- Region
- Europe
- Origin
- Europe (south), Asia (west)
- Sanskrit
- Sadapaha
Europe · Herb · № 242
Ruta graveolens
Herb · Europe
Rue
Ruta graveolens
Traditionally attributed effects: antiseptic, stimulating, promotes menstruation, expectorant, antispasmodic, expels worms (children); strengthens capillaries (rutin); for hysteria, flatulence and colic, incipient paralysis, indigestion; oil diuretic and skin-irritant.
Safety notes
Poisonous or risky: only under expert supervision. No dosage is given here on purpose. Do not take the oil internally yourself. Not in pregnancy (abortifacient). Poisonous in large doses. Traditional use is no proof of effectiveness; if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medication or have a medical condition, consult a doctor or pharmacist. Avoid rue oil: this essential oil is one of those best left out of homemade remedies entirely.
Cautions by tradition (3)
- Ayurvedic materia medica: Do not take the oil internally yourself. Not in pregnancy (abortifacient). Poisonous in large doses. Poisonous or risky: only under expert supervision. No dosage is given here on purpose.
- Kallawaya healing in Bolivia: Can cause blisters on the skin in sunlight. Never internally in pregnancy.
- Curanderismo of northern Peru: Poisonous internally and can cause miscarriage; not in pregnancy. The sap can blister the skin in sunlight.
Preparation
Poisonous or risky: only under expert supervision. No dosage is given here on purpose.
Use in traditions
Described in the Ayurvedic materia medica. Sanskrit name: Sadapaha. In herbal magic associated with protection, mental powers, purification, health.
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.
Ayurvedic materia medica
Attributed effects
Antiseptic, stimulating, promotes menstruation, expectorant, antispasmodic, expels worms (children); strengthens capillaries (rutin); for hysteria, flatulence and colic, incipient paralysis, indigestion; oil diuretic and skin-irritant.
Preparation and amount
Traditionally used forms: powder, juice (partly external).
Caution: Do not take the oil internally yourself. Not in pregnancy (abortifacient). Poisonous in large doses. Poisonous or risky: only under expert supervision. No dosage is given here on purpose.
Kallawaya healing in Bolivia
Attributed effects
As a head wash for scabies and itching; rubbed on the chest and back against fright, jealousy and witchcraft.
Preparation and amount
Do not use internally.
Caution: Can cause blisters on the skin in sunlight. Never internally in pregnancy.
Curanderismo of northern Peru
Attributed effects
Ruda (male and female) is one of the main protective plants: in cleansings and flowering baths against susto, envy and the evil eye, and in seguros for luck.
Preparation and amount
Externally: sprigs in a bath, in a seguro or in a cleansing.
Caution: Poisonous internally and can cause miscarriage; not in pregnancy. The sap can blister the skin in sunlight.
Folklore and herbal magic
Symbolic meanings from folk use and modern herbal magic. These are handed-down associations, not effects.
Protection, mental powers, purification, health, comfort.
- Ways to prepare herbs
- Steam and bathPowder and kitchen
Sources
- en.wikipedia.org
- L. D. Kapoor, CRC Handbook of Ayurvedic Medicinal Plants (1990)
- Rainer W. Bussmann & Douglas Sharon, Medicinal Plants of the Andes and the Amazon (2015)
- Joseph W. Bastien, Healers of the Andes: Kallawaya Herbalists and Their Medicinal Plants (1987)
- Louis Girault, Kallawaya. Guérisseurs itinérants des Andes (1984)