Title: Nettle
Additional Names: Stinging nettle
Literature References: Flowering perennial herb, Urtica dioica L. Uricaceae. Leaves and stems are covered with bristly stinging hairs that cause a characteristic urticaria upon contact. Used in traditional medicine as a diuretic, hemostatic, and in treatment of rheumatic conditions. Medicinal portions include leaves, fruits and root. Habit. Widely scattered throughout the Northern hemisphere, especially in moist woods, road sides and wasteland. Constit. Flavonoids: glycosides of quercetin, kaempferol, isorhamnetin in the flowers; histamine, acetylcholine and serotonin in the stinging hairs; b-sitosterol, coumarin, lignans and a lectin, U. dioica agglutinin, in the rhizome. Botanical description: T. W. McGovern, T. M. Barkley, Cutis 62, 63 (1998). Clinical evaluation of nettle sting in osteoarthritic pain: C. Randall et al., J. R. Soc. Med. 93, 305 (2000). Reviews of medicinal preparations: M. Wichtl, N. G. Bisset, Herbal Drugs and Phytopharmaceuticals, English Ed. (CRC Press, Boca Raton, 1994) pp 502-509; J. Barnes et al., Herbal Medicines (Pharmaceutical Press, London, 2nd ed., 2002) pp 360-364.
Derivative Type: Root extract
Trademarks: Bazoton (Abbott); Prostaherb (Cesra)
Literature References: Antiproliferative effects on human prostatic epithelium: J. J. Lichius et al., Pharmazie 54, 768 (1999). Review of clinical experience: E. Koch, Planta Med. 67, 489-500 (2001).
Therap-Cat: Root extract in treatment of micturitional disorders due to benign prostatic hypertrophy. |