Herb/ja

この記事は、 料理用・薬用・スピリチュアルハーブについての説明である。植物学的用途については、 ja:草本植物を参照してください。 その他の用途については、 Herb (disambiguation)/jaを参照してください。

ミントを含むいろんなハーブが見られるガーデン

一般にハーブとは、野菜やその他の主要栄養素を摂取する植物を除いた、広く分布し広範な植物群のことで、香気や芳香を持ち、食品の風味付けや付け合せ 、薬効、香りに使用されるものである。料理への利用は一般的にハーブをスパイスと区別する。 ハーブは一般に植物の葉の緑色または花の部分（生または乾燥）を指し、スパイスは通常乾燥し、植物の他の部分種子、樹皮、根、実から作られたものである。

ハーブは、料理用、薬用、芳香用、場合によっては精神用など、さまざまな用途がある。 ハーブという言葉の一般的な用法は、料理用ハーブ(culinary herbs)と薬用ハーブで異なる。 薬用や精神的な用途では、葉、根、花、種子、根皮、内皮（および靭皮）、樹脂、果皮など、植物のあらゆる部分がハーブと見なされる可能性がある。

herbは、英連邦英語では /hɜːrb/ と発音されるが、北米英語話者やh-droppingが起こる他の地域の人々には /ɜːrb/ が一般的である。植物学では、名詞herbは木質茎を作らない植物を意味し、形容詞herbaceousはハーブのようなという意味で、緑色で柔らかい感触の植物の部分を指す。

"ハーブとは何か?" "医者の友であり、料理人の賞賛である。

--アルカン とその弟子 シャルルマーニュ

英国ダービーシャー州ハードウィックホールのハーブガーデン。1870年代にLouisa Egerton夫人が植えたものを、ナショナル・トラストがほぼオリジナルのデザインに忠実に再現した。

植物学では、ハーブという用語は草本植物を指し、木質茎を持たない小型で種子を持つ植物で、成長期の終わりにはすべての空中部分（すなわち地上部）が地面に枯れ落ちるものと定義されている。通常、この用語は多年生植物を指すが、草本植物には一年草（成長期の終わりに枯れ、翌年に種から生え変わる植物）または二年草もある。この用語は、木質幹を持つ潅木や樹木とは対照的である。また、低木は高さ10m以下、高木は10m以上になることもあり、大きさの点でも低木と高木が区別される。herbaceousの語源はラテン語のherbāceusでgrassy(草むら)を意味し、herba grass, herbに由来する。

ハーブという用語のもう一つの意味は、料理、治療、その他の用途を持つ、より広範な植物を指すことができる。例えば、セージ、ローズマリー、ラベンダーなどの最も一般的なハーブは、毎年枯れることがなく、木質の茎を持っているため、植物学的なハーブの定義からは除外されるであろう。広義には、ハーブは草本性の多年草であるが、樹木、亜低木、低木、一年草、リアナ、シダ、苔、藻類、地衣類、真菌類も含まれる。また、ハーブは茎や葉だけでなく、果実、根、樹皮、歯茎なども利用することができる。しかし、この定義では、一般にハーブと呼ばれない多くの植物が含まれる可能性があるため、問題がある。

歴史

Ancient Greek philosopher Theophrastus divided the plant world into trees, shrubs, and herbs. Herbs came to be considered in three groups, namely pot herbs (e.g. onions), sweet herbs (e.g. thyme), and salad herbs (e.g. wild celery). During the seventeenth century as selective breeding changed the plants size and flavor away from the wild plant, pot herbs began to be referred to as vegetables as they were no longer considered only suitable for the pot.

Botany and the study of herbs was, in its infancy, primarily a study of the pharmacological uses of plants. During the Middle Ages, when humoral theory guided medicine, it was posited that foodstuffs, possessing their own humoral qualities, could alter the humoral temperaments of people. Parsley and sage were often used together in medieval cookery, for example in chicken broth, which had developed a reputation as a therapeutic food by the 14th century. One of the most common sauces of the age, green sauce, was made with parsley and often sage as well. In a 14th-century recipe recorded in Latin "for lords, for settling their temperament and whetting their appetite" green sauce is served with a dish of cheese and whole egg yolks boiled in watered down wine with herbs and spices.

Reproduction

Perennial herbs are usually reproduced by stem cuttings, either softwood cuttings of immature growth, or hardwood cuttings where the bark has been scraped to expose the cambium layer. A cutting will usually be approximately 3 to 4 inches in length. Plant roots can grow from the stems. Leaves are stripped from the lower portion up to one half before the cutting is placed in growth medium or rooted in a glass of water. This process requires high humidity in the environment, sufficient light, and root zone heat.

Uses

Culinary

A bundle of thyme (Thymus)

See also: List of culinary herbs and spices

Culinary herbs are distinguished from vegetables in that, like spices, they are used in small amounts and provide flavor rather than substance to food.

Herbs can be perennials such as thyme, sage or lavender, biennials such as parsley, or annuals like basil. Perennial herbs can be shrubs such as rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), or trees such as bay laurel (Laurus nobilis) – this contrasts with botanical herbs, which by definition cannot be woody plants. Some plants are used as both herbs and spices, such as dill weed and dill seed or coriander leaves and seeds. There are also some herbs, such as those in the mint family, that are used for both culinary and medicinal purposes.

Emperor Charlemagne (742–814) compiled a list of 74 different herbs that were to be planted in his gardens. The connection between herbs and health is important already in the European Middle Ages--The Forme of Cury (that is, "cookery") promotes extensive use of herbs, including in salads, and claims in its preface "the assent and advisement of the masters of physic and philosophy in the King's Court".

Teas

Main article: Herbal tea

Some herbs can be infused in boiling water to make herbal teas (also termed tisanes). Typically the dried leaves, flowers or seeds are used, or fresh herbs are used. Herbal teas tend to be made from aromatic herbs, may not contain tannins or caffeine, and are not typically mixed with milk. Common examples include chamomile tea, or mint tea. Herbal teas are often used as a source of relaxation or can be associated with rituals.

Medicine

Main articles: Medicinal plants and Herbalism

See also: List of plants used in herbalism

Nicholas Culpeper was an English botanist, herbalist, physician, and astrologer. (etching by Richard Gaywood between 1644 and 1662)

Herbs were used in prehistoric medicine. As far back as 5000 BCE, evidence that Sumerians used herbs in medicine was inscribed on cuneiform. In 162 CE, the physician Galen was known for concocting complicated herbal remedies that contained up to 100 ingredients.

Some plants contain phytochemicals that have effects on the body. There may be some effects when consumed in the small levels that typify culinary "spicing", and some herbs are toxic in larger quantities. For instance, some types of herbal extract, such as the extract of St. John's-wort (Hypericum perforatum) or of kava (Piper methysticum) can be used for medical purposes to relieve depression and stress. However, large amounts of these herbs may lead to toxic overload that may involve complications, some of a serious nature, and should be used with caution. Complications can also arise when being taken with some prescription medicines.

Herbs have long been used as the basis of traditional Chinese herbal medicine, with usage dating as far back as the first century CE and far before. In India, the Ayurveda medicinal system is based on herbs. Medicinal use of herbs in Western cultures has its roots in the Hippocratic (Greek) elemental healing system, based on a quaternary elemental healing metaphor. Famous herbalist of the Western tradition include Avicenna (Persian), Galen (Roman), Paracelsus (German Swiss), Culpepper (English) and the botanically inclined Eclectic physicians of 19th century/early 20th century America (John Milton Scudder, Harvey Wickes Felter, John Uri Lloyd). Modern pharmaceuticals had their origins in crude herbal medicines, and to this day, some drugs are still extracted as fractionate/isolate compounds from raw herbs and then purified to meet pharmaceutical standards.

There is a record dated 1226 for '12d for Roses for Baron's Chamber and in 1516 for flowers and rushes for chambers for henry the 9th

Certain herbs contain psychoactive properties that have been used for both religious and recreational purposes by humans since the early Holocene era, notably the leaves and extracts of the cannabis and coca plants. The leaves of the coca plant have been chewed by people in northern Peruvian societies for over 8,000 years, while the use of cannabis as a psychoactive substance dates back to the first century CE in China and northern Africa.

Indigenous Australian peoples developed "bush medicine" based on plants that were readily available to them. The isolation of these groups meant the remedies developed were for far less serious diseases than the western illnesses they contracted during colonisation. Herbs such as river mint, wattle and eucalyptus were used for coughs, diarrhea, fever and headaches.

Ritual

Main article: Sacred herb

Commiphora gileadensis (Gilead myrrh)

Herbs are used in many religions. During the monastic era, monks would cultivate herbs alongside vegetables, while others would be set aside in a physic garden for specific purposes. For example, myrrh (Commiphora myrrha) and frankincense (Boswellia species) in Hellenistic religion, the nine herbs charm in Anglo-Saxon paganism, neem (Azadirachta indica) leaves, bael (Aegele marmelos) leaves, holy basil or tulsi (Ocimum tenuiflorum), turmeric or "haldi" (Curcuma longa), cannabis in Hinduism, and white sage in Wicca. Rastafari also consider cannabis to be a holy plant.

Siberian shamans also used herbs for spiritual purposes. Plants may be used to induce spiritual experiences for rites of passage, such as vision quests in some Native American cultures. The Cherokee Native Americans use both white sage and cedar for spiritual cleansing and smudging.

Cosmetics

Originally there was always doubt in ancient societies, especially in the sceptical medium of western traditions, as to the efficacity of herbal medicines. The use of herbal cosmetics dates back to around six centuries ago in the European and Western countries. Mixtures and pastes were often concocted to whiten the face. During the 1940s, herbal cosmetics took a turn with the emerging red lipstick color, with every year gaining a more intense red. Herbal cosmetics come in many forms, such as face creams, scrubs, lipstick, natural fragrances, powders, body oils, deodorants and sunscreens. They activate through the epithelium of sebaceous glands to make the skin more supple. Ayurvedic oils are widely used in India, prized for their natural health-giving properties.

One method and perhaps the best, used to extract natural oils from herbs to make lipstick is partition chromatography. The process involves separation in watery solution, and then the injection of colour under pressure.

Other

Main article: Strewing herb

Strewing herbs are scattered (strewn) over the floors of dwelling places and other buildings. Such plants usually have fragrant or astringent smells, and many also serve as insecticides (e.g. to repel fleas) or disinfectants. For example, meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) was sometimes strewn across floors in the middle ages because of its sweet smell.

See also

• Apothecary
• Herb chopper
• Herb farm
• Outline of herbs and spices

External links

• Media related to Herbs at Wikimedia Commons
• § 182.10 Spices and other natural seasonings and flavorings that are generally recognized as safe Archived 2018-02-09 at the Wayback Machine, US Code of Federal Regulations