Herbs & Herbal Remedies @ Green Papaya

Tranquilizer and Stimulant

Family: Labiatae; (include mints)

Genus and Species: Leonurus Cardiaca

Also known as: Lion’s Tail, Heartwort

Parts used: Leaves, flowers, stems

Motherwort is a misleading name for this Healing herb. The herb is more likely to prevent motherhood than promote it. And despite one of its popular names, lion’s tail, motherwort won’t strengthen the lion-hearted. In fact, it’s more apt to turn lions into lambs.

Good Cheer and Long Life

The ancient Greeks and Romans used motherwort for both physical and emotional problems of the heart-palpitations and depression.

In ancient China, motherwort was reputed to promote longevity. According to legend, a youth was banished from his village for a minor crime to a remote valley with a spring surrounded by motherwort. He supposedly lived to be 300.

In Europe, motherwort first became known as a treatment for cattle diseases. Sixteenth-century herbalist John Gerard called it “a remedy against certain diseases in cattell. . and for that husbandmen much desire it.” Gerard also recommended it for “infirmities of the heart.”

Seventeenth-century English herbalist Nicholas Culpeper wrote: “There is no better herb to take meloncholy vapors from the heart … and make a merry, cheerful soul.” Culpeper viewed this herb primarily as an antidepressant; however, he mentioned, “it is … of much use in trembling of the heart [palpitations], and faintings, and swoonings, from whence it took the name cardiaca …. It took the name motherwort [because] it settles mothers’ wombs … and is a wonderful help to women in their sore travail [delivery] …. It also provoketh women’s courses [menstruation].”

As the centuries passed, herbalists used motherwort in contradictory ways-both to relax the uterus during pregnancy and after childbirth, and to stimulate menstruation and labor. Eventually it came to be viewed as a uterine stimulant.

Colonists introduced motherwort into North America, and the 19th-century Eclectics recommended it as a menstruation promoter and aid to expelling the afterbirth. They also prescribed it as a tranquilizer for “morbid nervous excitement, and all diseases with restlessness [and] disturbed sleep.” The Eclectics did not consider it a heart remedy at all.

Contemporary herbalists recommend motherwort as a tranquilizer and for heart palpitations and delayed or suppressed menstruation.

Until recently, scientists dismissed motherwort as useless. But studies have indicated that the ancients who named this herb cardiaca may have been onto something.

Heart Disease - Test-tube studies in China show motherwort relaxes heart cells, which lends some support to its ancient use in calming palpitations. Other Chinese studies suggest motherwort helps prevent the internal blood clots that trigger heart attack. And Russian researchers suggest the herb contains chemicals that reduce blood pressure. These findings are preliminary, but they support the ancient view that motherwort has a general tonic effect on the heart.

In otherwise healthy adults, occasional heart palpitations are usually no cause for alarm. However, they may also be a sign of disturbances in heart rhythm (cardiac arrhythmia), which is potentially serious and requires professional attention If you experience frequent palpitations, consult your physician.

If you have high blood pressure or heart disease and would like to incorporate motherwort into your treatment plan, do so only with approval and supervision from your physician.

Tranquilizer - German studies show motherwort has mild sedative action, comparable to valerian, making it potentially effective against insomnia or anxiety.

Women’s Health - Not many tranquilizers are also uterine stimulants, but motherwort contains a chemical (leonurine) that encourages uterine contractions, lending support to its traditional use in childbirth and menstruation promotion.

Pregnant women should not use it, except possibly at term and only under the supervision of a physician, to help stimulate labor. For other women, it may help bring on their periods.

Rx for Motherwort

For a possible tranquilizing, uterine stimulating, blood pressure-lowering infusion, use I to 2 teaspoons of dried herb per cup of boiling water. Steep 10 minutes. Drink up to 2 cups a day, a tablespoon at a time. Motherwort tastes very bitter. Add sugar, honey, and lemon, or mix it into an herbal beverage tea to improve flavor.

In a tincture, take ½ to 1 teaspoon up to twice a day. Motherwort should not be given to children under age 2.

For older children and people over 65, start with low-strength preparations and increase strength if necessary.

Motherworts possible anticlotting effect means those with clotting disorders should avoid it.

Some people develop a rash from contact with this plant. The Food and Drug Administration lists motherwort as an herb of “undefined safety.” For otherwise healthy non-pregnant, non-nursing adults who do not have clotting disorders and are not taking other sedative, heart, or blood pressure medications, motherwort is considered relatively safe in amounts typically recommended.

Motherwort should be used in medicinal amounts only in consultation with your doctor. If motherwort causes minor discomforts, such as stomach upset or diarrhea, use less or stop using it. Let your doctor know if you experience unpleasant effects or if the symptoms for which the herb is being used do not improve significantly in two weeks.

Harvest Tranquilizing Flowers

Motherworts perennial root gives rise to stout, square stems tinged with red or violet, which grow to 4 feet. Its lower leaves are sharply lobed, like maple. Its upper leaves are narrow and toothed. Motherwort produces whorls of small white, pink, or red flowers which bloom in summer.

Motherwort grows so easily, it may become a pest. Plant seeds in spring and thin seedlings to l z-inch spacing. Motherwort prefers rich, moist, well-drained soil and full sun but tolerates considerably less ideal conditions. Harvest the entire plant after the flowers blossom.