- Region
- Europe
- Origin
- Europe, Asia and North America. Prunella vulgaris
Europe · Herb · № 88
Prunella vulgaris
Herb · Europe
Self-heal
Prunella vulgaris
In Europe an old wound herb and gargle for sore throats; in Chinese medicine used for 'heat' and swollen glands. Research is mostly laboratory work.
Safety notes
Have swollen glands or a persistent sore throat checked. Little is known about pregnancy.
Cautions by tradition (2)
- Chinese materia medica: Not with a cold, weak stomach or spleen.
- Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) medicine: Seek advice in pregnancy.
Preparation
The herb as tea, gargle or compress; in China the flower spikes as a decoction. No dosage is given here.
Use in traditions
The English name self-heal shows its reputation as a wound herb. In Chinese medicine the spikes are called xia ku cao, 'summer-withering herb'. Ody discusses both traditions.
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
Antibacterial, lowers blood pressure, diuretic, astringent, wound-healing; flower spikes stimulate the liver and reduce fever.
Preparation and amount
Tincture (of the fresh plant) for bleeding such as heavy menstruation and blood in the urine; cooled tea for diarrhoea and as a spring tonic; weak tea as a mouthwash for bleeding gums, gargle for sore throat and eye bath for tired or inflamed eyes; fresh leaf on clean small wounds; ointment for bleeding haemorrhoids; flower spikes as a decoction for irritability, high blood pressure and headache.
Western herbalism
Attributed effects
Astringent, stops bleeding, tonic, soothing; for tooth decay, mouth ulcers and tonsillitis, wound healing, animal bites, purifies the blood (heavy metals).
Preparation and amount
Tea: 1–2 tsp per cup, 8–10 min, 1–3 cups a day; tincture 1–3 dropperfuls 1–3 times a day; gargle: 2 dropperfuls in 60 ml water as needed.
Chinese materia medica
- Nature and taste
- sweet, pungent, bitter, cold
- Meridians
- liver, gallbladder, lung
Attributed effects
The flower spike (xia ku cao) cools liver heat that rises to the eyes (red, painful eyes, headache), dissolves lumps from heat and phlegm, such as goitre and swollen lymph nodes, and is used for high blood pressure from rising liver fire.
Preparation and amount
Traditional dosage: 9–18 g a day, usually in a decoction. It is deliberately harvested when the spike already looks a little wilted; then the herb is strongest.
Combinations
- With chrysanthemum for red eyes
- With figwort (xuan shen) and kelp for swollen glands
Caution: Not with a cold, weak stomach or spleen.
Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) medicine
Attributed effects
For fever, vomiting, diarrhoea and stomach cramps; to strengthen the womb; for a baby that cries a lot.
Preparation and amount
Boil the whole herb briefly; boil longer for diarrhoea.
Caution: Seek advice in pregnancy.
- Ways to prepare herbs
- Tea (infusion)DecoctionTinctureSalve and balmCompress, poultice and paste