More Medicinal Herbs and Spices
These are herbs and spices which exist both in the real world and in Thedas and which have medicinal uses that you can incorporate into your writing. For herbs specific to Thedas and their non-magical uses, see here.
Note: these are mostly folk remedies specifically, since that’s how people in Thedas would likely be using them. Before you actually try to use any of these things medicinally, definitely do your own research. This is in no way intended as an exhaustive exploration of the potential of these herbs; it’s only a reference for adding a little color and depth to writing.
Ginger–DA Canon: Found here (specifically as a remedy for gassiness) and in The Masked Empire, where Celene drinks a tea made from cinnamon, ginger, and cloves to help her headaches. Real-world: Ginger is used for a variety of stomach problems from indigestion to nausea, and is often used to fight infection and, usually as a tea, to treat colds and sore throats.
Mustard seed–DA Canon: Used here as a trade item with the Avvar. Real-world: Powdered mustard seed is traditionally used by mixing it with water to form a paste, spreading that paste on cloth, and using it as a poultice to increase blood flow to the desired area of the body, to help treat ailments ranging from arthritis to indigestion.
Cloves–DA Canon: Found in the Rivaini tea blend Celene drinks in Masked Empire, and also in Oghren’s ale. Real-world: antiseptic, anti-flatulent, very strong local anesthetic (cloves and clove oil are often used for tooth ache and mouth sores).
Lavender–DA Canon: Appears in this codex and a description of Leliana’s childhood in WoT2. Real-world: put in pillows to encourage sleep, aromatherpeutic for reducing stress and headaches.
Black pepper–DA Canon: Also appears in the codex about Avvar cuisine as a trade item. Real-world: stimulates digestion, anti-microbial, helps preserve food.
Elderberry–DA Canon: It’s mentioned in multiplayer dialogue that Cullen smells of elderflower and oak moss. Real-world: Elderberries are very high in vitamin C, and are often dried as a winter source of the vitamin. Also common in teas and syrups to boost the immune system and fight colds and flu.
Sage–DA Canon: The champion of the Grand Tourney is given a crown of sage leaves (x). Real-world: used as a mouth rinse or in tooth powders for gum inflammation and oral health. Used in hair rinses to add shine to dark hair. Popular cure-all type herb in several cultures.
Onions–DA Canon: Onions are found frequently in places where cooking ingredients are laid out; Rotten Onion is a Feastday Prank gift in Origins. Real-world: onion syrup is used to fight colds and as an expectorant (loosens mucus in the lungs so it can be effectively coughed up). Onion poultices on the chest are used for the same thing. Antiviral and reputed to be good for the heart.
Garlic–DA Canon: pictured in kitchen areas in-game. Real-world: Classic cure-all, with antibiotic, antiseptic, antifungal, and antiviral properties. Used to treat cold and flu, preserve food, treat warts, support/improve heart health, roughly a million other things.