* 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
Medicinal Usage
Colt's foot is a medicinal plant known since ancient times. The leaves and flowers are demulcent, emollient, and expectorant. The leaves have long served as a remedy for pulmonary ailments like bronchitis, and sore throats. A decoction or infusion of one ounce of the leaves to one pint of water is medicinally effective. In Germany and Scandinavia, the dried roots have been smoked to relieve coughs.
The leaves are rich in mucin and contain some inulin, tannins, a bitter glycoside, sitosterol, and other principles.
General Herb Information
The blooming of colt's foot sparks the beginning of spring and the season of the garden. It is a hardy perennial native to Europe and widely naturalized in the northeastern United States. Occasionally it has escaped from cultivation in the western United States. It should not be confused with the indigenous western colt's foot, petasites spp., though they may be used interchangeably for medicinal purposes. One species of Petasites indigenous to Japan is used in a manner similar to Tussilago.
The emerging spring blooms of colt's foot race crocuses to christen the welcome season with color. Colt's foot flowers appear before the leaves, often coming out in late February to mid-March. The light yellow dandelion-like flower heads appear on erect leafless stems or scapes. Each stem is covered with scale-like bracts of a brownish-pink color. The large (three-to-eight inches diameter) angular, heart-shaped leaves unfold as the last flower begins to wilt. They are coarsely toothed, of a dull green color above, and covered with a downy cotton beneath. The plant spreads by means of underground runners or stolons.
Colt's foot is easily propagated by dividing the stolons in the spring or fall. Give it plenty of room to spread in the garden.
It likes a heavy clay soil with a fair amount of moisture and a neutral to slightly acid pH. It will do well in sun or shade and is a good plant for borders.
The leaves, flowers, and roots are useful. The slightly bitter leaves can be eaten as a green in the early spring; but once the emergence of so many delicious spring greens begins, colt's foot is best reserved as a pot herb for times when there is nothing else to eat.
The flowers can be gathered and dried in spring. They have a mild sweet fragrance even when dried.
Name
Tussilago farfara L. (Compositae), commonly called coltsfoot. Closely related species called Petasites are native to the western United States. In French, it is Tussilage, or Taconnet, or Pas-d'ane; in German, Huflattich.
Source
T. farfara is native to Europe, but is now grown in the northeastern United States. Petasites species (hybridus, formosanus) contain many of the same ingredients, and some unique ingredients, as well.
History
Coltsfoot is an ancient remedy, mentioned both by Pliny and Dioscorides. Teas made with the leaves and flowers have been used as expectorants for more than a thousand years. Even before coltsfoot was used in Europe, traditional Chinese herbalists used Kuandong Hua (Tussilago farfara L.) to treat respiratory illnesses. Extracts of Petasites hybridus L., have been used to treat gastrointestinal pain, lung-diseases, and urinary tract pain for nearly as long as T. Farfara.
Traditional Claims
Coltsfoot is used as an expectorant and emollient. In Europe, a concoction called Alzoon, containing extracts of petasites, juniper, ferns, brunellias, and dandelions, treated with oxygen and UV-light, is sold as a cure for cachexia, abdominal pain, and the anemia resulting from malignant tumors. It is still a popular, though completely unvalidated, remedy.
Commission E Recommendations
Coltsfoot is used to treat cough, hoarseness, oral or pharyngeal inflammation, respiratory catarrh, sore throat, and upper respiratory tract catarrh (inflammation).
Proven Effects
Coltsfoot seems to be a reasonably effective expectorant, although why that should be, no one knows for sure. Unfortunately, the leaves and flowers of this plant contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs). More than 150 different PAs are recognized. Taken in sufficient doses over a long period of time, PAs cause liver damage. Specifically, they cause the linings of the veins in the liver to scar, obstructing the flow of blood through the liver, and ultimately, leading to liver failure and death. They also cause cancer, at least in laboratory animals. In addition to PAs, Petasites species also contain several compounds that may have important medical applications. One, called Bakkenolide G, is a natural antagonist of platelet activating factor (PAF) which means it might be used to prevent strokes and heart attacks. Another compound, contained in an alcohol-based extract of Petasites, blocks the production of leukotrienes - inflammatory hormones that are thought to play a role in ulcer formation.
Dosage
Traditional herbalists recommend using a tea made by steeping one ounce of leaves in one pint of boiling water. Commission E recommends a daily dose of 4.5-6 grams of drug per day; not to be used for more than 4-6 weeks per year.
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Directions
Take 1 capsule, 3 times daily, with meals.
Cautions
Not recommended if you are pregnant or lactating.
Excessive use may cause hypertension.
Warnings
Coltsfoot is not for regular or long-term use. Users should only buy coltsfoot products which list the PA content on the label, and the content should be less than one part per million.
Drug Testings
No one has ever checked, but there is no reason to suppose that any of the chemicals present in this plant would have an effect on workplace urine tests.
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."
