More detailed information on the traditional use of this herb by the Eastern Band of Cherokee has been provided by Cherokee author and teacher, J.T. Garrett, who writes that it was used along with witch hazel, hawthorn and wood betony to relax blood vessels, improve circulation and calm the heart. It has also been used for menstrual problems, sometimes together with black Cohosh; to reduce fevers; stop bleeding; and, with wintergreen, as a treatment for rheumatism.(5)
PARTS USED: The fresh and dried aerial parts (leaves and flowers) are most commonly used in modern herbal medicine and an essential oil is distilled from the dried leaves and flowers as well. There are references in the literature to use of the root in older times but this appears to be less common today.
HARVESTING: Tender and lush young leaves can be harvested in the spring while still juicy and again in the fall, when there is a second flush of leaf growth. These can be used fresh or dried but it is the flowering tops that are best and these should be harvested when fully open but still tender. After awhile, the flowers become woody and hard and have little medicinal value. Like the leaves, the flowers can also be used fresh or dried and can be combined with the dried young leaves harvested earlier and later in the year. As is the case with many herbs whose aerial parts are used, the smaller plants which have grown in adverse conditions of poor soil and heat are medicinally stronger than the bigger ones from the deep rich soils and cooler sites at the edge of the forest. However, harvest sites must be clean and free of soil contaminants and pollution from passing vehicles so vacant lots are not always a good choice in the city and I harvest most of my yarrow from the fallow fields around my home which have not been treated with chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
For essential oil production, the small leaves are typically harvested with the flowering tops in summer and the quality of the oil is affected by the proportion of the various parts distilled, i.e., flowers, leaves, and stems.
CONSTITUENTS: Yarrow herb is said to generally contain between .3% to 1.4% essential oil (see below); 3 to 4% tannins; flavanoids (apigenin, luteolin, isorhamnetin, rutin); alkaloids (betonicine, stachydrine, achiceine, moshatine, trigonelline, et. al.); phenolic acids (caffeic, salicylic); and coumarins (6).
Yarrow essential oil is notable for it’s relatively high content (up to about 50%) of azulene, a powerful anti-inflammatory agent. The azulene content varies widely depending on the source and this is seen in the color of the essential oil, which can range from fairly dark blue, to greenish olive, to only very faintly blue or greenish. The best yarrow essential oils are distinctly blue but I have used those at the lighter blue end of the spectrum with good results. Those oils that have almost no blue tinge are of little value for therapeutic purposes. Other constituents of the essential oil include varying amounts of pinenes, caryophyllene, borneol, terpineol, cineol, camphor, thujone, et. al.
ACTIONS AND USES IN WESTERN HERBAL MEDICINE: As noted above, Yarrow herb is a versatile medicinal plant with a wide range of actions and uses. It’s energy is cold and dry and its commonly described actions are as an astringent, vulnerary, diaphoretic, anti-inflammatory, hypotensive, diuretic, antimicrobial, emmenagogue, digestive, and hepatic. Dr. Christopher also described it as a tonic and alterative and said that because of its tonic action it will never weaken a patient (7).
Yarrow’s reputation as an herb that is useful for healing wounds is well justified, although it is fair to say that in modern times it’s use in this regard has declined as most people, in the United States at least, are treated medically for serious wounds and there are also fewer of us slashing at each other with swords these days. Nonetheless, modern herbalists still use it for lesser wounds and even for more serious ones when the need arises and it is, of course, still useful in this regard. Several good anecdotal accounts of the use of yarrow as a vulnerary are provided by Matthew Wood in his book, The Book of Herbal Wisdom: Using Plants as Medicines (8). I especially like his description of its use in a “spit poultice”, which is how my grandparents frequently used many herbs, including yarrow, which we chewed and applied to hornet, wasp and yellow jacket stings (the other old standby remedies for stings in the South are tobacco juice and ribwort). In all fairness to modern developments in germ theory, however, one may want to think twice about putting something that has been in someone’s mouth into a wound.
FOOTNOTES:
1. Matthew Wood, The Book of Herbal Wisdom: Using Plants as Medicines, 1997, North Atlantic Books, Berkeley, Ca. pg. 65.
2. Ralph. S. Solecki, “The Implications of the Shanidar Cave Neanderthal Flower Burials”, presented at the May 24, 1976 meeting of the Section of Anthropology of the New York Academy of Sciences and quoted in David Lee, Nature’s Palette: the Science of Plant Color, 2007, University of Chicago Press, pp 3-4
3. Mrs. M. Grieve, A Modern Herbal in Two Volumes, Vol. II (I-Z), Dover Edition, 1971, Dover Publications, Inc., New York, p 864 (originally published in 1931 by Harcourt, Brace, and Company).
4. Daniel E. Moerman, Native American Ethnobotany, 1998, Timber Press, Inc, Portland, Or., pp 42-45.
5. J.T. Garrett, The Cherokee Herbal: Native Plant Medicine from the Four Directions, 2003, Bear and Company, Rochester, Vermont, pp 105, 145-146, 199, 248.
6. David Hoffmann, Medical Herbalism: The Science and Practice of Herbal Medicine, 2003, Healing Arts Press, Rochester, Vt., pg. 523.
7. John R. Christopher, School of Natural Healing (20th Anniversary Edition), 1996, Christopher Publications, Springville, Ut., pg. 235
8. Matthew Wood, The Book of Herbal Wisdom: Using Plants as Medicines, 1997, North Atlantic Books, Berkeley, Ca. pg. 69.
*This information is provided for educational interest and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any disease.
Copyright © 2010 Joie Power, Ph.D. / The Aromatherapy School | All Rights Reserved
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