Nature's Pharmacy: Ancient Knowledge, Modern Medicine
Horehound
Marrubium vulgare
Hoarhound, marvel, white horehound
Name, Habitat and Appearance
Horehound, a member of the mint family (Lamiaceae), is a bushy plant that has dense woolly flowers with gray-green leaves. The flowers die quickly, leaving a burr containing four small brown or black seeds. Horehound grows in dry, sandy or stony soil in waste places, along roadsides, and near dwellings, in fields, and in pastures. It is found from Maine to South Carolina, Texas, and westward to California and Oregon.
History
Horehound is native to Europe but now grows wild in North America and Tasmania. The leaves, seeds, and juice of the horehound were all used for medicinal purposes. The Greek physician Hippocrates (400 B.C.E.), mentioned the plant in a work on infertility in women. Pliny (100 C.E.), a Roman naturalist, listed horehound as a laxative and antidote to snake bites and other poisoning. Sixteenth century Italian physician Mattioli, prescribed horehound salve to increase a nursing mother's milk. As early as 1845 it was sold in Tasmanian nurseries as a garden or medicinal herb. In 19th century North America, a syrup and tea made from Horehound were used to clear up coughs.
Historical Uses
- To clear coughs
- For jaundice, dyspepsia and hysteria
- To regulate menstrual cycle
- Added to wine to make eyedrops
Modern Medicinal Uses
When the word Horehound is mentioned people immediately think of the brown candy used to soothe sore throats, but Horehound has many uses all over the world. The herb has a musky bittersweet flavor that is an acquired taste. It has grown out of fashion but pharmacologists have concluded that the high content of mucilage in horehound makes it an effective expectorant that soothes mucus membranes in the throat and respiratory passages. The juice mixed with honey is sometimes used to help those suffering from tuberculosis and to assist in expelling viscous phlegm from the chest. The dried leaves mixed with honey soothe external ulcers and open sores. Horehound is also an effective appetite stimulant. In large quantities, horehound may act as a sedative and laxative.
The photograph of horehound used in the exhibit.
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