Elecampane Root Powder
Inula helenium
Also Known as: Alant, Aster helenium, Aster officinalis, Aunée, Aunée Officinale, Elfdock, Elfwort, Enule Campagne, Grande Aunée, Helenio, Helenium grandiflorum, Horse-Elder, Horseheal, Indian Elecampane, Inula, Inula helenium, Inule Aulnée, Inule Aunée, Inule Hélénie, Œil-de-cheval, Scabwort, Velvet Dock, Wild Sunflower, Yellow Starwort.
$4.00 per ounce
Elecampane Root is actually a root, and therefore not technically an herb; however, c/s Inula helenium or powdered Elecampane Root can be boiled to product a tea or broth. In is a rich source of inulin, and a decoction made from the dried herb also has rubfacient and antibacterial properties. In herbal medicine it is chiefly used for coughs, consumption and other pulmonary complaints, being a favourite domestic remedy for bronchitis. It has been employed for many years with good results in chest affections, for which it is a valuable medicine as it is in all chronic diseases of the lungs asthma and bronchitis. It gives relief to the respiratory difficulties and assists expectoration. Its principal employment as a separate remedy is in acute catarrhal affections, and in dyspepsia attended with relaxation and debility, given in small, warm and frequently repeated doses. It is, however, seldom given alone, but most frequently preferred in combination with other medicines of a similar nature. It is best given in the form of decoction, the dose being a small teaspoonful, three times a day.
The root used not only to be candied and eaten as a sweetmeat, but lozenges were made of it. It has been employed in whooping-cough. It is sometimes employed in the form of a confection for piles, 1 OZ. of powdered root being mixed with 2 OZ. of honey.
In the United States, it has also been highly recommended, both for external use and internal administration in diseases of the skin, an old use of the root that has maintained its reputation for efficacy.
Externally applied, it is somewhat rubefacient, and has been employed as an embrocation in the treatment of sciatica, facial and other neuralgia.
Of late years, modern scientific research has proved that the claims of Elecampane to be a valuable remedy in pulmonary diseases has a solid basis. One authority, Korab, showed in 1885 that the active, bitter principle, Helenin, is such a powerful antiseptic and bactericide, that a few drops of a solution of 1 part in 10,000 immediately kills the ordinary bacterial organisms, being peculiarly destructive to the Tubercle bacillus. He gave it successfully in tubercular and catarrhal diarrhoeas, and praised it also as an antiseptic in surgery. In Spain it has been made use of as a surgical dressing. Obiol, in 1886, stated it to be an efficient local remedy in the treatment of diphtheria, the false membrane being painted with a solution of Helenin in Oil of Almond.
You should consult with a qualified herbalist or naturopath for more information before taking wholesale Elecampane Root.
Warning:
Persons with allergies to other members of the Asteraceae family (such as feverfew, chamomile, or echincaea) should exercise caution with elecampane, as allergic cross-reactivity to Asteraceae plants is common.