Benefits of Horehound: Uses, and Herbal Remedies

Whats is Horehound used for?

The benefits of horehound can be harnessed for relief of cough, sore throat, and bronchitis. Herbal teas and tincture can be crafted from this useful herb, but the most common horehound medicines come in the form of syrups and cough drops. Horehound candies are widely available commercially, but they are very simple to produce in the home apothecary.

Horehound was first used medicinally in ancient Rome as an ingredient in the multi-ingredient (and ineffective) poison antidotes known as the- riaca. Medieval Europeans generalized this application and came up with the belief that the herb provided protection from witches’ spells.

The Roman physician Galen was the first to prescribe horehound for coughs and respiratory problems. It’s been used as an expectorant ever since. The ancients also relied on it to calm upset stomachs.

The medieval German abbess/herbalist Hil- degard of Bingen considered horehound one of the best herbs for colds. And England’s John Gerard wrote, “Syrup made of the greene fresh leaves and sugar is a most singular remedie against cough and wheezings of the lungs.”

Family: Labiatae; other members include mints

Genus and species: Marrubium vulgare also known as: Hoarhound, white horehound, and marrubium

Parts to use Leaves and Flowers

Horehound was a popular herbal expectorant and cough remedy for almost 2,000 years. Even skeptics of herbal medicine acknowledged its safety and effectiveness.

Then, in 1989, completely out of the blue, the FDA banned horehound from over-the-counter cough remedies, claiming that it was ineffective. The action left herbalists shaking their heads. Worse yet, the FDA decreed that another expрес- torant, guaifenesin, was effective, over the objec- tions of many scientists.

Seventeenth-century English herbalist Nich- olas Culpeper wrote that in addition to curing “those that have taken poison a decoction of the dried herb taken with honey is a remedy for those that are short-winded, have a cough, or are fallen into consumption. It helpeth to expectorate tough phlegm from the chest.”

Early settlers introduced horehound into North America, where it became a popular cough, cold, and tuberculosis remedy. Folk herb- alists also considered it to be a digestive aid, laxative, and treatment for hepatitis, malaria, intestinal worms, and menstrual problems.

America’s 19th-century Eclectic physicians, forerunners of today’s naturopaths, prescribed horehound for coughs, colds, asthma, intestinal worms, and menstrual complaints.

Most contemporary American herbalists recommend horehound only for minor respiratory problems such as coughs, colds, and bronchitis.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

Horehound is a medicinal mint that is native to Morocco but was carried to Europe and North America long ago by traders and settlers. Horehound flourishes in Britain, where

it is cultivated on the corners of cottage gardens and is used to make teas and candy to treat coughs and colds.

Growing to a height of one to two feet (thirty to sixty centimeters), horehound bears densely packed green leaves with white edges on a single stalk. Small white flow- ers appear at the nodes between leaves and the stem. All the aeril (aboveground) parts of the plant are used in herbal medicine.

Evidence of benefits of horehound

Horehound has been a popular cough and cold remedy since ancient Roman times. It is also a gentle expectorant and digestive aid. Laboratory tests have found that its best- known chemical constituent, marrubiin, is more potent than some well-known pain relief medications.

Benefits of horehound for specific health conditions include the following:

• Bronchitis, colds, and sinusitis. The compound marrubiin (sometimes spelled marubin) in horehound stimulates the central nervous system. This results in the secretion of flu- ids into the bronchial passageways, softening phlegm and making expectoration easier. It also combines the action of relaxing the smooth muscle of the bronchi while promot- ing mucus production and expectoration.

Indigestion. Marrubiin’s stimulation of the central ner- vous system in turn stimulates the stomach to secrete digestive juices. This relieves feelings of fullness by help- ing 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. Marrubiin is responsible for horehound’s distinctive bitter taste. Horehound also stops high and low blood-sugar reactions after eating high-carbohydrate meals and snacks.

CONSIDERATIONS FOR USE

Horehound is available as a lozenge or tea. It is also included in the alcohol-free cough syrup Herbs for Kids Horehound Blend.

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, children under the age of eighteen, or adults over the age of sixty-five.

This herb can mildly increase menstrual flow, so you should not use it if you have menstrual problems. It is a mild laxative if taken in large quantities. If you have heart problems or stomach ulcers, consult with your healthcare practitioner before taking horehound.