Herbal Phenolic Compounds

What Are Herbal Phenolic Compounds?

An herb is a storehouse of many important plant constituents and molecules which in different combinations form an effective healing and therapeutic complex. As such you may never be able to find a single constituent in an herb that is wasteful and useless. Like any other plant constituents, herbal phenolic compounds are also highly useful in providing a host of healing properties that range from a simple antiseptic molecule to complex bactericidal factors.

Understanding the biochemistry and molecular structure of a phenol is actually very tough and tedious; a layman may never understand those intricate chemical structures of a phenol compound. In simple terms, herbal phenolics are called tertiary alcohols and these compounds are chemically very active and diverse. There are many types of herb phenolic compounds, and each one of them displays its own special characteristics and traits.

Properties of Herbal Phenolic Compounds

Simple herb phenols are very basic in their chemical structure and they have a wide variety of therapeutic properties like anti-bacterial characters, antiseptic nature, and in some instances, they act as an anaesthetic as well. It exerts an anti-microbial action due to the induction of structural damage in the cell wall membranes and internal structures. However, some of these phenols may inhibit leukocyte activity in the cell resulting in gradually weakening of the body’s defense mechanisms.

Aspirin is a common drug which is made up of herbal phenols from sodium called Salicylic acid. Ester forms of Salicylic acid are presumed to be less active as they are less irritating to the stomach wall cells, whereas the salicylate form are medically very active and strong, even in small concentrations. When taken orally, these compounds are strongly antipyretic and act to increase peripheral blood circulation and produce more sweat from the body. Herbal salicylic acid are catabolic in nature and also have the ability to quickly breakdown protein molecules.

Here are some of the other herbal actions of Salicylic Acids;

• Salicylic acid possess diuretic properties,
• Salicylic acid are very effective analgesic,
• Salicylic acid are considered very effective anti-clotting agents that can help you stop uncontrolled bleeding,
• On the contrary and as a severe side effect, Salicylic acid could create ruptures in the stomach linings and cause a condition known as “sub-mucous hemorrhage”.
  

Types of Herbal Phenol Compounds