Traditional/Folk Use for Wild Dagga (Published Reports)

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Stimulant for fainting or hysteria or "disease of the stomach". Hamel, Paul B. and Mary U. Chiltoskey 1975 Cherokee Plants and Their Uses -- A 400 Year History. Sylva, N.C. Herald Publishing Co.

Plant infusion used as digestive aid or nerve tonic by the Iroquois. Rousseau, Jacques 1945 Le Folklore Botanique De L'ile Aux Coudres. Contributions de l'Institut botanique l'Universite de Montreal 55:75-111 .

Used for obstetrics by the Micmac. Chandler, R. Frank, Lois Freeman and Shirley N. Hooper 1979 Herbal Remedies of the Maritime Indians. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 1:49-68.

Infusion used for female ails by the Mohegan. Tantaquidgeon, Gladys 1928 Mohegan Medicinal Practices, Weather-Lore and Superstitions. SI-BAE Annual Report #43: 264-270.

Infusion used for female ills by the Mohegan & Shinnecock. Carr, Lloyd G. and Carlos Westey 1945 Surviving Folktales & Herbal Lore Among the Shinnecock Indians. Journal of American Folklore 58:113-123.

Stimulant for fainting or hysteria or "disease of the stomach". Hamel, Paul B. and Mary U. Chiltoskey 1975 Cherokee Plants and Their Uses -- A 400 Year History. Sylva, N.C. Herald Publishing Co.

Leaf infusion used for female disorders. Tantaquidgeon, Gladys 1972 Folk Medicine of the Delaware and Related Algonkian Indians. Harrisburg. Pennsylvania Historical Commission Anthropological Papers #3.

Leonurus cardiaca (Motherwort) in "A Modern Herbal" by Mrs. M. Grieve (Botanical.com).

Medicinal Use by South African Tribes (Unpublished Reports)

It was first used by the Khoikhoi as a tobacco and introduced by them to the settlers as an amazing medicine chest. They made an infusion of the twigs, leaves and flowers for skin eruptions, including leprosy.

Twigs added to the bath water give relief to muscular aches and pains, itchy skin and eczema. A strong brew can be dabbed onto sores, bites, bee and wasp stings. It is said to also help scorpion and snake bites.

The Zulu people use the root for snakebite and they sprinkle a concoction of the plant around their houses to keep snakes away.

The Zulu and Xhosa make a strong brew of the leaves and use as a poultice for snakebites. They also use a tincture of the root bark internally for snake bite.

The Zulu, Xhosa and white people make a tea of the flowers for a soothing cough and cold remedy. This tea has also been used effectively for the treatment of jaundice, cardiac asthma, haemorrhoids, headaches, chest ailments, bronchitis and epilepsy.

The leaf is also smoked in the treatment of epilepsy and partial paralysis.

It is known that a tea of leaves and flowers used to be drunk daily by our older generations for water retention,obesity and haemorrhoids.

Wild dagga is also much respected in the treatment of animals. The Tswana, Zulu and Xhosa make a strong brew of leaves, flowers and stems to use as an enema in sheep, goats and cattle, as well as humans. This brew is given to animals with respiratory problems and applied as a lotion to sores on stock and dogs, and as a wash for wounds, scratches, bites and stings.

Other Folk Use for Wild Dagga (Unpublished Reports)

For the treatment of Coughs, colds, influenza and chest infections
Diabetes
Hypertension
Eczema
Epilepsy
Delayed menstruation
Intestinal worms
Constipation
Spider bites and scorpion stings
An antidote for snakebite
Relief of Haemorrhoids
Skin rashes and boils

Clinical Trials for Leonurus sibricus

In 1992, Wild Dagga was shown to reduce breast tumors in mice.

Nagasawa H, Inatomi H, Suzuki M, Mori T.

Experimental Animal Research Laboratory, Meiji University, Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan.

To evaluate further the chemopreventive role of motherwort (Leonurus sibiricus L; MW) in lesions of the mammary gland and uterus of GR/A mice, the effects on these lesions of the adsorbed (MW1) and unadsorbed (MW2) fractions of MW separated by ion-exchange resins were studied. The incidence of palpable mammary tumours was suppressed and their growth was retarded by both MW1 and MW2, between whose effects no apparent difference was seen. However, neither of them showed effects on pregnancy-dependent mammary tumours (PDMT), mammary hyperplastic alveolar nodules (HAN) or uterine adenomyosis, whereas MW promoted PDMT and inhibited HAN and adenomyosis. All these findings indicate the importance of the synergistic action of several components, specified and unspecified, for the full manifestation of the effects of Chinese medicine..

Further Articles for Wild Dagga

Dispelling Wild Dagga Species Confusion - An easy to read comparison.

The Diterpenoids of Leonurus leonotus - An interesting clinical study.

Dagga/Yopo Experience Report - A positive story by an unknown author.

Folk, Traditional, and Medical Uses for Wild Dagga - Explained in detail.

Growing Wild Dagga - Cultivating Leonotis leonurus plants.

Botany of Leonurus (Mint Family) - From the Herba database.

Hottentot Tribes and Wild Dagga - Brief history of who the Hottentot's were.

South Africa's Nature - One explorer's account.

Synthesis of Leonurine - A brief abstract.

Motherwort - The True Dagga Plant - Ancient plant with many uses.