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Posted by on Feb 9, 2016 in Herbs A-F | 0 comments

Agrimony Herb

Botanical: Agrimonia Eupatoria

COMMON NAMES

  • Agrimony
  • Burr Marigold
  • Church Steeples
  • Cocklebur
  • Harvest Lice
  • Liverwort
  • Philanthropos
  • Rat’s Tail
  • Stickwort
  • White Tansy

 

The name Agrimony is from Argemone, a word given by the Greeks to plants which were healing to the eyes, the name Eupatoria refers to Mithridates Eupator, a king who was a renowned concoctor of herbal remedies. Agrimony is perhaps best known as a wound herb used on medieval battlefields to staunch bleeding. Agrimony is most used in modern herbal practice as a mild astringent and a tonic.

Agrimony’s astringency is effective against diarrhea, especially in small children, and because of its low toxicity, the herb is particularly suitable for children’s illnesses. Agrimony stops irritation of the urinary tract that may increase a child’s urge to urinate and, therefore, may be useful in the treatment of bladder leakage (cannot hold urine), bed-wetting and adult incontinence.

The tannins it contains tone the mucus membranes making it is useful for alleviating the symptoms of coughs, bronchitis and asthma. The herbal tea can be used as a skin wash, it is thought to improve minor injuries and chronic skin conditions.

Prepare the herbal agrimony infusion by using a cup of boiling water is a medium to infuse one to two teaspoonfuls of the dried agrimony herb, allow the herb to infuse for ten to fifteen minutes at a time. The infusion can then be cooled and strained-this infusion can be used thrice every day as an herbal remedy. The herbal tincture can be given to use in dosages of one to three ml of tincture three times every day during the treatment of the individual.

Agrimony tea is a great remedy for diarrhea and gastro-intestinal problems. It stimulates the production of bile and gastric juice, and is used in the treatment of chronic cholecystitis — gallbladder inflammation. Once the tea has cooled, gargle with it as a remedy for sore throat and pharyngitis.

Cautions:
The herbal remedies made from agrimony must be used carefully, as they are known to cause certain susceptible individuals to experience the symptoms of photo dermatitis, which is a type of skin rash that can develop following the consumption of the herb and which comes on when the person’s skin is subsequently exposed to direct sunlight.

It has also been observed in some studies, that remedies made from the agrimony can actually lower the blood pressure of the person using it. For this reason, the herbal remedies made from this herb must not be consumed by those undergoing anticoagulant therapy or those under drug treatment for any high or low blood pressure problems. The menstrual cycle is also supposedly affected by herbal remedies made from the agrimony. Pregnant women and nursing mothers must avoid the use of these herbal agrimony remedies for this reason. The moderate consumption of herbal agrimony tea is also advised partly because it has very high tannin content. The harmful effects of the ingested tannins in the herbal agrimony tea can be blunted by adding milk to the herbal agrimony tea.

The leaves, flowers, and roots of agrimony have a long history of use as a medicinal herb.

Agrimony can be used in combination for herbal remedies.

Some of them include:

  • Cough medicine – combine with parsley and make a tea
  • Tension headache – combine with mugwort, valerian, and chamomile in a bath
  • Bug bite – melt petroleum jelly, calendula, agrimony and apply to skin