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HANGOVER: The wrath of grapes.
HARMALINE is an alkaloid found in
passion flower and other plants. Harmaline inhibits the action of the enzyme
amine oxidase and acts as a central stimulant.
HARMALOL is an alkaloid found in
passion flower and other plants. Harmalol has the ability to destroy or expel
intestinal worms; it is also a narcotic. Due to these properties harmalol is
used therapeutically as an anthelmintic and as a narcotic.
HAWTHORNE is a spiky bush or tree
found in Europe, northwestern Africa, and western Asia. In England it is grown
as a hedge plant. The tree reaches 13 feet in height and grows along the edges
of woods and forests. Hawthorne has smooth, gray bark and sharp thorns which
grow along the branches. The leaves are dark green with shiny, bluish-green
undersides, and have irregular tooth margins. Snow white flowers bloom from May
to June and grow in terminal corymbs. The fruits are bright red, oval, two to
three seeded, and hang down in clusters. The medicinal parts are the flowers
and the fruit.
Other common names: English hawthorn, May
bush, May tree , Quickset, Thorn apple tree, White thorn.
For more information see the HERBS section
of the Nutrition Notebook.
HEMOGLOBIN is a crystallizable,
conjugated protein consisting of an iron-containing pigment called heme and a
simple protein, globin. It is the pigment of red blood cells. Hemoglobin
carries oxygen from the lungs to the tissues.
HEMOLYTIC ANEMIA - The shortened
life of the red blood cell and the increased tendency for it to burst
characterizes this disease.
HEMOSTATIC - any drug, medicine, or
blood component that serves to stop bleeding.
HIRSUTISM - Excessive growth of
normal or abnormal distribution. When it occurs in females it often shows up as
facial hair. It is due to a hormone imbalance, and will usually go away when
normal hormone balance is restored.
HISTAMINE is an amine found widely in
nature, including in the human body, as it is released when cells are injured.
Histamine is a vasodilator, and stimulates the secretion of gastric juices. It
constricts certain smooth muscles, such as those found in the intestines,
bronchi, and uterus. Histamine phosphate is used as a diagnostic aid for
testing the gastric glands in the stomach.
HOREHOUND is a perennial herb native
to Europe and found in waste places of North America. It prefers a sunny
location, growing on dry, sandy fields, waste places, and roadsides. The herb
is also cultivated in gardens. Horehound has a hollow, hairy stem, 18 inches in
height. It bears dark, green, opposite, ovate leaves that are wrinkled and
hairy. Small, white flowers grow in axillary whorls in the leaf axils, blooming
from June to August. The seeds grow at the bottom of the calyx.
Other common names: Common hoarhound,
Common horehound, Marrub, Marrubium, Marvel, White
hoarhound.
For more information see the HERBS section
of the Nutrition Notebook.
HORMONES are chemical substances
which originate in an organ, gland, or body part, and are conveyed by the blood
to other parts of the body. Depending on the specificity of their effects,
hormones can alter the functional activity and sometimes the structure, of just
one organ or of various numbers of them.
HYALINIZATION is a form of
degeneration in which the tissues assume a homogeneous and glassy appearance.
It is caused by blood vessels with a firm, transparent substance which causes
loss of elasticity. It is responsible for hardening of the arteries and is
often followed by calcification or deposit of lime salts in dead tissue.
HYALURONIDASES are enzymes which have
a spreading action and hydrolyze hyaluronic acid; they depolarize the
hyaluronic acid, thereby increasing the permeability of the connective tissues
by dissolving the substances that hold body cells together and combine with the
mucilage sugars of soft connective tissues. It is
found in leeches, in snake, bee and spider
venom, in testis, sperm and in malignant tissues, and is produced by a variety
of pathogenic bacteria, enabling them to spread through the host's tissues.
HYDROCARBONS are compounds made up of
only hydrogen and carbon atoms.
HYDROLYSIS is the splitting of a
compound into fragments by the addition of water, the hydroxyl group being
incorporated in one fragment, and the hydrogen atom in the other. Reactions of
this kind are extremely frequent in life processes. The conversion of starch to
maltose, of fat to glycerol and fatty acid, and of protein to amino acids are
examples of hydrolysis.
HYDROXYAPATITE is an inorganic
compound found in the matrix of bone and teeth, which gives rigidity to these
structures.
HYPERPLASIA is an excessive
reproduction of normal cells which gives rise to tissue enlargement.
HYPNOTICS form a class of drugs which
induce sleep when sleeplessness is not due to a stimulus, such as pain or
itching. Hypnotic drugs are closely related to sedatives. A single drug may
possess both sedative and hypnotic qualities. Agents classified as sedatives
and hypnotics have a common mode of action: they induce a nonselective,
reversible decrease in central nervous system activity. Examples of drugs in
this class include diazepam, mephobarbital and chloral hydrate. |
