Bitterroot Restoration

The herbal medicinal plant Prunella vulgaris is known as common self-heal, heal-all, heart-of-the-earth.

It has long been used in herbal medicine by European, Chinese, and North American native healers. But now, scientific interest in this plant is growing as research shows that it has anti-tumor and anti-viral properties. Many studies highlight the plant’s promising use as an anti-cancer and anti-HIV (this virus can lead to AIDS) treatment.

Leaves and Flowers Long Used in Herbal Treatments.

It is edible and the leaves can be used in salads, soups, as a pot herb in stews, or in teas. The flower spikes also can be steeped in infusions.

The plant's most useful constituents are betulinic acid, D-camphor, delphinidin, hyperoside, manganese, oleanolic acid, rosmarinic acid, rutin, ursolic acid, and tannins. The whole plant is medicinal as alterative, antibacterial, antipyretic, antiseptic, antispasmodic, antiviral, astringent, carminative, diuretic, febrifuge, hypotensive, stomachic, styptic, tonic, vermifuge and vulnerary. It is taken internally as a medicinal tea in the treatment of fevers, diarrhoea, sore mouth and throat, internal bleeding, and weaknesses of the liver and heart. Clinical analysis shows it to have an antibacterial action, inhibiting the growth of pseudomonas, Bacillus typhi, E. coli, Mycobacterium tuberculi, which supports its use as an alternative medicine internally and externally as an antibiotic and for hard to heal wounds and diseases. It is showing promise in research for cancer, AIDS, diabetes, and many other maladies.

Used for a host of problems, Prunella vulgaris was especially helpful when its astringent and anti-inflammatory properties were needed, as in treating gastritis or when its antibiotic and emollient properties were needed, as for bathing external wounds.

Prunella vulgaris in Cancer, HIV, Herpes and Other Anti-viral Research
In the past decade, scientists have conducted many studies on the herb Prunella vulgaris concerning its anti-cancer effects and anti-viral activity, especially against HIV and herpes viruses.

The BC Cancer Agency (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) has conducted studies on the effectiveness of ancient herbal remedies for lung cancer prevention which included the use of Prunella vulgaris in combination with other herbs. Its website states: “The efficacy of botanical extracts in Western medicine is gaining increasing recognition.” Regarding the compound of six herbs it further states, “A preliminary open study at BCCA also showed promising results in preventing the development and progression of pre-cancerous lesions in the lung.”

According to Cancer Monthly, researchers at Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Greenville Hospital System in South Carolina found that Prunella vulgaris reduced the growth of endometrial cancer cells. They concluded that it may prove an effective treatment for women with endometriosis and certain types of cancer.

Functional FoodNet (University of Guelph) reports that scientists from Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia found an anti-herpes virus compound in Prunella vulgaris and concluded that it might prove useful as a new anti-herpes drug.

The US National Institutes of Health have published a study from Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University in Japan. There researchers found that an extract from the flower spikes of Prunella vulgaris exhibited anti-HIV activity in vitro (in the laboratory) and also found that it can be absorbed from the intestine in vivo (in a living organism), thus opening up the possibility of oral administration dosage.

This plant has anti-viral activity and the extracts from a roadside (disturbed habitat) collection of the herb showed more potency than those from a forest-grown (undisturbed habitat) sample.

Pharmaceutical Potential as Anticancer and Anti-HIV Treatment
Prunella vulgaris has journeyed far from its original identification as wildflower and weed. First, traditional herbalists and native peoples embraced it as a panacea, calling it all-heal or self-heal. Then modern gardeners re-discovered it as newly appealing and brought it into their gardens as border plants and groundcovers. Now modern science has focussed on its pharmaceutical potential, especially as an anticancer and anti-HIV treatment. In this way, Prunella vulgaris, the self-heal plant, will come closer to fulfilling the potential of its most promising name—all-heal.