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HERBS FOR BAD BREATH  Part 1

If you want a natural remedy for your halitosis without resorting to over-the-counter commercial products here is a list of herbs for bad breath that you can find in your kitchen or your own herb garden.  Some of these herbs and seeds can be chewed (be sure to spit them out after chewing), some can be brewed into teas.

Here's a List of Natural Herbal Cures

Anise - Anise seeds taste like licorice and have a great fresh aroma. These seeds have been used to freshen breath for thousands of years.  Pliny the Elder said that anise had "the effect of sweetening the breath and removing all bad odors from the mouth, if chewed in the morning."  It is regularly used as a mouth freshener in India.  Either chew on the seeds or create a tea from them by boiling water with a few spoonfuls of seeds.  One source says that anise also kills bacteria.

Cardamom - Cardamom contains cineol, which has strong antiseptic properties.  This can aid in defeating bad breath by killing some of those ever-present mouth bacteria.  Chew some of the seeds or use them to make tea.

Cloves - This is a personal favorite of mine.  I roll a couple of whole cloves around in my mouth and gently chew them for a few minutes. During the Han Dynasty in the 4th century BC China, people were required to chew on cloves as an herbal remedy for bad breath before being allowed to speak with Chinese leaders.  AIt has been said that clove oil is antiseptic and antibacterial.  This may account for some of its effectiveness in taking care of bad breath, or maybe it is just that great, strong spicy aroma.  A tea, made from either whole or ground cloves, can be used as a tea, a gargle or a mouthwash.

Coriander - Coriander is also known as Cilantro.  A tea can be made by adding coriander to boiling water for a few minutes.  The tea can be drunk or used as a mouthwash.  It is said that coriander is a Cantonese bad breath remedy.

Dill - Dill has a terrific fresh aroma.  Either the seeds can be chewed or either the seeds or the leaves can be made into a tea.

Eucalyptus - The aroma of eucalyptus is a familiar one.  You may have noticed the trademark smell in any of a variety of mouthwashes, cough remedies and expectorants, where the volatile oil is used.  Eucalyptol, derived from eucalyptus oil, is used in mouthwashes.  It isn't soluble in water, so alcohol is necessary to make use of it.  The alcohol would cause drying of your mouth, so the benefit of the eucalyptus is defeated.  Cineol, with antiseptic properties, is the primary active ingredient of eucalyptus. which concerns bad breath. 
Here is a warning -- eucalyptus oil is toxic if ingested internally.  The simple expedient of chewing on a leaf can help with bad breath.

There are other herbs with a cineol content that can be used to help freshen breath.  A few of these are: cardamom, several of the mints, rosemary, lavender, tarragon, lemon verbena, and fennel.  None are as potent in cineol as eucalyptus.