* 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
The Achillea in yarrow's Latin name refers to Achilles, Homer's legendary Greek hero, who supposedly staunched the bleeding of his soldiers' wounds in the Trojan War by brushing them with yarrow. In line with this, yarrow is also known as woundwort. Growing in southern and eastern Europe and parts of Asia, yarrow has fern-like leaves and stalks topped with clusters of tiny pink or white flowers. It's botanically related to daisies, marigolds, and dandelions. Commission E evaluated the fresh and dried above-ground parts of the plant, harvested in flowering season.
Potential Health Benefits
Commission E found yarrow useful for treating loss of appetite, mild discomfort of the gastrointestinal tract, and upset stomach when used internally. The commission recommends yarrow to be used externally, in a sitz bath, for "painful, cramp-like conditions of psychosomatic origin in the lower part of the female pelvis". The commission didn't address traditional, and decidedly non-psychosomatic, uses of yarrow in healing wounds, or new ones suggested in studies for treating hepatitis.
Scientific Evidence
Commission E's monograph on yarrow ascribes many virtues to the plant: antibacterial, antispasmotic, and astringent. Without citing other sources, the commission also describes yarrow as choleretic - that is, it stimulates the liver to increase the production of bile, which aids in digestion.
A study conducted in India and published in 1976 in the Indian Journal of Medical Research finds yarrow to have value in treating liver diseases - chiefly, hepatitis. This is an interesting lead for additional research that may well be needed in the West and elsewhere.
How to Use the Herb
For internal use, Commission E recommends 4.5 grams of yarrow herb, or 3 grams of yarrow flower. To make tea, put 2 grams of dried yarrow in boiling water and steep 10-15 minutes. For external use, 100 grains (20 teaspoonfuls) of dried yarrow in 5 gallons of warm water is just right for a sitz bath.
Description: A perennial herb with several erect stems arising from multiple rhizomes below the ground. The compound leaves are bright green and feathery. Numerous small, white to pink flower heads are borne in flat-topped clusters. A. muischata occurs in the Alps, has similar secondary metabolites as A. millefolium and has been traditionally used for similar indications.
Origin: Yarrow represents a species complex with many forms and grows naturally in Europe and western Asia but is cultivated as an ornamental and medicinal herb in many parts of the world.
Parts Used: Whole plant (Millefolli herba) or the flowers (Millefolii flos); sometimes the essential oil.
Uses and Properties The herb is traditionally used to treat arthritis, fever, the common cold and hypertension. It is nowadays mainly recommended for lack of appetite and minor dyspeptic complaints. For external use, it is added to bath water to treat pelvic autonomic dysfunction (painful cramp-like conditions of the lower pelvis in women).
Active Ingredients: Pyrrolidine alkaloids (betonicine and stachydrine), flavonoids and volatiles (including beta-pinene, camphor, 1,8-cineole, caryophyllene and azulenic compounds - in the form of sesquiterpene lactones such as achillicin - and numerous others). The bright blue azulenes are not present in the fresh herb, but are formed as artefacts from "proazulenes" during steam distillation of the oil.
Pharmacological Effects: Antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activities have been documented, and are mainly ascribed to the sesquiterpene lactones and azulenic compounds. The flavonoids are thought to be antispasmodic, while the alkaloids are said to have antipyretic and hypotensive effects.
Status: Pharm.; Comm. E+.
Preparation and Dosage: Infusions or tinctures are used and the herb (with or without the flowers) may be included in mixtures. For external use in a so-called sitz-bath ("Sitzbad"), use 100 g of the herb in 20 liters of water.
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Directions
Hot tea brewing method: Bring freshly drawn cold water to a rolling boil. Place 1 tea bag for each cup into the teapot. Pour the boiling water into the pot, cover and let steep for 2-4 minutes. Pour into your cup; add milk and sugar to taste.
Iced tea brewing method: (to make 1 liter/quart): Place 5 tea bags into a teapot or heat resistant pitcher. Pour 1 1/4 cups of freshly boiled water over the tea itself. Steep for 5 minutes. Quarter fill a serving pitcher with cold water. Pour the tea into the serving pitcher straining the tea bags. Add ice and top-up with cold water. Garnish and sweeten to taste.
Cautions
Not recommended if you are pregnant or lactating.
Do not exceed recommended dosage as overuse may cause skin photo sensitivity, dizziness and headaches in some people.
Yarrow causes allergies in some people, producing a nasty rash. Commission E reports no known drug interactions or contraindications. However, the prevention magazine book Nature's Medicines advises pregnant women to steer clear of medicinal quantities of yarrow.
Fresh plants may cause dermatitis in sensitive people.
Additional Information
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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."
