Ancient wisdom from a young herbalist

for Algemeen Dagblad

Dave Achula during one of his medicinal plant walks in The Hague’s Westduinpark

“Look, you can use this plant if you have an insect bite or a small cut,” says Dave Achula. He's talking about ribwort plantain. He crushes the elongated leaves until moisture comes out and places it on his finger. Then, like some sort of green band aid, he wraps another leaf around it.

Achula, 27, is a so-called herbalist. He has been studying traditional herbal medicine for seven years. Since last summer he has been organizing walks in the Westduinpark in The Hague to introduce people to the medicinal plants and herbs that grow there.

Many of the plants that Achula points out do not only grow in parks, but also on roadsides, along walls, in the city. They are so common that they are considered weeds over here. But they are still used as a medication in both traditional Eastern medicine and with indigenous tribes in Africa or the Amazon. Ancient wisdom, the young herbalist calls it.

Achula with the ‘band aid’ he made from ribwort plantain.

And there’s truth to that statement. It is clear from excavations, fossils, historical images and writings that people have used plants medicinally since since the dawn of humanity. The oldest evidence even comes from prehistoric times. Fossilized pollen of medicinal herbs have been discovered in a 60,000 years old Neanderthal burial site.

Many modern-day medication is also based on plants. Professor Edwin van den Worm, pharmacologist at Utrecht University, explains: “The first form of aspirin is based on the substance salicylic acid, which naturally occurs in willow bark. When the Greek physician Hippocrates wrote about the medicinal properties of willow bark in the fifth century BC, he had no idea it would one day become the best-selling medicine in the world.”

While foraging of plants of officially prohibited in The Netherlands, it is often tolerated in small quantities.

The use of plants for medicinal purposes is also known as phytotherapy. It should be a standard part of pharmacology, says Van den Worm. "But because of the somewhat 'alternative' image, there is quite a bit of misunderstanding and aversion in the scientific world." He clarifies: “Phytotherapy is not the same as homeopathy. There's nothing alternative of spiritual about it."

Another misconception he wants to dispel is that plants are not dangerous. "Just because it's natural doesn't mean it's safe. You really need to be knowledgeable about it,” says Van den Worm. “Not only which plant you use and what for, but also which part. The leaves, the flowers, the root? Should it be fresh or dried, and in what dose? Many plants look alike and there are very poisonous, even deadly, plants in the Netherlands. So be careful."

Mobile app like PlantNet or PlantSnap can help identify the right plants.