Butcher’s Broom

Western Bulk Herbs – Butcher’s Broom

Butcher’s Broom is used in a number of herbal remedies for corrective system imbalances that inhibits the proper function of the bowels. It is used for constipation. It the olden days it was used for varicose veins and hemorrhoids. The German commission recommends it for treatment of hemorrhoids. It also been used in clinical trials for relieving arm swelling after the treatment of breast cancer.

It is also used to remove excess water from the body by allowing the system to quickly and naturally flush out the excess fluid. It can also help with circulation problems or sometimes recommended as a way to help people with tingling in the feet and hands, or who constantly experience coldness in the hands and feet.

Latin Name:
Ruscus aculeatus

Common Names:
Kneeholy, Knee Holly, Kneeholm, Jew’s Myrtle, Sweet Broom, and Pettigree.

Parts Used:
The root or rhizome, collected in autumn.

Properties:
Diaphoretic, diuretic, deobstruent and aperient

Traditional Uses:
A decoction of the root is the usual form of administration.

Topical Uses / Applications:
Tea or extract. Make a tea from chopped root.Home remedy as a soothing tea, a poultice, or even by adding the powder to different types of food.

Culinary Uses:
Not used in cooking.

Chemical Properties:
Ascorbic acid, beta-carotene, calcium, chromium, chrysophanic acid, magnesium, manganese, niacin, riboflavin, ruscogenin, rutin, selenium, tin, zinc.

Cautions:
GRAS: Generally Recognized As Safe. This herb can safely be consumed when used appropriately. In rare cases nausea and gastric disorders may occur.

Folk Lore:
Pliny the Elder in 60 C.E. noted in his herbal that it was a treatment for the swelling of veins. Butcher’s Broom was recommended by Dioscorides and other ancient physicians as an aperient (mild laxative) and diuretic in dropsy, urinary obstructions and nephritic cases.

*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.