botanical name(s): Achillea millefolium
synonyms: yarrow, milfoil, noble yarrow, nosebleed, sanguinary, soldier's woundwort, thousandleaf, gemeine schafgarbe, tausendaugbraum, achilee, herbe aux charpentiers, millefeuille, milefoho, millegoglie, erba da falegname, erba da carpentieri, civan percemi, roga man, birangasifa
part(s) used: leaves, flowers
qualities: bitter, spicy, neutral, dry, sweet
affinities: blood; arteries; mucous membranes
actions: astringent, diaphoretic, antiseptic, carminative, diuretic, hemostatic,
antispasmodic, stomachic, vulnerary
dosage:
» infusion: 1 oz. herb to 1 pint water; drink hot for diaphoretic action, cool for diuretic action; drink hourly for fever
» tincture: 2 - 5 ml.
therapy: fever with no perspiration; hypertension; wounds; thrombotic conditions associated with hypertension; hemorrhoids; allergies; upper respiratory infections; lower urinary tract infections; menorrhagia
AHPA Botanical Safety Rating: 2b
toxicity: 1
» use with caution during pregnancy: potential emmenagogue, abortifacient (Farnsworth) due to thujone content of essential oil (Albert-Puleo)
» may cause changes in lactation, especially nutritional quality and flavor (Muenscher, p. 19)
» sesquiterpene lactones may cause resin and glycoside-induced skin hypersensitivity reactions including contact dermatitis from handling fresh plant and anaphylactic shock. (Duke, p. 111; Chandler, et al)
constituents: essential oil, cineol and proaculene; achilleine
drug interactions:
footnotes
Albert-Puleo M. 1978. Mythobotany, pharmacology, and chemistry of thujone-containing plants and derivatives. Econ. Bot., 32:65-74.
Chandler, R.F., Hooper, S.N., and Harvey, M.J. 1982. Ethnobotany and phytochemistry of yarrow. Economic Botany. 36: 203-223.
Duke, J.A. 1985. C.R.C. Handbook of Medicinal Herbs. Boca Raton, FL: The C.R.C. Press.
Farnsworth NR, Bingel AS, Cordell GA, Crane FA, Fong HHS. 1975. Potential Value of Plants as Sources of New Antifertility Agents I. J. Pharm. Sci., 64:535-98.
Muenscher, W.C. 1951. Poisonous Plants of the United States. New York: The MacMillan Company.