Introduction to the Fabaceae family

compiled by D. Collins

Astragalus tragacantha

Historically, legumes have been known as "meat for the poor." They are regarded as a source of protein for people who live under harsh conditions and have no money for luxuries. The theme of poverty is widespread; the fear of not having enough to meet one's needs, both physically and emotionally (DD Psorinum). Life is experienced as hard and dull, without frills and pleasures. Everything is hard work and no play; patients who need Fabaceae often feel powerless in the face of their situation of poverty and lack. They tend to overexert themselves and eventually become brusque, humourless, disappointed and critical (like a "sacred bean" = soybean).

A main symptom for remedies from this plant family is often overwhelming fatigue. This fatigue is probably related to an inability to digest certain amino acids. It is known that many members of this family contain aberrant amino acids. If these are not digested and metabolised, they can, as proteins, suppress certain bodily functions. In orthomolecular medicine it is known that carnitine, an amino acid, can have positive effects on ME(1). It is both a physical and a mental/spiritual fatigue. Physically, this fatigue can go so far that real paralyses arise (multiple sclerosis, polio), or the opposite of paralysis, epilepsy, develops. Psychically it shows as dullness or confusion, as poor concentration or inability to concentrate or even to think at all. In short, it is the overall picture of misery and suffering, doom and distress.
The logical consequence of this is the desire for pleasure; one wants to enjoy life without the burden of difficulties. There is a strong connection to the themes of nitrogen (sensual indulgence). Fabaceae are known to form a symbiosis with bacteria at their roots that can convert nitrogen into nitrate. In Dutch the legumes are called "vlinder-bloemigen" (butterfly-flowered) – here the wish to be as light as a butterfly is shown. It is the wish to free oneself from earthly worries and problems, to separate oneself from the monotony of everyday life. The word "split" and its many meanings – scattered, shattered, disintegrated, separated, distant, etc. – reflect this escape from the drudgery of everyday reality. One becomes "distracted" and "confused." This splitting is also reflected in the two halves of the seeds, as in the peanut, Arachis hypogeia.
Dizziness and vertigo are very important themes. This condition is usually described as "like being drunk," and they are probably actually drunk – as a result of an imbalance in the gut flora that promotes the production of alcohol in the gut.

The theme of being a teacher can be strongly pronounced, as with manganese, another anti-exhaustion remedy. Many Fabaceae contain a lot of manganese, which shows in the desire to help and to cooperate. Perfection is also an important theme, as in the iron series to which manganese belongs. They want to do everything very well, and this can lead to even more exhaustion.

Fabaceae remedies may be required when a person's whole life has been characterised by hardship or felt to be hard. Or they may be very industrious at certain times, where it is about hard work and not play – as in adolescence, when one would much rather play and discover life than take exams and perform. Various Fabaceae have proven useful for easing chronic fatigue following the mononucleosis that is common among students. The "kissing disease," as mononucleosis is also called, has little to do with the fun of kissing and more to do with a lack of pleasure and joy in this phase of life.

The search for the cause (causa) leads us with some Fabaceae to the recognition that they have problems related to situations of deprivation and need. Baptisia, for example, can help under severe septic conditions: blood poisoning as a result of being in a mine, in mud, sewage or from inhaling poison gas. Having to live or work under such extremely harsh conditions could be an indication for a Fabaceae. Refugee camps, concentration camps, slave ships, hiding from an enemy and having nothing to eat – all this can give rise to feelings of hopelessness and despair and thus prepare the ground for the seed of the Fabaceae. Melilotus has many rubrics that can be interpreted as "hiding from the enemy," as in the case of Anne Frank. Alfalfa can be used in malnutrition. It helps the patient to gain weight when the body was no longer able to metabolise the food taken in. Further research will make it possible to find precise indications for each of these remedies.

Jan Scholten has divided some of the Fabaceae into stages similar to the periodic table of elements.

1)   Medicago (Alfalfa)
2)   Phaseolus
3)   Lathyrus / Medicago sativa (Lucerne)
4)   Oxytropis
5)   (not yet classified, probably Gymnoclades)
6)   Genista
7)   Indigo
8)   Cytisus / Laburnum
9)   Abrus (Jequirity)
10)   Robinia
11)   (possibly Copaiva)
12)   Chrysarobinum
13)   Melilotus
14)   Sarothamnus
15)   Derris pinnata
16)   Physostigma
17)   Ulex

Rajan Sankaran has focused the theme of the Fabaceae on the idea of separation, the feeling of being split, shattered and scattered, as we know it from the delusions of Baptisia: "Thinks he is broken or double. Feels body parts are detached or scattered. Tosses himself about in bed and tries to put the parts together." In his book "Insights into the Plant Kingdom, Vol. 1" he presents several cases of patients who were broken by catastrophic life circumstances and became whole again under the influence of Baptisia. The opposite sensation to separation is "bound together," and legume patients often feel tied or restricted. Sankaran proposes the following classification of the legumes with regard to the different miasms:

- Acute miasm: Melilotus (suddenly separated or split, acute threat of separation)

- Typhoid miasm: Baptisia (desperately tries to put all his body parts together, "if I can put them together again I will be well")

- Malaria miasm: Robinia (intermittent threat of being torn apart)

- Fungoid miasm: Chrysarobinum (tries to hold everything together)

- Sycotic miasm: Copaiva (prevents splitting/separation)

- Tubercular miasm: Peru-Balsam (race against time to get things together, otherwise everything will be destroyed)

- Cancer miasm: Physostigma (a split to keep things together, which is beyond his strength)

- Leprosy miasm: Caesalpinia (damned because he is split/separated)

- Syphilis miasm: Lathyrus (destroyed by the split/separation)

Category: Remedies
Keywords: poverty, chronic fatigue, fainting, MS, stupor, dizziness, splitting, separation