Prunella vulgaris, otherwise known as Selfheal or Heal-all, turns out to have anti-viral properties. native in many places throughout the world, it is native here & i ran across some while on walk-about looking for plants & seeds. i collected a couple whole plants, but not sure if they gonna make it. no worries as there is plenty more plants to go back to in a while & gather seed from.
anyway, this plant has a long history of medicinal use and now is getting some first class scientific scrutiny.
of particular interest to me, as i suffer a serious peanut/tree nut allergy, is that Selfheal may be effective as a treatment for anaphylaxis! not a bad find considering i checked my epi-pen the other day only to find that it expired 6 years ago.
anyway, here's some good stuffs:
Prunella Vulgaris : by Ray Sahelian, M.D.
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Originally Posted by Ray Sahelian M.D.
Prunella vulgaris composition
Rosmarinic acid and triterpenoid are some of the substances found in prunella.
Benefit of Prunella Vulgaris
According to some laboratory studies, prunella has many potential benefits, including anti-microbial, anti-viral, and anti-oxidant properties. Prunella may have activity against herpes simplex virus which could be of benefit in oral herpes and genital herpes. However, human studies are lacking therefore not much more can be said about the clinical uses of a prunella vulgaris supplement.
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Inhibition of immediate-type allergic reactions by Prunella vulgaris in a murine model.
Immunopharmacol Immunotoxicol. 2001 Aug;23(3):423-35.
We studied the effect of aqueous extract of Prunella vulgaris (Labiatae) on immediate-type allergic reactions. Prunella vulgaris (0.005 to 1 g/kg) dose-dependently inhibited systemic anaphylactic shock induced by compound 48/ 80 in rats. When Prunella vulgaris was given as pretreatment, at concentrations ranging from 0.005 to 1 g/kg, the serum histamine levels induced by compound 48/ 80 were reduced in a dose-dependent manner. Prunella vulgaris (0.001 to 1 g/kg) inhibited the passive cutaneous anaphylaxis activated by anti-dinitrophenyl (DNP) IgE antibody dose dependently. Prunella vulgaris also inhibited the histamine release induced by compound 48/80 or anti-DNP IgE from the rat peritoneal mast cells (RPMC). The level of cyclic AMP in RPMC, when Prunella vulgaris was added, significantly increased, compared with that of normal control. Moreover, Prunella vulgaris (0.01 and 0.1 mg/ml) had a significant inhibitory effect on anti-DNP IgE-mediated tumor necrosis factor-alpha production from RPMC. These results indicate that Prunella vulgaris inhibits immediate-type allergic reactions in rats. ...
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additional reference to herpes: >>Prunella Vulgaris, Herb for herpes treatment
usda plant profile page: >> PLANTS Profile for Prunella vulgaris (common selfheal) | USDA PLANTS
the flowers don't smell, but sniffing them made me sneeze, and the leaves taste pretty much like leaf.
i'll put up a pic or 2 later of my plants; it's dark here at the moment.
