Herbs & Herbal Remedies @ Green Papaya

The Herb Even Doctors Use

Family: Hamamelidaceae; Witch Hazel is only member

Genus and Species: Hamamelis Virginiana

Also known as: Winterbloom, Snapping Hazelnut, Hamamelis

Parts used: Leaves, bark

Next time a friend or relative pooh-poohs herbal Healing, ask what they think of witch hazel. The clear, pungent liquid extract of this bushy herb is a standard home remedy for cuts, bruises, hemorrhoids, and sore muscles. More than one million gallons of witch hazel are sold each year in the United States, making it one of the nation’s most widely used Healing herbs. But ironically, commercial witch hazel’s effectiveness is a matter of considerable debate.

Nothing to Do with Witches

The “hazel” in this herb’s name comes from its similarity to the common hazelnut. As for the “witch,” some say early colonists used the shrub to make brooms, witches’ favorite form of transportation. Others trace it to witch hazel’s winter flowering and the loud “pop” when it disperses its seeds, supposedly evidence of occult influence. Still others claim the shrub’s forked branches were used by dousers looking for water, and that dousing was once associated with witchcraft.

The fact is, this herb’s name has nothing to do with witchcraft. In medieval Middle English, witch had another meaning. It was spelled wfJCFI or wyche, and meant pliant or flexible. Witch hazel’s branches are, indeed, flexible-so springy, in fact, the Indians used them to make bows.

Soothes Those Sores

Witch hazel was highly valued in Indian medicine. Many tribes rubbed a decoction on cuts, bruises, insect bites, aching joints, sore muscles, and sore backs. They also drank witch hazel tea to stop internal bleeding, prevent miscarriage, and treat colds, fevers, sore throat, and menstrual pain.

The colonists adopted witch hazel’s Indian uses, but the herb remained a folk remedy until the 1840s, when an Oneida medicine man introduced the plant to one Theron T. Pond of Utica, New York. Pond learned of the plant’s astringent properties and ability to treat burns, boils, wounds, and hemorrhoids. In 1848, he began marketing witch hazel extract as Pond’s Golden Treasure. Later, the name was changed to Pond’s Extract, which became a big hit, and witch hazel water has been with us ever since.

Controversy Brews

Early witch hazel water was simply a strained decoction of the shrub’s leaves and twigs that contained tannins, which made the extract highly astringent. But by the late 19th century, manufacturers switched to steam distillation, a simpler process but one that left the resulting water with little if any tannin. That’s when the controversy erupted.

The Eclectic text, King’s American Dispensatory, asserted: “The decoction is very useful in hemorrhage, diarrhea, dysentery, swellings, inflammations, tumors, hemorrhoids, epistaxis [nosebleed], and uterine hemorrhage following delivery … [however] since the introduction of the distilled extract [witch hazel] has been largely abandoned …. The fluid extract has little to recommend it.”

Nonetheless, witch hazel was listed as an astringent and anti-inflammatory in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia from 1862 through 1916, and in the National Formulary, the pharmacists’ reference, from 1916 to 1955. The National Formulary finally dropped it because in 1947, the 24th edition of The Dispensatory of the United States stated witch hazel: “is so nearly destitute of medicinal virtues, it scarcely deserves official recognition … I Its continued use serves only to fill I the need in American families for an embrocation [liniment] which appeals to the psychic influence of faith.”

Yet today, witch hazel can be found on the shelves of every pharmacy.

Contemporary herbalists sidestep the controversy by recommending only the decoction of witch hazel bark, which contains astringent tannins. They are unanimous in their praise of this herb’s cooling, astringent action when used externally for cuts, burns, scalds, bruises, inflammations, and hemorrhoids. They recommend it as a gargle for sore throat and sores in the mouth, and internally to treat diarrhea.

Wouldn’t it be ironic if this widely used herbal remedy turned out to be worthless? Fortunately that does not appear to be the case.

Astringent - Witch hazel leaves, twigs, and bark contain fairly high concentrations of tannins, and a Belgian animal study showed it constricts blood vessels, supporting its longtime use as an astringent.

Commercial witch hazel water may not contain tannins, but it does contain other chemicals with reported antiseptic, anesthetic, astringent. and anti-inflammatory action. Witch hazel water is an ingredient in Tucks, Preparation H Cleansing Pads, and several German hemorrhoid preparations.

Rx for Witch Hazel

For an astringent decoction, boil I teaspoon of powdered leaves or twigs per cup of water for 10 minutes. Strain and cool. Apply directly or mix into an ointment.

For a bitter, astringent gargle, use I teaspoon of bark per cup of boiling water. Steep 10 minutes and strain.

Witch hazel may be used externally on anyone, but dilute it for use on children under age 2.

The medical literature contains no reports of harm from using witch hazel externally or as a gargle.

For otherwise healthy non-pregnant, non-nursing adults, witch hazel is considered safe in amounts typically recommended.

If witch hazel causes minor discomforts, such as skin irritation, dilute it 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.

Colorful Winter Bloomer

Witch hazel’s Latin name refers to Virginia, but the shrub grows all over the eastern United States. Most commercial witch hazel is grown in the Carolinas and Tennessee.

Witch hazel is a perennial that drops its leaves each autumn. Its single root sends up several twisting stems that fork into many flexible, hairy branches. Witch hazel blooms long after most other flowers have disappeared, depending on location, from September to December. hence the name winterbloom.

The shrub’s spidery yellow flowers appear at the same time its previous year’s fruits mature. Its woody seed pods burst open with an audible pop and propel their two hard black seeds up to 25 feet. The seeds are edible and have been compared to hazelnuts, hence the name snapping hazelnut.

As a late-bloomer, witch hazel makes a colorful addition to any garden. Witch hazel grows from seeds or twig cuttings. Seeds should be refrigerated at around 40°F for several months before planting to encourage germination. Cuttings generally produce roots in about ten weeks. Witch hazel grows best in moist, rich, sandy, or peaty soil under partial shade but tolerates poorer soil and full sun.

Harvest the leaves and twigs anytime and dry.