Alfred Vogel, who took great pleasure in walking and working in the Swiss countryside, enjoyed collecting and eating pine buds on his walks as he knew of their effectiveness against coughs. Here is an extract from one of his earlier publications, now sadly out of print, which gives some background to his creation of the delicious and efficacious pine syrup, Santasapina.

When we see the light green pine buds breaking through the needles of the pine trees, we know that they are not just beautiful to look at, but that they are also full of healing properties. And it is from them that pine bud syrup is made, which even our great-grandmothers knew how to prepare with all its tasty qualities.

The syrup was sweetened with honey, and these ingredients naturally increased its effectiveness in treating coughs and catarrh. Often the children would feign a cold just to be able to get the desirable sweet pine shoot syrup. Their craving for sweets was well satisfied but the syrup lost a lot of its aroma through the boiling process.

Today’s pine bud syrup, known as Santasapina, is considerably better, since it is made in a vacuum at very low temperature. All its aromatic substances, besides its fine active ingredients, which come from the fresh sap pressed from spring buds and shoots of Norway spruce, thus remain intact.

Fruit juice concentrate and honey provide sweeteners, making this pine syrup a delightful treat especially for children. A plant remedy that is not only effective, but also tasty, naturally has a decided advantage over other medicines that do not have a pleasant taste. Besides pine bud syrup, there are also Santasapina lozenges that are a great aid in soothing the bronchials when there is a risk of infection. Their expectorant effect in hoarseness, coughs and catarrh can lead to fast relief.

The Nature Doctor by Alfred Vogel ISBN 1 85158 274 6 £12.99 paperback www.avogel.co.uk