* Please Note: This information is based partly on Traditional Medicine which uses natural materials to support health. This information has not been evaluated or approved by the FDA. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These products are intended to support general well being and are not intended to treat, diagnose, mitigate, prevent, or cure any condition or disease. If conditions persist, please seek advice from your medical doctor.
Description
Cascara sagrada, also known as sacred bark or chittem bark, affects the colon, spleen, stomach, and the liver. Its biochemical constituents include anthraquinone glycosides, bitter principle, tannins, and resin. It possesses laxative, bitter tonic, nervine, and emetic properties useful in treating constipation and liver congestion.
The bitter principle of cascara bark stimulates the secretions of the entire digestive system including the liver, gallbladder, stomach and pancreas. It is one of the safest tonic-laxative herbs known and can be used on a daily basis for chronic constipation if needed. It is also useful for colitis, hemorrhoids, liver failure and jaundice. Only bark that has been dried and aged for at least one year should be used.
Cascara
Rhamnus purshianus DC.
Rhamnus has been considered both masculine and feminine, so that one encounters both "R. purshianus" and "R. purshiana." Early botanists favored the masculine version, and the Code of Botanical Nomenclature recommends that tradition be followed.
The name "bearberry" is sometimes employed for cascara in British Columbia, but is best reserved for Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, treated in this work. "Bayberry" generally refers to Myrica pensylvanica Loisel., a shrub of eastern North America. The common name "Californian buckthorn" should not be confused with the scientific name Rhamnus californica Esch. (California coffeeberry). The drug (i.e., bark preparation) is known as cascara sagrada (French = écorce sacrée, cascara sagrada), from the Spanish for "sacred bark," or rarely chittem bark. Below, following majority practice, the plant is referred to as cascara while the laxative bark preparation is called cascara sagrada.
French Common Names
Ecorce sacrée, cascara, nerprun cascara, nerprun de Pursh.
Morphology
Cascara is a deciduous shrub or tree as tall as 12 m (very rarely to 15 m) and with a trunk diameter sometimes approaching a meter, although usually no more than 50 cm. The ashy-gray to dark brown, often red-tinged bark, which constitutes the economic part of the plant, is thin and smooth, and develops brown to gray scales. The freshly cut interior surface is bright yellow, but darkens rapidly. The leaves are 5-18 cm long, oblong, with 10-12 pairs of prominent parallel veins. Most plants have both bisexual and unisexual flowers, although occasionally a plant bears flowers of only one sex. The berry-like drupes are red when immature, ripening to black or purplish black, sweet, juicy fruits 6-12 mm in diameter. As the plants are frequently cut down for their bark, it is fortunate that stump sprouts arise readily.
Classification and Geography
Rhamnus purshianus occurs in the Pacific Coast region from British Columbia (including Vancouver Island) southward in the coastal ranges and in the Sierra Nevada to southern California; it is also found in the Rocky Mountain region, east to northern Idaho, and northwestern Montana. Over-collecting has eliminated the plant in parts of its range.
Ecology
Rhamnus purshianus is often found in moist areas, by streamsides and in woods, often in lowlands and canyons, and in submontane areas to about 1500 m. It is also distributed along fence rows and roadsides. While cascara is widespread, it is usually not abundant, generally occurring amidst local forest and woodland species. It is very tolerant of shade, and often is an understory species. The fruits are eaten by birds and mammals, which disperse the seeds.
Medicinal Uses
Cascara is mainly useful for its laxative bark, and in this respect is one of the most valuable commercial native pharmacological crops of North America. Pacific Northwest Indians used cascara sagrada for centuries as a traditional remedy for constipation, and white settlers took up this use in the early l800s.
Cascara sagrada is an example of the maxim that good medicines should taste bad. If taken as a tonic or tea (rather than in capsule form) it is bitter and tends to provoke nausea. It is very useful for habitual constipation, but is also employed for digestive complaints, and in treating hemorrhoids. It is most recommended for disorders in which an easy evacuation of the bowel is desired. Cascara sagrada is not habit-forming, and indeed should only be used on a short-term basis. It is classified as a tonic laxative, strengthening the peristaltic muscles of the intestinal wall so that additional use of a laxative becomes unnecessary.
Chemistry
The cathartic activity of cascara sagrada is due to a mixture of hydroxyanthracene derivatives (particularly anthraquinone glycosides). These excite peristalsis in the colon, and so are useful in treating chronic constipation. The mechanism has been explained as an inhibition of the absorption of electrolytes and water from the large intestine, with a consequent increase in volume of the bowel contents strengthening the dilation pressure and thereby stimulating peristalsis.
Non-medicinal Uses
There are several minor uses for cascara. The wood is locally used for posts, fuel, and for turnery. Cascara honey is considered very tasty, although somewhat laxative. The fruits may be eaten by humans, although a temporary reddish cast to the skin is said to occasionally result. Extracts from cascara have been employed to flavor liqueurs, soft drinks, ice cream and baked goods. Cascara is sometimes grown as an ornamental, principally in the eastern US and Europe. The tree is also planted to provide food and habitat for wildlife, and to control soil erosion.
Agricultural and Commercial Aspects
Today, cascara sagrada accounts for about 20% of the US laxative market, the latter estimated to be worth about US$400 million annually. The overall retail value of cascara bark is of the order of $100 million. Cascara sagrada has been recorded in about 200 drug products sold in Canada, and occurs in more North American drug preparations than any other wild-collected material. It has been called the most widely used cathartic on earth. However, the demand for it appears to have diminished somewhat since the 1960s because of the development of alternative drugs.
Cascara bark is still collected from wild trees throughout the range of the plant, particularly in Washington. It has been cultivated for harvest of the bark in British Columbia, Washington and Oregon, and occasionally in Eurasia, but plantations have not achieved much economic success, and the plant remains largely gathered from the wild. Because it is a secondary host of Oat Crown Rust (although not as significant as such species as R. frangula L.), local regulations may limit its cultivation. Formerly, harvest involved stripping the bark from the trunk of standing trees, a wasteful and unacceptable procedure that kills the trees and harvests only some of the bark. By contrast, felling the tree and leaving a 30 cm stump cut at an angle (to shed water) allows complete harvesting of bark, including that of the branches, and lets the plant regenerate. The average yield of bark per tree is 4.5 kg, but ranges from about 2 kg for a 7.5 cm diameter tree to 71 kg for a 43 cm diameter tree. The harvested bark is sun-dried, broken into pieces, packed and shipped to dealers. Because fresh bark tends to cause griping and nausea, the bark is aged for a year, or artificially aged by heat (e.g., 1 hour at 100øC). The drug preparation should be stored away from moisture and light.
Overharvesting of wild trees is a continuing problem. In British Columbia, cutting trees on Crown land requires a permit, and provincial legislation also governs how such cutting may be carried out. In the first half of this century, wild trees sometimes supplied annual harvests of over 300 tonnes in B.C. alone, with harvests from throughout the natural range estimated in some years at about 2,000 tonnes. Reliable estimates for recent times are not available. Cultivation may become more economically feasible as natural populations continue to decline. The tree is so readily established that the cascara industry in Canada could easily be strengthened by either cultivation and (or) increasing its frequency in natural habitats to that of former times.
Myths, Legends, Tales, Folklore, and Interesting Facts
The conquistadores were so impressed by the effectiveness and mildness of Rhamnus purshianus that they christened it cascara sagrada, Spanish for holy or sacred bark.
The name Rhamnus purshianus commemorates the botanist Frederick Pursh (1774-1820), born in Germany. The victim of misfortune and ill health, his plant collection was destroyed in a fire, and he died in poverty in Montreal while preparing a book on the plants of Canada.
The laxative utility of Rhamnus purshianus should not be confused with that of the comparatively dangerous R. catharticus L. (buckthorn). Buckthorn was once widely employed in Europe, and imported by North American colonists, who reportedly needed an explosive laxative that would "act like dynamite." Settlers commonly planted buckthorn conveniently close to their dwellings, and today it is a commonly naturalized weedy shrub in southeastern Canada and northeastern US.
The following recommendation for cascara sagrada was encountered on the world wide web: "Sprinide an infusion around your home before going to court; it will help you win your case."
Due to its bitter taste, cascara sagrada can be put on finger nails to discourage nail biting.
Cascara sagrada has been used in amulets for protection against evil and hexes.
User Group Forum
Share your questions and information with the ZooScape community!
Be the first to post!
Directions
Take 1 capsule, 3 times daily, with meals.
Cautions
This is a stimulating laxative and should not be used for more than 1-2 weeks without medical advice. Do not use if pregnant or suffering from Crohn's, colitis, apendicitis or other gastrointestinal disorder.
Toxicity
Cascara sagrada should not be used during pregnancy (cathartics may induce labor) or lactation (the laxative may be transferred to the infant), or in cases of intestinal obstruction. Frequent use may result in loss of water and salts, deposition of pigment in the intestinal mucosa, and red urine. Apparently handling cascara for a prolonged interval can transfer the laxative effects through the skin, although this does not seem to be a significant problem for individuals harvesting the bark.
Additional Information
TerraVita is an exclusive line of premium-quality, natural source products that use only the finest, purest and most potent ingredients found around the world. TerraVita is hallmarked by the highest possible standards of purity, potency, stability and freshness. All of our products are prepared with the highest elements of quality control, from raw materials through the entire manufacturing process, up to and including the moment that the bottles or bags are sealed for freshness and shipped out to you. Our highest possible standards are certified by independent laboratories and backed by our personal guarantee.
TerraVita exists to meet and ensure your family's health and wellness without the harmful effects or chemicals and prescription medications. We strive to make all of our products affordable and reliable and are constantly searching the market to maintain our affordability and to look for new ways to serve you and the ones you love. TerraVita has become a trusted household name for many families and can bring you and yours the very best herbal supplements, blends, teas and spices that are on the market today.
TerraVita is packed in childproof, tamper-proof pharmaceutical-grade recyclable containers.
ZooScape is proud to be the exclusive distributor of TerraVita teas, herbs and supplements in the United States, Canada and around the world. Please direct all wholesale and bulk inquiries to Simona Heather at 905-494-1785.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Products are intended to support general well being and are not intended to treat, diagnose, mitigate, prevent, or cure any condition or disease. If conditions persist, please seek advice from your medical doctor. The essence of the current American rule on Traditional Uses is, as stated by FTC, "Claims based on historical or traditional use should be substantiated by confirming scientific evidence, or should be presented in such a way that consumers understand that the sole basis for the claim is a history of use of the product for a particular purpose."
