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Horehound Marrubium vulgare L.

Benefits | Preparation | Medicinal Uses | Side Effects | Plant | Folklore | Horehound Remedies
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Horehound in flower
Horehound in flower
Common Names
Horehound , White horehound, marrubio
Botanical Name
Marrubium vulgare L.
Family
LAMIACEAE or LABIATAE Mint Family
Horehound Medicinal Properties & Benefits
Common Uses: Bronchitis * Colds * Cough * Digestion/Indigestion * Heart Tonics/Cordials * Sore Throat/Laryngitis *
Properties: Demulcent* Expectorant* Hepatic* Breath* Appetite Depressant/Obesity* Astringent*
Parts Used: Aerial parts
Constituents:Up to 1% marrubiin (a bitter principle), diterpene alcohols (eg marrbiol and murrubenol), small amounts of alkaloids, traces of volatile oil and a sesquiterpene, tannin, saponin, resin


Horehound is a time honored cold remedy

The uses of horehound have come down to us from the Greeks and Romans, and from our own American wise woman traditions. You can still find old fashioned horehound cough drops sold in pharmacies, and the herb was an accepted medicinal plant in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia until 1989, and is still endorsed in Europe as an effective cold medicine. This mint relative is a cough and cold remedy, and a bitter tonic that stimulates digestion, easing bloating and gas. Horehound contains the bitter principal marrubiin (sometimes spelled marubin), a potent pain reliever and nervous system stimulant.

Side Effects:
Large doses act as a laxative,and as much as five cups of the tea could disturb heart rhythm. For treatment of gastrointestinal upset, it is important to take the tea thirty minutes before eating. Horehound should not be used by pregnant women, nursing mothers, very young children or the elderly. This herb can mildly increase menstrual flow, so you should not use it if you have menstrual problems. Prescription for Herbal Healing (2002) Phyllis A. Balch
How to Use: Horehound
Preparation Methods :

remedyRemedies using : Horehound

Horehound for :Digestive tonic
Digestive tonic Marrubiin's stimulation of the central nervous system in turn stimulates the stomach to secrete digestive juices. This relieves feelings of fullness by helping the stomach digest food. The reaction also stimulates the flow of bile, which eases flatulence by changing the chemical composition of the contents of the large intestine. Horehound also stops high and low blood-sugar reactions after eating high-carbohydrate meals and snacks.

Phyllis A. Balch, Prescription for Herbal Healing (2002)

Horehound for :Heart tonic
Heart tonic Horehound also has a folk reputation for calming a nervous heart. This too has scientific backing for marrubiin in small amounts has a normalizing effect on irregular heartbeats.

Richard Mabey, The New Age Herbalist (1988)

Horehound, White for :Cardio - Coughs and Colds
Cardio - Coughs and Colds The medicinal chemicals responsible for Horehounds expectorant action, marrubiin and marrubinic acid, also help stabilize heart rhythm. Until 1900, horehound was an accepted medicinal in the U.S. Pharmacopeia, and was found in various over-the-counter nostrums, including cough drops, until 1989, when the FDA challenged its use for a supposed lack of efficacy. A year later, Germany's commission E endorsed horehounds folk reputation as an effective treatment for coughing, colds and indigestion. Decide for yourself.

James Duke, The Green Pharmacy Herbal Handbook (2000)


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Certified Organic Horehound
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Certified Organic Root It Away Cough Syrup
Designed to cut through the thickest chest and through congestion and get right to work on stubborn coughs.
buyOrganic Root It Away Cough Syrup

Honey and the following Certified Organically Grown and Wildharvested ingredients: Elecampane Root, Osha Root, Marshmallow Root, Horehound, Mullein and Fennel, and it contains 10 percent alcohol by volume.

referencesHorehound Medicinal Uses & Benefits
Bronchitis * Colds * Cough * Digestion/Indigestion * Heart Tonics/Cordials * Sore Throat/Laryngitis *
Plant Description

Koehler's Medicinal-Plants 1887
Koehler's Medicinal-Plants 1887

  • Flowers:Small white or purple flowers at the nodes between leaf and stem
  • Plant Class:Perennial Mint, bushy
  • Leaves:Densely packed green leaves with white edges on a single stalk. The leaves are much wrinkled, opposite, petiolate, about 1 inch long, covered with white, felted hairs, which give them a woolly appearance.
  • Medicinal part: All arial
  • Preferred Habitat:Cultivated in gardens
  • Flowering Season:June to September
  • Distribution:Native to Morocco, naturalized in Europe and North America

Folklore, Myths and Legends
History and Traditions
historyThe Egyptians and Romans esteemed Horehound for coughs and colds, the same uses as it is recommend by modern herbalists. For centuries white horehound has been traditionally a reliable liver and digestive remedy. The plant has also been used to reduce fevers and treat malaria.This is one of the bitter herbs ordained to be eaten at Passover supper by the Jews. Gerard also recommended it as an antidote for posions and for "mad dogge biting". Grieve, AMH.
Astrology:
folkloreIt is an herb of Mercury. A decoction of the dried herb, with the seed, or the juice of the green herb taken with honey, is a remedy for those that are short-winded, have a cough, or are fallen into a consumption, either through long sickness, or thin distillations of rheum upon the lungs. Nicholas Culpeper
folkloreThe Egyptian priests called horehound the "Seed of Horus", or the "Bulls Blood", and "The eye of the Star". It was a principal ingredient in the negro Caesars's antidote for vegetable poisons. It was considered an anti-magical herb.Grieve, Maude Modern Herbal (1931)

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