- Region
- Europe
- Origin
- Rocky coasts of the North Sea, Baltic and northern Atlantic and Pacific. Fucus vesiculosus
- Traditions
- Western herbal medicine
Europe · Other · № 74
Fucus vesiculosus
Other · Europe
Bladderwrack
Fucus vesiculosus
A brown seaweed rich in iodine; formerly used for an underactive thyroid and for weight loss. Weight-loss claims are unproven.
Safety notes
Too much iodine can cause or worsen thyroid problems. Seaweed may contain heavy metals. Avoid in pregnancy, thyroid disease or with thyroid medicines and blood thinners.
Cautions by tradition (1)
- Herbal medicine worldwide: Not with an overactive thyroid. Do not collect from polluted water.
Preparation
Dried as powder or capsules; in coastal areas also as fertiliser and fodder. No dosage is given here.
Use in traditions
Ody notes that iodine was first discovered in seaweed ash in 1811. Coastal people of Scotland, Ireland and Brittany used seaweed as food, fertiliser and home remedy.
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
Stimulates metabolism, nourishing, thyroid tonic, antirheumatic, anti-inflammatory; for an underactive thyroid, overweight from a slow metabolism, rheumatism.
Preparation and amount
Tincture in the standard dose as a thyroid stimulant or for a sluggish metabolism; tablets/capsules 3–6 a day; with willow, meadowsweet or bogbean for rheumatoid arthritis; oil (500 g in 500 ml oil) on arthritic joints; tea in a weight-loss programme.
Caution: Not with an overactive thyroid. Do not collect from polluted water.
- Ways to prepare herbs
- Tea (infusion)Powder and kitchen