BOT MED 202 NOTES:

Female Herbs (Rubus idaeus to Vitex agnus-castus)

Katie Patrick

Name Active Primary Actions Preparation & CI’s

Constituents Dosage
Rubus idaeus Leaf: tannins, • Astringent (b/c • Infusion: 2 Pregnancy with
(Raspberry)— polypeptides (I of tannins) tsp/c, precipitate labour
very similar to know in the notes it (obviously!) also
also lists the fruit, but
• Tonic drunk
rasp plants whose the leaves are the only • Parturient/Partus freely early stages of
berries you pick part used for female
Preparator • Tincture: pregnancy (tradit.
or find in stores— purposes, so….) used from 3rd trimester
2-4 ml onwards not before)
but this is the tincture tid
wild variety 

Rubus villosus Root Bark: • Astringent • Decoction: n/a

(Blackberry) tannins (gallic • Styptic (stops 1-2 g
acid), saponins bleeding) root/cup,
Leaf: tannins, tid
flavonoids (again, • Tincture:
fruit isn’t really used
for female purposes 2-5 ml tid
here, although it has
great benefits
otherwise ie for blood
vessels!)
Senecio aureus Aerial pts: • Emmenagogue • Inf: 1 Pregnancy, also
(Golden Volatile oil, • Astringent g/cup lactation, also
Ragwort) pyrrolizidine • 5-12 infants/young kids
alkaloids, grains under 12 yoa;
coumarin solid also
derivatives, extract prolonged/internal
tannins, resins, use (prob b/c of
eremophilane pyrrolizidine alkaloids
—same as in
sesquiterpenes symphytum—possibly
hepatotoxic over time).
Strychnos ignatia Seeds: indole • Stimulant (I’ll say, • Tincture: Highly poisonous,
(St Ignatius alkaloids (high with all that 15-20 also pregnancy
bean/Ignatia strychnine strychnine in it, it had (obvious), also
better have some minims or
amara)— content than strong action!) 5-15 drops skilled therapeutic
remember in even Nux v.), • Tonic in 4 oz knowledge reqd
homeopathy?  brucine H20, give for use (another
1 tsp obvious)
every 1-3
hrs
By the way, the
likelihood of using this
Rx outside of
homeopathy is few &
 far in between, so don’t
spend excessive time on
it)
Tanacetum I’m leaving this to the
anthelmintic/febrifuge
vulgare section—it’s often
(Feverfew) used for migraines
now, so the likelihood
of it being on a
female herbs case is
very low
Viburnum opulus Bark of • Antispasmodic • Decoction: Just use the bark (yes,
those berries look tasty
(Cramp Bark)— stems/trunk: • Spasmolytic 2 tsp/cup and just right for a pie,
check this one out coumarins, This one is easy to memorize— tid but if the birds aren’t
in the Paracelsus phenolic acids the name of the plant (Cramp eating them...I wouldn’t
bark) fits the actions—also it
• Tincture: eat them either as they
garden (it’s the (ie., salicin), comes from the same family as 4-8 ml tid do turn out to be a
bush with the triterpenes, those ornamental snowball gastric irritant).
clumps of bright tannin, bushes/trees (but don’t make tea
of the snowball bush stems—I
red berries on bioflavones think it’s safe to assume they
them! are poisonous  )
Vitex agnus- Fruit: iridoid • Female Sex • Infusion: 1 Pregnancy, also
castus (Chaste glycosides Hormone tsp After first
Tree/Chasteberry) (alkaloids), Normalizer!!!!! berries/c trimester, also
labdane (this is important!!)  tid spasmodic
diterpenes, ess. • Uterine Tonic • Tincture: dysmenorrheal;
Oil, also 2.5 ml tid also lactation
flavonoids (possibly
antiprolactin);
also worsens
depression if
caused by low
estrogen