Image source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Baptisia_tinctoria.jpg
Common name Wild indigo
Plant family Leguminoseae
Parts used Root, bark, leaves (Grieve, 1971).
Qualities Cooling, bitter (Holmes, 2007).
Constituents
Alkaloids, coumarins, resins, polysaccharides (Hechtman, 2011).
Actions
Depurative, antipyretic, immune enhancing (Bone, 2003). Anti-microbial, antiseptic (Hechtman, 2011). Anti-biotic (Bartram, 1998). Cholagogue, mucous membrance tonic (Hoffmann, 2003).
Indications
Primarily recommended for infections of the upper respiratory tract, particularly in cases of tonsillitis, pharyngitis, gingivitis, acute catarrhal infection, offensive breath and fever due to its anti-microbial, antiseptic properties (Hechtman, 2011).
Mouth ulcers, boils, inflammations of the mouth and teeth (Bone, 2003).
Preliminary clinical research suggests that taking a product (Esberitox) containing vitamin C and extracts of "echinacea, thuja, and wild indigo reduces itchiness, tension, and pain in 80% to 93% of patients with herpes labialis" (cold sores) (Bockhorst et al., 1982).
Sinusitis (Bone, 2003).
May promote the recuperation of the haemapoeitic system and assist with leukopenia during chemo-radiation treatment (Bendel, Bendel, Renner, Carstens & Stolze, 1989).
Cautions/Contraindications
None known (Bone, 2003) however Some wild indigo species are considered toxic and are on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) list of toxic or poisonous plants (Naturaldatabase.therapeuticresearch.com, 2015).
Dosage
Per day, 2-6 ml 1:2 liquid extract, or per week 15-40 ml 1:2 liquid extract (Bone, 2003).
Combinations
A commercial preparation of echinacea, baptisia and thuja (Esberitox) was found to be effective and safe for the rapid onset of improvement of cold symptoms. (Henneicke-Von Zepelin et al., 1999).
References
Bartram, T. (1998). Bartram's enyclopedia of herbal medicine. London: Robinson.
Bendel, R., Bendel, V., Renner, K., Carstens, V., & Stolze, K. (1989). Additional treatment with Esberitox N in patients with chemo- radiotherapy treatment of advanced breast cancer. Onkologie, 12(3), 32-38.
Bockhorst, H., Gollnick, N., Guran, S., Heinrich, H., Misic, B., Potthast, B., & Vopel, H. (1982). Therapy of herpes simplex in practice. Report on the treatment of herpes simplex labialis with Esberitox. Zeitschrift Fun Allgemeinmedizin, 58(32), 1795-1798.
Bone, K. (2003). A clinical guide to blending liquid herbs. Edinburgh [u.a.]: Churchill Livingstone.
Grieve, M. (1971). A modern herbal. New York: Dover Publications.
Hechtman, L. (2011). Clinical naturopathic medicine. Sydney, Australia: Churchill Livingstone/Elsevier Australia.
Henneicke-Von Zepelin, H., Hentschel, C., Schnitker, J., Kohnen, R., Köhler, G., Wüstenberg, P., & (on behalf of the study group),. (1999). Efficacy and Safety of a Fixed Combination Phytomedicine in the Treatment of the Common Cold (Acute Viral Respiratory Tract Infection): Results of a Randomised, Double Blind, Placebo Controlled, Multicentre Study. Curr Med Res Opin, 15(3), 214-227.
Hoffmann, D. (2003). Medical herbalism. Rochester, Vt.: Healing Arts Press.
Holmes, P. (2007). The energetics of Western herbs. Cotati, Calif.: Snow Lotus Press.
Naturaldatabase.therapeuticresearch.com,. (2015). Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database: Unbiased, Scientific Clinical Information on Complementary, Alternative, and Integrative Therapies. Retrieved 15 April 2015, from http://naturaldatabase.therapeuticresearch.com