Herbalists' Views on the Top-Selling Herbs (Part 6): Saw Palmetto, Cinnamon, Echinacea

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On the top-selling herbs list for 2023 (the most recent data), the herbs in places #16-18 were saw palmetto, cinnamon, and echinacea. In today’s installment of our best-sellers series, we share our views as herbalists on the actions, benefits, and applications of these herbs. All three are long-term residents on the market report’s top 40 chart, and there’s no reason to expect that to change in the coming years.

In this series of episodes, we’re working to present you with the perspective of a practicing clinical herbalist on these very popular plants. In the form of supplements, they’re among the most-taken and most-asked-about herbal remedies for the modern population. Their presentation in the marketplace, though, is generally quite restricted and limited in comparision to both historical and contemporary herbal practices!

These herbs are “good for” more than just what’s on their packaging. Let’s break them out of their pigeon-holes and appreciate their depth & complexity together!

If you’re new to studying herbs, these episodes will armor you with protection against “herban legends” and misinformation about these plants, which is sadly very common throughout the internet of today.

If you’re already a practitioner, well, you know how valuable materia medica study has been, is, and will ever be! Because these supplements are so popular, you can expect many of your clients to be taking them already, and to ask you about them when they come to see you. Best to be prepared.

16. Saw Palmetto – Serenoa repens

• HHP 158: Saw Palmetto Doesn’t Discriminate On Gender
• The Historical Interplay of Plant Biology, Trade, and Human Interactions with Saw Palmetto, Steven Foster

17. Cinnamon – Cinnamomum spp.

• HHP 182: Herbs A-Z: Citrus & Cinnamomum
• HHP 048: Pumpkin Spice – That’s Herbalism Too!
• HHP 035: Cinnamon, Vanilla, & Cacao

18. Echinacea – Echinacea spp.

• The 3 types of echinacea: A comparison of medicinal actions, Ruth Weaver (Herbal Reality)
• Gangrene averted by Echinacea, C.S. Whitford (1908)
• The sustainability of echinacea within herbal medicine, Jonas Brab (Herbal Reality)

Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.

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