Burdock Root

Western Bulk Herbs – Burdock Root

Burdock root is one of nature’s best blood purifiers. It’s been used for many centuries for skin diseases such as eczema. It’s also used as a tea for as a powerful anti-inflammatory remedy. Native Americans boiled it in maple syrup to be able to store for long periods of time. In China it’s used for impotency and as an aphrodisiac.

The most famous used of burdock root is used in Essiac formula that was given to Rene Caisse by a woman who survived cancer. That was in the 1920s where cancer treatments were just beginning. The formula, so they say, it an old Indian medicine man. You can read the story here about Rene Caisse.

Latin Name:
Articum lappa

Common Names:
Lappa. Fox’s Clote. Thorny Burr. Beggar’s Buttons. Cockle Buttons. Love Leaves. Philanthropium. Personata. Happy Major. Clot-Bur

Parts Used:
Root, herb and seeds or fruit

Properties:
Alterative, diuretic and diaphoretic — It works best as a tea or decoction but may be taken in capsule form or extract.

Topical Uses / Applications:

Culinary Uses:
Used in soups, stew, or stir fry, or anything where you can get a daily dose of burdock.

Chemical Properties:
Up to 50% inulin, polyacetylenes, volatile acids (acetic, proprionic, butyric, isovaleric), non-hydroxyl acids (lauric, myristic, stearic, palmitic), polyphenolic acids, and tannins.

Cautions:
GRAS: Generally Recognized as Safe. This herb can be safely consumed when used appropriately. Excessive internal use should be avoided during pregnancy. Rare but possible allergic hypersensitivity can occur when applied to skin. Insulin dosage may need adjusting due to a potential hypoglycemic effect.

Folk Lore:
Culpepper gives the following uses for the Burdock: ‘The Burdock leaves are cooling and moderately drying, whereby good for old ulcers and sores…. The leaves applied to the places troubled with the shrinking in the sinews or arteries give much ease: a juice of the leaves or rather the roots themselves given to drink with old wine, doth wonderfully help the biting of any serpents- the root beaten with a little salt and laid on the place suddenly easeth the pain thereof, and helpeth those that are bit by a mad dog:… the seed being drunk in wine 40 days together doth wonderfully help the sciatica: the leaves bruised with the white of an egg and applied to any place burnt with fire, taketh out the fire, gives sudden ease and heals it up afterwards…. The root may be preserved with sugar for consumption, stone and the lax. The seed is much commended to break the stone and is often used with other seeds and things for that purpose.’

*Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Resources:
PDR for Herbal Medicines, 2000. Medical Economics Company, Montvale, New Jersey.

The New Holistic Herbal. David Hoffmann, 1990. Barnes and Noble Books, New York.

A Modern Herbal, Mrs. M. Grieve, (Dover Publications, New York, 1971)

Major Herbs of Ayurvedic.Compiled by Dahur Research Foundation and Dahur Ayurvet Limited, Ghaziabad, India., 2002. Churchill Livingstone, London, England.

Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica, Third Edition, Dan Bensky and Andrew Gamble, 1986. Eastland Press, Seattle, WA.