Purple loosestrife, Lythrum salicaria -Lythraceae (Loosestrife family)
Another issue was the prolonged drought that began sometimes around the 1980's. On the Yellowstone fires it was obvious that-the trees had-been stressed by an extended drought. I remember the area around Lander Wyoming, cutting firewood with Steve Norwood and seeing probably thousands of acres of lodgepole that were killed by pine bark beetles. In my move to the Arizona strip studying the plants it became obvious there too, extended drought had altered the demographics of mountainous plants. Plants from both the Maderian Sky Islands to the lower desert were affected by sustained drought, not only were the plants different, the plants were affected by the extended long-term drought and the people who live within the drought were also equally changed. Both the plants and people adapted to scarcity. There were twice as many people living in Arizona then when I first arrived. That doubling in population was uncomfortable, places became unrecognizable. For the most part the new arrivals were dominant culture people by choice. They were not coming to Arizona for herbal medicine. They were searching for and created an automobile air conditioned paradise or automobile air conditioned nightmare, depending on your perspective.
For me it's an experiment, to deepen my relationship with the medicinal plants. The area I am living has right outside my door access to hundreds of miles to rails to trails bicycle paths. I grew up here so many plants I remember seeing as a child. They kinda feel like my plants. They are close by. I am going to make the best of it. So I am using the bicycle routes to meet new plants. Purple loosestrife is one such plant.
Purple loosestrife, Lythrum salicaria -Lythraceae (Loosestrife family)
Loosestrife is another endemic naturalized herb, ubiquitously abundant throughout the eastern US with a long written history of medicinal use first documented by the Greeks and Romans and later documented by european herbalists. Of course for any medical condition check first always with paid licensed medical professionals, the CDC and our excellent highly respected health system.
It grows here in open full sun meadows. It is 3-4 feet high, with sessile (grasping directly the central stalk) lanceolate (lance shaped, pointed leafs. Flowers are brilliant pink purple, visible from a distance, 6 sepals on an elevated flower spike. It grows from palustrine wetlands to dry disturbed meadows. Significantly, when harvesting Purple loosestrife avoid contaminated polluted industrial sites as Lythrum salicaria readily absorbs chemical pollutants.
Many plants once they are labeled, "invasive" are considered unclean and shunned for use. It's a gifted blessing that such a pedigreed invasive, abundant weed herb, herb weed comes along. The commonplace, in your face, growing out of sidewalk cracks healing vibe. I was pleasantly shocked rocked that ancient Greek texts extol its virtues as an important healing plant.
Purple loosestrife, as an astringent herb with demulcent qualities, lends itself well to traditional use for both childhood and adult diarrhea/ loose stools. In addition-it was used as a gargle/swish/spit mouth rinse and for gum and teeth issues. In addition to astringent qualities it also has antimicrobial qualities,
"Dioscorides wrote in De Materia Medica (c. ~70 AD):
“The herb is tart and strong in taste, of an astringent and refrigerant nature, good for stanching both outward and inward bleeding; sap extracted from the leaves and drunk stops blood-spitting and dysentery, and sour wine in which the leaves have been boiled when taken internally will have the same effect; and if the plant is set afore it gives off a pungent vapor and smoke that drives away serpents; and flies cannot stay in a room where this smoke is.”
Taste: Bitter, slight sour, slightly salty, astringent
It can also be used to treat heavy periods and inter-menstrual bleeding. It was used in europe for outbreaks of dysentery, said to work for diarrhea in children and babies. also in TCM, traditional Chines medicine: "TCM considers it to be cold, bitter and astringent and it’s associated with the Liver, Small Intestine, and Lungs and classically used to treat dysentery."
Piwowarski & Kiss write, "The review of historical sources from ancient times till 20th century revealed an outstanding position of L. salicaria in traditional medicine. The main applications indicated were gastrointestinal tract ailments (mainly dysentery and diarrhea) as well as different skin and mucosa affections. The current phytochemical studies have shown that polyphenols (C-glucosidic ellagitannins and C-glucosidic flavonoids) as well as heteropolysaccharides are dominating constituents, which probably determine the observed pharmacological effects. The extracts and some isolated compounds were shown to possess antidiarrheal, antimicrobial, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic activities."
from-Ali Esmail Al-Snafi
Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, Thi qar University, Iraq
From Jakub P. Piwowarski, Sebastian Granica, Anna K. Kiss
"Early experiments Between 1915-1916 Caille and Viel (1919) isolated glucoside (unknown structure) from Lythrum salicaria- salicairine. In experiments conducted using in vitro models as well as animal trials and people suffering from chronic and acute diseases of gastrointestinal tract, several therapeutic activities of salicairine were determined: astringent properties expressed as stool consistency normalization; hemostatic activity observed as disappearance of blood from feces; decrease of pain and disappearance of pathogenic bacilli. No adverse effects, even at high doses were observed. Dumont (1920) taking into account the above properties recommended preparation containing salicairine (under the same name) in the treatment of diarrheas in children, non-specific enteritis, bacterial enteritis, dysentery caused by bacilli as well as combined with emetine in amoebiasis. Recommended doses of preparation salicairine: children: acute affections: 10-20 drops (equivalent 10-20 mg of glucoside- salicairine), chronic affections 4-10 drops; adults: acute affections 40-100 drops, chronic affections 20-50 drops. Dufour used Lythrum salicaria liquid extract (salicairine) at a dose of 0.5-0.6 g/day in the treatment of diarrhea in infants and in 2/3 from 100 cases observed significant recovery. In adults therapy with Lythrum salicaria liquid extract at a dose of 3-4 g/day occurred to be very effective in the therapy of diarrhea, acute and chronic dysentery with accompanying diarrhea and in Shigella sp.-caused dysentery. The author claimed that the changes in intestine mucosa caused by tannins and/or other constituents were responsible for the therapeutic effects (Dufour, 1919a; Dufour, 1917). Dedieu (1921) reported the use of salicairine in children’s clinic in Toulouse in the treatment of gastrointestinal tract disorders in infants. Seventeen patients (aged 2-20 months) with acute and sub-acute gastroenteritis accompanied by fever, with infantile colic or with diarrhea caused by the overeating. The standard therapyhydration plus calomel (mercury (I) chloride) gave no positive results towards diarrhea. When infants were given salicairine 3 drops/3 times/day the amount of stools significantly decreased as well as water content in feces. Maurin (1922) stated the effectiveness of Lythrum salicaria in the dysentery observed as amelioration of stool consistency and its smell followed by the general patient condition improvement. Interestingly the positive impact on gut microbiota composition was observed accompanied by disappearance of pathogenic strains.
He recommended the use in acute and chronic diarrhea, dysentery caused by Shigella sp., enteritis, intestine infections, gastroenteritis and green stools in children in the form of powdered herb (1 g 3-4 times/day), infusion (3-6 g/day) and aqueous extract (0.5-1 g/day). At least two preparations of Lythrum salicaria were available on the French market since 1920s’ Salicairine (standardized extract in the form of fluid or tablets produced by Laboratoires Legras, France) and Salitol (the liquid extract). These formulations basing on research cited above were recommended in the treatment of chronic and acute dysentery and diarrhea of different etiologies in adults and children. In 1960’ Lythrum salicaria was still popular as a remedy for diarrhea, especially in children and applied even in diarrheas of bacterial etiology. It was used in the form of decoction, powdered herb or standardized liquid extract. Lafon (1962) in qualitative reports on plant-derived drugs to French Pharmacopoeia enumerates astringent, cicatrizing and antidiarrheal properties of Lythrum salicaria flowering tops. These times amount of Lythrum salicaria herb used for production of galenic preparations in France reached 3-4 tones per year (Paris and Moyse, 1967). The important position of Lyhrum salicaria in the therapy of gastrointestinal tract inflammation-associated ailments (especially dysentery of different etiologies) can be deduced basing on its descriptions in many 18th, 19th and early 20th century medicinal dictionaries, manuals and guidebooks listed in Table 4. Table 4. 18th, 19th and early 20th century medicinal dictionaries, manuals and guidebooks containing information about Lythrum salicaria use in therapy of gastrointestinal tract ailments."
----from From Jakub P. Piwowarski, Sebastian Granica, Anna K. Kiss
Uses: internal as tea, plant tincture, external in salves or compress as vulnerary, to stop bleeding, to encourage wound healing.
Consider adding the Purple Loosestrife to your materia medica.
Lythrum salicaria L.—Underestimated medicinal plant from European traditional medicine. A review
https://docksci.com/lythrum-salicaria-l-underestimated-medicinal-plant-from-european-traditional-med_5a498453d64ab24150c21759.html
Chemical Constituents and Pharmacological Effects of Lythrum
Salicaria- A Review
Ali Esmail Al-Snafi
Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, Thi qar University, Iraq
FARMACIA, 2009, Vol. 57, 2
192
LYTHRUM SALICARIA (PURPLE LOOSESTRIFE).
MEDICINAL USE, EXTRACTION AND
IDENTIFICATION OF ITS TOTAL PHENOLIC
COMPOUNDS
SUHAD S. HUMADI1, VIORICA ISTUDOR2*
1University of Baghdad, Faculty of Pharmacy
2University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Carol Davila”, Faculty of
Pharmacy, Traian Vuia 6, sect. 2, 020956, Romania
*corresponding author: viorica.istudor@gmail.com
