Dynamic Gemotherapy & the Clove Currant
Ribes odoratum
The plant kingdom is infused with healing patterns specific to both humans and animals. In additional to the well known herbal healing modalities comes gemmotherapy. “Gemmo” means “buds.” Unopened flower buds contain a special hormonal element only available in early spring. Gemmotherapy is a form of phyto-embryonic stem cell therapy. which can address the full spectrum of human physiological systems. Issues from allergies (Black Currant), to mending hairline bone fractures (Mountain Pine -fresh buds), to prostate issues (Rosemary – fresh young shoots), to COPD (Blackberry vine shoots), and the list goes on…
I first learned about gemmotherapy on a visit to my extraordinary German hermetic herbalist friend KDG on a return trip from curating an exhibit in Denver. It was the middle of April and I needed to come up with the week’s herbology class with Juniper and Dexter, students at the Crestone Charter School in the high school mentorship program who had asked to study with me. I was hoping for something hands-on that they could really get into. KDG brought up gemmotherapy, a modality well known in Europe but little known elsewhere. I had certainly never heard of it though marauding deer and other wild critters have known about it for time immemorial.
The initial gemmotherapy plant is Ribes Nigrum or Black Currant. I didn’t have black currant growing at the time but I did (and still do) have what was sold to me as “American” Black Currant – Ribes Odoratum – a yellow flowering, clove scented member of the family which was just at the perfect stage of development to make into a gemmotherapy serum. The remedy is primarily used to ward off seasonal allergic responses. As I eventually learned from Dr. Joe Rozencwaijg’s book Dynamic Gemmotherapy – Integrative Embryonic Phytotherapy published in 2008, it functions like a steroid but what it actually does is support and stimulate weakened adrenal function.
Here is what Ribes Odoratum looks like before the buds are open:
Here is how it looks with open flowers:
Preparing and using Ribes Odoratum in place of Ribes Nigrum has been a resounding success. I loaded up on the tincture and asked the front desk secretary at the Property Owner’s Association, who happened to be allergic to everything from dust to pine pollen, to give it a go and report back. Her report was stellar. She couldn’t remember when she had experienced such a symptom free spring and summer. She added that breathing like a real human being for months on end was truly a novel experience!
Just to see how they compare, I actually purchased a bottle of Ribes Nigrum Gemmotherapy from Boiron. It was absolutely useless. I was shocked! I’ve not tried any other commercially available gemmotherapy products since but, talking it over with KDG, I surmise that because of the narrow window the unopened bud harvest (about 2 weeks/year), gemmotherapy is not a natural fit for commercial processing. DIY is likely to be your best bet.
Ribes Odoratum Gemmotherapy Recipe:
Pick as many of the young unopened flower buds as you can.
I separate out any green material like leaves or sepals and use only the flower buds. I don’t use any that have opened between picking and the next step.
Macerate the buds with a mortar and pestle.
Place macerated buds in a glass jar and cover with alcohol (I use Saki).
Cover with a lid and place in a dark, cool closet for 6 days.
Decant (separate out the plant material from the infused alcohol), squeezing out as much liquid as possible.
Combine with water and vegetable glycerin 1:1:1, that is, however much tincture you have, add an equal amount of distilled water and the same amount of glycerin.
The fresh plant material is pretty powerful stuff and the whole process only takes six days as opposed to 6-8 weeks as with most tinctures.
The tincture can be used both internally and topically. So, if you have an itchy insect bite, you can apply it topically. It acts like a steroid and stops the itch. If you plan on using for allergies it’s a good idea to start taking a dropper full a month in advance of allergy season and continue throughout. I actually use it all year round.
I highly recommend Dr. Rozencwajg’s Dynamic Gemmotherapy book. I must admit that my most favorite part is at the very beginning where he has his Claimer instead of the ubiquitous Disclaimer:
“It is customary to find a preliminary Disclaimer in this type of book, which generally says that it does not replace “proper” medical advice, the remedies have not been properly investigated by the FDA or any other organism and that no responsibility is taken for anything happening from the use of the book.
All the information contained in this book has been clinically tested by many Medical Doctors and generations of Traditional Healers, Homeopaths, Herbalists, Ayurvedic Doctors and TCM practitioners.
We know how it works, we know when it works, we know why it works, we know how and when to use it and for what conditions on which patients.
That this practice has not been vouched for by any official representative of the Techno-Chemical Medical Industry is not relevant.
This is a book for health practitioners who want to learn something new and different. It is each practitioner’s responsibility and duty to use the knowledge imparted safely and carefully.
If you are not a health practitioner and you want to use this for yourself or somebody else, you do that at your own risk and under your own responsibility. Would you buy a textbook of surgery and remove your own gallbladder?
Knowledge is here to be shared, not to be hidden and either suppressed because it is too effective or restricted to a few of the elite for their own financial improvement. Knowledge belongs to the people but must be applied safely and diligently by those who understand the instrument properly.
Dr. Joe Rozencwajg, MD,PhD, NMD, New Plymouth, New Zealand.
Bravo INDEED!