Elecampane

Species Name: Inula helenium Compositae.

Other Names Known as:  Elecampane, Yellow Starwort, Elfdock, elfwort, horse-elder, horseheal, scabwort.

What is This Herb: Indigenous to Europe and temperate Asia, naturalized in the USA, and cultivated widely in Europe and also China, Elecampane is a perennial plant.

The fibrous, top-shaped rootstock is brown outside and white inside.

The stout, round stem is coarse and woolly, three to six feet high, and bears large, alternate, ovate, serrate, olive-colored leaves with white veins.

The large, yellow flower heads are solitary or grow in paniculate clusters from July to September. The fruit is a brown, quadrangular achene.

Home remedies using elecampane:

Benefits of Elecampane:

The benefits of Elecampane are its ability to act as an expectorant, antitussive, diaphoretic, hepatic, or antimicrobial.

Uses of Elecampane:

Elecampane is a specific remedy for irritating bronchial coughs, especially in children. It may be used anytime large amounts of mucus are formed in the respiratory tract, such as colds, influenza, bronchitis, pneumonia, or emphysema.  

Elecampane has a relaxing effect that is accompanied by the stimulation of the essential oils. It may be used in asthma and bronchitic asthma.Elecampane has been used in the treatment of tuberculosis. The bitter principle makes it useful also to stimulate digestion and appetite.

Elecampane tea is very effective in quieting coughs, to stimulating digestion, and to tone the stomach. It is also effective in treating bronchitis, urinary and respiratory tract inflammation, and menstrual problems.

Elecampane oil is used for respiratory and intestinal catarrh, chronic diarrhea, chronic bronchitis, and whooping cough.

The decoction, or tincture of Elecampane, is used to treat worms, and is also used externally as a wash, or fomentation, for skin problems such as scabies and various itches.

Side Effects of Elecampane:

Elecampane has been known to cause contact dermatitis.

The known chemical allergens causing dermatitis were tuliposide-A and sesquiterpene lactones, such as alantolactones and parthenolide, in the Liliaceae and Compositae families.