite, thanks to the diuretic and anti-edemigenous action of the two plants.
The plant parts used to extract EPEs need to be fresh and harvested strictly within their annual germination period, when their active substance content is at its peak, to ensure maximum effectiveness.
Some of the phyto-gemmotherapy remedies available on the market are produced by incorrect processing techniques (e.g. hasty exsiccation times, frozen gemmae etc.) that alter cell structure, thereby reducing the content of active substances. In principle, the less a gem has been processed, the richer it will be in quality active ingredients.
Tapping into two decades of clinical experience, a new range of EPEs has recently been developed in Italy using fresh, wild or semi-cultivated embryonic plant tissue extracted by quality-preserving techniques. During the processing phase, temperatures are kept within certain ranges to avoid overheating and freezing, so that EPEs contain the same concentration of active ingredients as the fresh buds they are extracted from. The starter mix is not diluted as in traditional gemmotherapy, enabling lower dosages to be prescribed and increasing patient compliance. The basic posology of 50 drops 3 times a day is thus reduced to 7 drops 3 times a day. The highly-concentrated drops are readily absorbed by the oral mucous membrane, with the advantage of bypassing gastrointestinal and hepatic clearance.
“Everything you can imagine, nature has already created”
MD Laura Santini, General Practitioner