Common Motherwort Leonurus Cardiaca Motherwort Herb Extract.

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Description,Uses and Effects of Motherwort Herb.

Motherwort Herb Extract Leonurus Cardiaca photo picture image A perennial that grows to 3 to 6 feet in height. Stems are stout, with 2- to 5-inch long petioled. The palmately lobed leaves have sharp teeth. Flowers are white to pink and very hairy.

 It is distinguished from all other British labiates by the leaves, which are deeply and palmately cut into five lobes, or three-pointed segments, and by the prickly calyx-teeth of its flowers. When not in flower, it resembles Mugwort in habit.

 From the perennial root-stock rise the square, stout stems, 2 to 3 feet high, erect and branched, principally below, the angles prominent. The leaves are very closely set, the radical ones on slender, long petioles, ovate, lobed and toothed, those on the stem, 2 to 3 inches long, petioled, wedge-shaped; the lower roundish, palmately five-lobed, the lobes trifid at the apex, the upper three-fid, coarsely serrate, reticulately veined, the veinlets prominent beneath, with slender, curved hairs. The uppermost leaves and bracts are very narrow and entire, or only with a tooth on each side, and bear in their axils numerous whorls of pinkish, or nearly white, sessile flowers, six to fifteen in a whorl. The corollas, though whitish on the outside, are stained with paler or darker purple within. They have rather short tubes and nearly flat upper lips, very hairy above, with long, woolly hairs. The two front stamens are the longest and the anthers are sprinkled with hard, shining dots.

 The plant blossoms in August. It has rather a pungent odour and a very bitter taste. It is a dull green, the leaves paler below, pubescent, especially on the angles of the stem and the underside of the leaves, the hairs varying much in length and abundance.

 The name of the genus, Leonurus, in Greek signifies a Lion's tail, from some fancied resemblance in the plant. Motherwort is also known by the name Lion's Ear. Motherwort originally came from central Eurasia, but has now spread to all temperate areas of the world, primarily as a garden plant, but also as an escaped weed. The leaves and flowers of this mint family plant are used medicinally. In Chinese herbal medicine, the seeds are also employed. The use of Motherwort is practically the same in European folk medicine and traditional Chinese herbal medicine - to regulate menses and to treat associated conditions. The genus name Leonurus is derived from a Latin word "leo", meaning "lions", and a Greek word "oura", meaning "tail", in reference to the leaf's shaggy shape (like a lion's tail). The species name cardiaca is from the Greek word "kardiaca", meaning "heart". A similar plant, Leonurus heterophyllus, is used in China. The Chinese name for this plant is "yi mu cao", meaning benefit mother herb".

 Uses:The herb is used as a stimulant and emmenagogue. In Europe it has been used to treat heart palpitations and asthma. Currently and historically it was used to improve heart function. Motherwort also works as a sedative and stimulates menstrual flow.

 Properties:Pungent and bitter in flavour, slightly cold in nature, acting on the heart channel, liver channel and urinary bladder channel. Pungent for dispersing and bitter for purging, the drug has mild actions of promoting blood circulation to regulate menstruation, removing blood stasis to promote the growth of new tissue. Its slight coldness can clear heat. It is applicable in treatment of irregular menstruation due to accumulation of heat in the blood division , postpartum tormina due to blood stasis, and traumatic ecchymosis and pain. Because of its tropism to Urinary Bladder channel, it can subside edema by inducing diuresis and be used to treat edema and difficulty in urination.

 Effects:Promoting blood circulation to regulate menstruation, subsiding edema by inducing diuresis.
 Motherwort Herb Extract Leonurus Cardiaca photo picture image

 Medicinal virtues:It makes mothers joyful and settles the womb; that is why it is called Motherwort. It is of use for trembling of the heart, and fainting and swooning. It may be kept in syrup or as a conserve. A spoonful of the powder, drank in wine, helps women in sore travail. It provokes the urine and women's courses, cleanses the chest of cold phlegm and kills worms in the belly. It helps cramps and convulsions.

 Modern uses:A heart tonic for angina pectoris, it also helps to lower blood pressure. It regulates circulatory disturbances during the menopause, such as palpitations. It is a sedative, inducing tranquillity in simple anxiety or when there is restlessness during fevers. In this it resembles the action of Valerian root. It regulates menstruation, encouraging the monthly flow when it is scanty, and eases painful periods. The herb is collected in late summer and dried. The powdered herb is given as an infusion in doses Of 2 fl OZ (56 ml). Tinctures and liquid extracts are available from herbalists.

 As its Latin name cardiaca suggests, Motherwort has traditionally been used to treat heart conditions. The ancient Greeks and Romans employed Motherwort to treat heart palpitations as well as depression, which they considered a problem of the heart. Centuries later, Europeans would believe Motherwort helpful for "infirmities of the heart", but also considered the herb to have strengthening and stimulating effects on the uterus, using it to bring on a delayed menstrual period, as an aid during labor, and to relax a woman's womb after childbirth.

 These uses of Motherwort also correspond well with those in traditional Chinese medicine, which employs another Asian variety, Leonurus artemisia, to treat menstrual disorders or to help a woman expel a dead fetus and placenta from her womb. In eastern China, women still drink a syrup made from Motherwort to promote the recovery of the uterus after childbirth; the herb has a strong bitter taste, so visitors to a recovering mother often bring along sugar as a gift. Europeans used Motherwort as a sedative as well, inducing tranquility in times of anxiety, or when there is restlessness during fevers.

 Germany's Commission E has authorized Motherwort for the treatment of heart disorders caused by anxiety and stress, as well as part of an overall treatment plan for an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism). These two uses are linked by the fact that both stress and high levels of thyroid hormone can increase the heart rate. Motherwort is an excellent heart tonic, and research has shown that it is able to calm palpitations, tachycardia and irregular heartbeats.

 The primary chemical constituents of Motherwort include alkaloids (stachydrine, leonurinine), ursolic acid, flavonoids (quercetin, rutin), bitter glycosides (leonurine, leonuridin), caffeic acid, essential oil, tannins, resin, beta carotene, and potassium. One component of Motherwort, ursolic acid, appears to possess antiviral and anti-tumor properties. However, a highly preliminary animal study suggests that Motherwort can both inhibit or stimulate the growth of breast tumors. The alkaloid leonurine produces central nervous depressant and hypotensive effects in animals, and stachydrine may also be involved. The glycosides have a short-term ability to lower blood pressure. Chinese research has found that this herb reduces blood platelet aggregation and decreases levels of blood lipids
 Motherwort Herb Extract Leonurus Cardiaca photo picture image

 Medicinal General use:

 Motherwort has a long history of traditional uses in many different cultures. The Latin name, cardiaca refers to the heart, and motherwort has traditionally been used to treat heart-related conditions. These include nervous heart complaints such as palpitations, cardiac arrhythmia (irregular beat), and fast heartbeat. It has also been used as a general tonic to strengthen the heart and to treat cardiac insufficiency. Modern herbalists continue to prescribe motherwort for these conditions.

 Diaphoretic, antispasmodic, tonic, nervine, emmenagogue. Motherwort is especially valuable in female weakness and disorders (hence the name), allaying nervous irritability and inducing quiet and passivity of the whole nervous system.

 As a tonic, it acts without producing febrile excitement, and in fevers, attended with nervousness and delirium, it is extremely useful.

 Old writers tell us that there is no better herb for strengthening and gladdening the heart, and that it is good against hysterical complaints, and especially for palpitations of the heart when they arise from hysteric causes, and that when made into a syrup, it will allay inward tremors, faintings, etc. There is no doubt it has proved the truth of their claims in its use as a simple tonic, not only in heart disease, neuralgia and other affections of the heart, but also in spinal disease and in recovery from fevers where other tonics are inadmissable.

 In Macer's Herbal we find 'Motherwort' mentioned as one of the herbs which were considered all-powerful against 'wykked sperytis.'

 The best way of giving it is in the form of a conserve, made from the young tops, says one writer. It may be given in decoctions, or a strong infusion, but is very unpleasant to take that way. The infusion is made from 1 OZ. of herb to a pint of boiling water, taken in wineglassful doses.

 Both alkaloids in motherwort induce uterine contractions, stachydrine doing so particularly at the end of pregnancy when the nature of uterine muscles changes and Braxton-Hicks contractions begin in practice for labour. This stimulating effect is coupled with an appreciable sedative and relaxing effect, contributed by bitter glycosides, useful for anxiety or tension about the coming birth. This combination of relaxant with uterotonic effects gives motherwort a useful role both as a partus preparator and during labour to facilitate the birth. Motherwort has a reputation for preventing miscarriage and relieving false labour pains.

 Mild general sedative, as a calming agent, and as a treatment for epilepsy:Motherwort is also used as a mild general sedative, as a calming agent, and as a treatment for epilepsy. Scientists have isolated many different active compounds in motherwort. Leonurine and stachydine, both found in the herb, have been show to lower blood pressure and calm the central nervous system in studies using laboratory animals and animal hearts. Scientific investigation into the central nervous system and cardiac effects of motherwort is ongoing with mixed results. The German Federal Health Agency's Commission E, established in 1978 to independently review and evaluate scientific literature and case studies pertaining to herb and plant medications, has found that there is adequate evidence to suggest that motherwort is effective in the treatment of certain cardiac conditions.

 Female conditions related to menstruation and childbirth:Motherwort is also used to treat female conditions related to menstruation and childbirth. The herb is often given to stimulate menstruation when it is absent (amenorrhea) or irregular and delayed (dysmenorrhea). At childbirth it is taken to aid labor, and after childbirth it is given to help the uterus relax and return to normal. There appear to be no scientific studies that specifically relate to the effects of motherwort on the reproductive system, so these traditional uses of the herb can be neither confirmed nor denied. Other Western uses of motherwort include as a treatment for asthma, hyperthyroidism, prevent gas, and treat insomnia. It is also used externally as a douche for vaginitis.

 Treat problems of organs including the heart, liver, and kidneys:Chinese herbalists use Chinese motherwort to treat problems of the heart, liver, and kidneys. In addition to the heart and reproductive uses known to Western herbalists, Chinese practitioners use motherwort to treat water retention, in conjunction with other herbs, such as hawthorn, to prevent stroke and to treat certain kinds of eczema. Some Chinese researchers have reported that Chinese motherwort, Leonurus heterophyllus, can prevent blood clots.

 Formula uses:Motherwort is an ingredient in several common Chinese herbal formulas, including leonuris and achyranthes. In a 1999 study published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, researchers reported that a traditional Chinese remedy of 21 herbs, including motherwort, successfully treated symptoms of chronic nephrotic syndrome and lupus nephritis in an adolescent girl. The results were promising enough that studies are ongoing to test the effectiveness of these herbs in people with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

 Conditions affecting women:Motherwort may be best known for its use in conditions affecting women. It is known to contain chemicals that affect the uterus in several ways, including the promotion of menstrual blood flow. It has been used to start delayed periods and, if taken on a continual basis, it may help abnormal menstrual cycles to become more regular. Due to antispasmodic effects, motherwort may also help to restore uterine muscle tone after the birth of a baby. It may also have relaxing effects on the nervous system, making it potentially useful for relieving both the physical and emotional symptoms of premenstrual syndrome and menopause.

 Treat irregular heartbeat:Motherwort has also been used to treat irregular heartbeat. Although the exact reasons for this possible effect are not known, it is believed that chemicals in motherwort may cause blood vessels to relax and also may exert a regulating effect on the heartbeat. In laboratory studies, motherwort has reduced blood pressure and slowed heartbeats that are too fast. It may be particularly effective when heart rhythm speeds up due to nervousness.

 Motherwort has other cardio - tonic properties, making it beneficial to the heart. Motherwort strengthens the heart, especially useful during pregnancy and childbirth when more stress is imposed on the heart. Motherwort may also be used for irregularities such as arrhythmias and palpitations which are associated with anxiety and tension. The glycosides have been observed to have a short-term ability to lower blood pressure.

 Treat itching and relieve eye conditions:In Asia, plants that are closely related to motherwort have been used in topical preparations to treat itching. Motherwort has also been used topically to relieve eye conditions and as an injection to prevent blood clots. No injectable forms of motherwort are available in the United States. Additionally, products for use in the eye should be made under sterile conditions that are not generally found in the home. Eye preparations should come only from reputable commercial sources.

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citations1.Common Motherwort Leonurus Cardiaca Motherwort Herb Extract.

last edit date:27th,May.2009.