At this time of year one can walk into any retail drug store or grocery store and see shelves lined with cold and flu remedies. This vast knowledge fell into the genre of quaint folklore early in this century with the advent of antibiotics and quick-acting synthetic drugs. However, all has very much changed. Numerous plants have been used for centuries to treat the symptoms of colds and flu. For example, eating whole blackberries may help ease a sore throat.
Blackberry plants are high in tannins which act as an astringent.
Thawed, frozen blackberries work as well as fresh. Or drinking a cup or two of blackberry or raspberry tea is believed to also help treat diarrhea. This plant contains salicin, the building block of acetylsalicylic acid, or aspirin. For thousands of years, people have made teas and tinctures of the herb to treat headaches, arthritis and to help reduce fevers and other causes of inflammation. In 1839, a German scientist isolated salicin from the flower buds of meadowsweet.