Calamus Root

Western Bulk Herbs – Calamus Root

Calamus is used for circulation and joint pain, and as a gargle to relieve sore throat. It can be used as a lotion to relieve skin inflammation. It has been used in Chinese medicine to treat laryngitis and can be added to other herbal remedies such as gargles, lotions, and washes. Typical used as a tea and can be used as an eye wash.

Clinical Use (Chinese):
Calamus is used in Western, Ayurvedic, and Chinese herbal healing. It’s Chinese (pin yin) name is Shi Chang Pu. It’s Ayurvedic (Sanskrit) name is Vacha.

Latin Name:
Acorus calamus

English Name:
Acorus calamus, Sweet Flag, Cinnamon Sedge, Sweet Myrtle, Acorus, and Sweet Rush

Parts Used:
The rhizome, dried and chopped or ground

Properties:
Bitters, asarone, calamene and related chemicals, eugenol and related chemicals.

Cautions:
Calamus should not be used during pregnancy. This herb may enhance the effect of certain barbituates. Calamus should be used only under the supervision of a qualified herbal practitioner.

Folk Lore:
In his famous poems, Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman wrote 39 poems for Calamus. Ayurvedic medicine has used it for a rejuvenator of the brain and nervous system. They also used it for its healing properties of the digestive system. The United States and Canada use Calamus in calamine lotion for skin inflammations of all types

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

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

Chinese Herbal Medicine — Mederia Medica, Dan Bensky and Andrew Gamble, 1986. Eastland Press, Seattle, WA.

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

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