- Region
- Europe
- Origin
- Temperate Europe and Asia, in damp shady places. Scrophularia nodosa
Europe · Herb · № 92
Scrophularia nodosa (en S. ningpoensis)
Herb · Europe
Figwort
Scrophularia nodosa (en S. ningpoensis)
Used in Western herbalism for skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis and for swollen glands. There is no good clinical evidence.
Safety notes
May affect heart rhythm; avoid with heart disease or heart medicines. Always have swollen glands checked.
Cautions by tradition (2)
- Herbal medicine worldwide: Not with a raised heart rate.
- Chinese materia medica: Not with spleen or stomach deficiency or dampness with diarrhoea. Do not combine with Veratrum.
Preparation
The herb as tea, tincture or externally as a compress. No dosage is given here.
Use in traditions
The name Scrophularia refers to scrofula, glandular swellings from tuberculosis, for which the plant was once used according to the doctrine of signatures. In China the related xuan shen is used.
Applications
Use by tradition
How different herbal traditions describe this herb. Amounts are traditional guidelines checked for obvious errors; they are not medical advice. For poisonous plants no dosage is given on purpose.
Herbal medicine worldwide
Attributed effects
Diuretic, laxative, stimulates the heart and circulation, anti-inflammatory; Chinese species tonic, fever-reducing, antibacterial, lowers blood pressure, calming.
Preparation and amount
Tea to eliminate toxins in rheumatism, lymphatic complaints, eczema and psoriasis; tincture with digestive herbs for constipation or with yellow dock and burdock for skin complaints; wash for eczema and fungal infections; compress on swellings and ulcers; Chinese species as a decoction for abscesses and swollen glands.
Caution: Not with a raised heart rate.
Chinese materia medica
- Nature and taste
- bitter, sweet, salty, cold
- Meridians
- lung, stomach, kidney
Attributed effects
Xuan shen (Scrophularia ningpoensis) cools heat that has reached the blood in fever, dryness and insomnia, nourishes yin after feverish illnesses in insomnia, constipation, irritability and dizziness, cools 'poison' in sore throat, boils and red, swollen eyes, and dissolves lumps from phlegm fire, such as swollen neck glands and goitre.
Preparation and amount
Traditional dosage: 9–30 g a day, usually in a decoction. Less nourishing than raw rehmannia, but better for swollen, inflamed glands; rehmannia works more on liver, kidney and heart, xuan shen more on stomach and lung.
Combinations
- With burdock seed, balloon flower and licorice for sore throat from wind heat
- With bei mu and oyster shell in xiao luo wan for swollen glands
Caution: Not with spleen or stomach deficiency or dampness with diarrhoea. Do not combine with Veratrum.
- Ways to prepare herbs
- Tea (infusion)DecoctionTinctureCompress, poultice and paste