Course Description
A field-based course covering cultural practices, post-harvest handling, and processing of herbs, with a focus on medicinal herbs grown in Georgia. Much of the content is delivered through audio lectures, readings, and videos available on the eLC, with class time utilized primarily for hands-on activities. Class time will be spent planting and growing medicinal herbs, drying and processing herbs, field trips to labs and local farms, and making herbal products.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Students taking this course for graduate credit will either design and conduct a small experiment with an herb crop, collect and analyze data, write a research summary, and present the findings to the class; or they will develop a 2-page Extension Circular on an assigned medicinal herb that includes researched-based recommendations for planting, cultivating, and harvesting.
Athena Title
Herb and Medicinal Plt Mgt
Non-Traditional Format
Practicum.
Undergraduate Pre or Corequisite
HORT(ANTH)(PBIO) 3440 or HORT(ANTH)(PBIO) 3440E
Semester Course Offered
Offered summer semester every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
In this course students will: 1) Grow and process herbs using various appropriate methods; 2) Participate in field experiments and collect crop data; 3) Practice current regulations and procedures for safe herb handling and processing; and 4) Understand the pharmacology and modalities of herbal products.
Topical Outline
Unit 1: Background - Commercial Herb Production Economically important herbs Herb growing regions Industrial versus small farm Unit 2: Medicinal Herb Modalities Plant biochemistry Philosophies of medicinal plant usage Functional foods Nutraceuticals Ayurvedic System of Medicine Herbal Pharmacology Unit 3: General Production Practices Identification and developmental stage of medicinal plants Soils Fertilization Seed versus Transplants Hydroponics versus Field Harvesting Methods Unit 4: Production of Selected Medicinal Plants Holy basil, lemon balm, blue vervain, stinging nettle, lemon verbena, chamomile, calendula, reishi mushrooms Unit 5: Medicinal Herb Processing and Packaging Alternatives Time and method of harvesting different medicinal plants Post-harvest for fresh market and processed markets Extraction Methods Unit 6: Laws and Regulations for Herbal Products and Medicines in the U.S. Laws associated with herb production and sales Regulations under the FDA Certified organic production Food Safety Unit 7: Culinary Herbs The major culinary herbs U.S. and world production systems Unit 8: Cannabis Current U.S. and state regulations for production Production practices - small versus large scale Why the current CBD craze?