Burdock: [Arctium lappa, A. minus; Asteraceae (Daisy) Family]

Burdock  traditional used for abscesses, acne, anger, boil, cancer, candida, chicken pox, cough (unproductive), cystitis, dandruff, diabetes, eczema, edema, fever, gonorrhea, gout, HIV, hives, hypoglycemia, indigestion, irritability, jaundice, keratosis, lumbago, lymphatic congestion, measles, mumps, obesity, pain, premenstrual syndrome, prostate inflammation, psoriasis, rheumatism, smallpox, sore throat, staphylococcus (staph) infection, syphilis, urinary inflammation, uterine prolapse

Warning:

—Botanical name— Arctium lappa, A. minus; Asteraceae (Daisy) Family

—Chinese Botanical name—

This information clearly states that Burdock is being recommended as a healing treatment for a surprising variety of conditions.

—Physiological Character— Adaptogen, alterative, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, anti-tussive, aperients (mild laxative), aphrodisiac, choleretic, Chologogue, demulcent, diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant, febrifuge, galactagogue, nutritive, rejuvenative. #

 —Description—     The hooked burrs of this large, handsome plant have been the play things of children for a very long time.

Burdock contains inulin, a natural dietary fiber, and is also used to improve digestion. As a root vegetable, it possesses considerably stronger antioxidant activity than common vegetables and fruits. In fact, recent studies confirm that burdock has prebiotic properties that could improve health.

—Cultivation— Burdock is a biennial native of Eurasia but now can be found growing throughout North America.  It thrives in waste areas, by roadsides, and in damp ground.  It has large, wavy, heart-shaped leaves and a stem that grows from three to six feet tall.  The flowers are pint-to-purple globes and are followed in the autumn by a brown seed head with numerous prickly hooks. Burdock's deep, slender taproot is ten to thirty inches long and has a dark outer skin.

The seeds germinate best if they are stratified, though many will sprout even without it.  Burdock prefers full sun to partial shade.  Nearly any type of soil will suffice, though loam is preferable.  One plant can easily become a colony by the third year.  Roots ideally are collected in the summer of fall of the plant's first year or in the spring of the second year.  The seeds can be collected in the fall of the second year.  Collect only the current year's seeds; seeds left over from the season before are likely to be full of bugs.

If you are collecting in the wild, avoid confusing burdock with rhubarb, which has similar-looking but toxic leaves.

—Parts Used— Root, seed, leaf (topical use only) – Burdock's medicinal root has brown bark and a white, spongy, fibrous interior, which becomes hard when dried.  Its stem is multi-branched, with long, egg-shaped leaves.  Each branch is topped by a bristled “flower,” actually a clump of many purplish flowers, which produces its infamous burrs.

Burdock grows easily from seeds planted in spring.  Thin seedlings to 6 – inch spacing.  Burdock prefers moist, rich, deeply cultivated soil and full sun but tolerates poorer soils,  Many herbalists mix wood chips and sawdust into burdock beds to keep the soil loose so roots are easier to harvest.  Burdock roots deeply, so transplanting is not advised for established plants.  Harvest the roots during the fall of the first year or the spring of the second.

—Constituents— Vitamin C, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, zinc, polyacetylenes, chlorogenic acid, taraxosterol, arctigen, inulin, lactone, volatile oil, flavanoids, tannin, mucilage, resin, essential fatty acids (in the seeds only)

—Medicinal Action and Uses— As an inflammatory demulcent agent, burdock soothes and clears internal heat.  It improves the elimination of metabolic wastes through the liver, lymph nodes, large intestine, lungs, kidneys and skin, making it an excellent choice for a spring detoxification or fasting tea.  In addition, Japanese research indicates that burdock contains desmutagens, substances that inactivate cancer-causing agents. #

Topically, burdock is used as a bath herb to relieve sore joints and gout. A compress made from root or leaves can be used to treat boils, bruises, ringworm, glandular swellings, knee swellings, sprains, and tumors.  The plant can be prepared as a hair rinse or oil to prevent dandruff and hair loss and as a facial toner in cases of oily skin.

·         Infection: German researchers have discovered fresh burdock root contains chemical (polyacetylenes) that kill disease-causing bacteria and fungi.  Though dried burdock contains less of these chemicals, their presence may help explain the herb's traditional use against ringworm, a fungal infection, and several bacterial infections, including gonorrhea, skin infections, and urinary tract infections.

However, burdock is no substitute for professional medical treatment of fungal and bacterial infections.

·         Intriguing possibilities: Burdock has been used extensively Burdock has been used extensively around the world as a cancer treatment, and several studies show that substances found in the herb do, in fact, have anti-tumor activity.  An article published in Chemotherapy identified a chemical (arctigenin) in burdock as an “inhibitor of experimental tumor growth.” And a study published in Mutation Research showed the herb decreases mutations in cells exposed to mutation-causing chemicals. (Most substances that cause genetic mutations also cause cancer.)

Of course, cancer requires professional care. If you'd like to try burdock in addition to standard therapy, discuss it with your physician.

Finally, burdock has an as-yet-unexplained anti-posioning effect.  Experimental animals fed the herb were somehow protected against several chemicals known to be toxic.

In view of these tantalizing findings, let's hope scientists cling to burdock research as tenaciously as the plan's burrs cling to just about anything.

—Nutrient Source— The stalks, cut before the flower is opened and stripped of their rind, form a delicate vegetable, similar in flavor to asparagus when boiled and a pleasant salad when eaten raw with vinegar. #

Carbohydrates predominate in burdock making up over 70% of the air-dried root.  Inulin makes up 40-50% of the root with the remaining carbohydrates being mucilage, various monosaccharides and starch.  The carbohydrates are responsible for the demulcent effects of burdock and add viscous fiber to the diet.

Tannins present in burdock are responsible for burdock's subtle astringent taste and contribute to the diuretic effect.

Volatile oils (many of which are acidic or phenolic in nature), especially in fresh roots, account for the diaphoretic and urinary tonic effects in burdock. Since the Japanese and Chinese use burdock as a staple food, they eat fresh roots.  In the West, burdock is dried, ground and often stored before use. 

The mineral profile of burdock is just the opposite of most mucilaginous herbs.  However, burdock is not merely a mucilaginous herb.  It is also a cleansing herb (alterative, diuretic) and it seems that nature gave burdock a strong, balanced mineral profile to replace the minerals that are inevitably purged during the cleaning processes.

Unlike potatoes which contain moderate quantities of vitamin C, our analysis of burdock showed very little.  This is surprising since it is reported historically to be an antiscorbutic (meaning it was supposed to help cure scurvy, a vitamin C deficiency condition).  The vitamin C value may be low only in the dried root and present in the fresh root as we only analyzed dried burdock root.

—Flavor— Burdock tea has an earthy flavor; of the five flavors, the root would be characterized as bitter and the seeds as pungent.  The tea is alkalinizing and very nutritive, with a cooling, drying energy.  The roots can be roasted and used as a coffee substitute.

—Contraindications— Avoid chewing the fresh seed if the sharp spines around it have not been removed.  Avoid burdock seeds during the first trimester of pregnancy, during the later stages of measles, and in the presence of open sores.

—Side Effects or Negative Effects— No one questioned burdock' safety until The Toxicology of Botanical Medicines identifies it as a uterine stimulant.  Pregnant women shouldn't use it.  And The Food and Drug Administration lists burdock as an herb of “undefined safety,” but except for that on case of atropine poisoning, it apparently never has caused problems.  For otherwise healthy non-pregnant, non-nursing adults, burdock is considered safe in amounts typically recommended.

—Deterrent— None to note at this time.

—References— “The Healing Herbs – The Ultimate Guide to the Curative Power of Nature's Medicines” by – Michael Castleman;  Copyright 1991;  ISBN: 0-87857-934-6;  Page:  72 – 74

—References— “Nutritional Herbology” A Reference Guide to Herbs By – Mark Pedersen ISBN: 1-885653-07-7 Copyright 2008

—References— “Healing Herbal Teas” A Complete Guide to Making Delicious, Healthful Beverages.  By – Brigitte Mars, A.H.G. ISBN – 13: 978-59120-110-6 and ISBN – 10: 1-59120-110-1 Copyright 2006

—References—  “Herbal Medicine” The Natural Way to Get Well and Stay Well; By Dian Dincin Buchman, Ph.D. ISBN – 0-517-147647-x; Copyright 1996

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