Yarrow Benefits, Usage, Medicinal Properties, Nutrition, Dosage, Preparations, safety, science backed and traditional view

Yarrow – (Achillea millefolium L.) also known as Little Feather, Herbal Militaris, Nosebleed Plant, Old Man’s Pepper, Devil’s Nettle, Thousand-leaf, Ya Luo, Krwawnik pospolity.

Yarrow is a member of the family Asteraceae. It is an erect herbaceous perennial plant that produces one to several stems with a rhizomatous growth form. The white flowers grow in clusters and the leaves are aromatic and evenly distributed along a stem with leaves also near the middle and bottom of stems. They vary in hairiness, are almost feathery, and are arranged spirally on stems. They are cauline and are clasping. Yarrow has a strong sweet scent similar to chrysanthemums with a relatively short life. Stems are angular and rough. The plant flowers from June to September. It can grow up to three feet in height.

Yarrow is native to the Northern Hemisphere. It is drought tolerant. Common yarrow is a weedy plant and can be invasive. It is prone to mildew or root rot if not planted in well-drained soil.

 

Part used: herb

 

Constituents: Essential oil (incl. pinenes, cineol, ketones [incl. thujone], azulene, camphene, eugenol, sabinene, lactones), alkaloids (trigonelline, achilleine, betonicine, betaine, stachydrine), anthocyanin, resin, apigenin with glucoside, aconitic/isovalerianic/acetic acids, tannins, asparagin, succinic acid, inulin, cyanogenic glycosides, polysaccharides, phytosterols (incl. sitosterol, stigmasterol), flavonoids (incl. apigenin, luteolin, quercetin, kaempferol), lactones (millefin, achillin, deacetylmatricarine), chlorophyl, saponins, alkanes (pentacosane, tricosane, heptadecane), fatty acids (palmitic, linoleic, oleic), vit C, minerals (potassium, magnesium, iron, calcium, silicon, phosphorus).

 

Flavour/Temps: Sweet, somewhat Bitter, Astringent, Dry, Cool

Restoring, Relaxing, Decongesting, Stimulating, Astringing

 

Tropism: Spleen, Circulation, Bladder, Blood, Liver, Uterus, Endocrine system, Kidney, Intestines

 

Meridians: Spleen, Heart, Kidney, Liver, Bladder, ren, cheng

Fluid, Air bodies

 

Key actions in western medicine: Diuretic, Analgesic, Anti-inflammatory, Catarrh,  Diaphoretic, Astringent, Expectorant, Tonic, Stimulant, Mild Aromatic, Antiviral, Styptic, Bitter, Antacid, Antiseptic, Vulnerary.

 

Indications in western medicine: Menorrhagia, Fibroids, Congestive Dysmenorrhea; Hemoroids, Varicose veins, Phlebitis; Gastroenteritis, Colitis; Wounds (most types, esp. with pus), scrapes, local bleedings from cuts; Angine Pectoris, Hypertension, Neurogenic heart disorders; Uterine bleeding incl. fibroidal; Skin conditions in general, hair loss, dandruff; Diarrhoea; Rheumatism of shoulders and back, gout; Amenorrhea (esp. from exposure to cold, emotions); Haemorrhage (passive, external and internally, incl. from nose and mouth, in stool or urine); Gallstones, Urinary stones; Leucorrhea (esp. young women), spermatorrhoea, cervical erosion; Digestive colic, IBS; Chronic nephrosis; Infantile fits and seizures; Bone-marrow disease; PMS with sore swollen breast, Cramps, Irritability and moodiness;  Eye inflammation/irritation (conjunctivitis, pinkeye); Cold or Flu onset; Spasmodic Dysmenorrhea; Hormonal imbalance (esp. estrogen/progesterone deficiency); Urinary incontinence, Dysuria; Eruptive and Intermittent fevers (chickenpox, measles); Ulcers (incl. mouth, leg, peptic, throat), cracked nipples, fistulas; Menopausal syndrome with hot flashes, bleeding, varicose veins.

 

Key actions in eastern medicine: Promotes tissue repair, stops bleeding, reduces inflammation and benefits the skin; Vitalises the blood, Moderates Menstruation and Reduces congestion; Regulates Qi, Relaxes constraint and relieve Spasm and Pain; Promotes and regulates menstruation and balances hormones; Astringes, Resolves mucus-damp and stop bleeding and discharges; Restores the Kidney, promotes urination and resolves toxicosis; Promotes sweating, dispels winds, reduces fever, and promotes eruption; Regulates pregnancy and menopause; Tonifies urinary QI, harmonises urination and relieve irritation; Stimulates digestion, promotes bile flow and awakens appetite.

 

Indications in eastern medicine: Venous blood stagnation – heavy or aching legs, fatigue, varicosities, leg cramps at night; External wind cold/heat – sneezing, aches and pains, chills, feverishness; Uterus Qi stagnation – irregular, scanty, delayed or stopped periods; Uterus blood congestion – copious or prolonged menstruation, pelvic weight and dull pain; Liver/Gallbladder and Stomach Qi stagnation – epigastric distension, slow and painful digestion, appetite loss; Heart Qi constraint (Liver Yang rising) - palpitations, headache, chest pains, shortness of breath, dizziness; Bladder Qi constraint- anxiety, bedwetting, scanty, dribbling and frequent urination; Kidney Qi stagnation – fetid urine and stool, headache, aches and pains; Kidney and Bladder Qi deficiency – lumbar pain, frequent and scanty urination, difficult/irregular periods; Intestines Qi constrain – flatulence, abdominal pain and distension.

 

 

Ground: All krases, biotypes and constitutions

 

Preparations: Fresh juice, Infusion, Tincture, Infused oil

 

Dosage – 3 times a day unless otherwise instructed by Herbalist:

 

Fresh juice: 2-5 ml

Infusion 2-14 g

Liquid extract 1-2 ml, 1:1 25% alcohol

Tincture 2-9 ml, 1:5, 25% alcohol

Tincture 2-9 ml, 1:3 45% alcohol

 

Note: Tincture serves best for general purposes, hot infusion prepared under cover will be excellent for causing sweeting at start of respiratory infection as well as for various women’s problems preparations (pessary, sitz bath, sponges) and for ulcers and wounds (compresses, swabs, etc.), especially acute situation like haemorrhage.  

Note: For topical condition best to use both internal and external, with repeated small doses.

Note: Yarrow lends itself to medicinal use very readily and, when a rapid response is needed such as for wounds, cramps, fevers and inflammation then the tea of Yarrow may be the best way to rapidly receive its benefits. The teas show how it may be used in high doses for a rapid result, but for a slower or deeper action for such problems as healing a chronic gut disorder, improving circulation or assisting chronic menstrual problems then it may be more practical to use Yarrow in tincture form over the longer time frame that the treatment is likely to be needed. In such cases a dose of as little as 1-2ml per dose may be ample to achieve its actions but it can certainly be safely taken at much higher doses, e.g. all the way up to 4 or 5 ml each time it is taken.

Note: The fresh leaf can be applied direct to an aching tooth in order to relieve the pain.

 

Synergy example: Combine with Raspberry leaf for painful or heavy periods

Combine with Elderflower or/and Chamomile for Fevers

 

Cautions: Yarrow is mild remedy with minimal chronic toxicity

Avoiding use of Yarrow in pregnancy unless you can be sure that the variety you are using is low in Thujones. It is likely that you would have to take a very great deal of Yarrow to run any risk of lowering birth weight and there is no evidence of any other harm being likely so if Yarrow has been taken inadvertently then do not be overly concerned. Yarrow appears to be very safe to use whilst breastfeeding and certainly can and should be used as a healing herb by the young or elderly.

 

Contraindications: None known, however there is tiny chance that you can be allergic to Yarrow. There is a higher-than-average likelihood of allergy to Yarrow as it is a member of the Compositae family. Symptoms such as itching or sneezing when using Yarrow are the sign that this is not the herb for you. 50% of Compositae-sensitive individuals (3.1% of a sample of 3851 people) were shown to be Yarrow sensitive - those numbers mean you have about a 1% chance of being allergic to it...

 

Interactions with drugs: None known

 

Side effects: none known

 

History and folklore:

Mrs Grieve writes: “Yarrow was formerly much esteemed as a vulnerary, and its old names of Soldier's Wound Wort and Knight's Milfoil testify to this. The Highlanders still make an ointment from it, which they apply to wounds, and Milfoil tea is held in much repute in the Orkneys for dispelling melancholy. Gerard tells us it is the same plant with which Achilles stanched the bleeding wounds of his soldiers, hence the name of the genus, Achillea. Others say that it was discovered by a certain Achilles, Chiron's disciple. It was called by the Ancients, the Herba Militaris, the military herb.

Its specific name, millefolium, is derived from the many segments of its foliage, hence also its popular name, Milfoil and Thousand Weed. Another popular name for it is Nosebleed, from its property of stanching bleeding of the nose, though another reason given for this name is that the leaf, being rolled up and applied to the nostrils, causes a bleeding from the nose, more or less copious, which will thus afford relief to headache. Parkinson tells us that 'if it be put into the nose, assuredly it will stay the bleeding of it' - so it seems to act either way.

It was one of the herbs dedicated to the Evil One, in earlier days, being sometimes known as Devil's Nettle, Devil's Plaything, Bad Man's Plaything, and was used for divination in spells.

Yarrow, in the eastern counties, is termed Yarroway, and there is a curious mode of divination with its serrated leaf, with which the inside of the nose is tickled while the following lines are spoken. If the operation causes the nose to bleed, it is a certain omen of success:

'Yarroway, Yarroway, bear a white blow,

If my love love me, my nose will bleed now.'

An ounce of Yarrow sewed up in flannel and placed under the pillow before going to bed, having repeated the following words, brought a vision of the future husband or wife:

'Thou pretty herb of Venus' tree,

Thy true name it is Yarrow;

Now who my bosom friend must be,

Pray tell thou me to-morrow.'

---(Halliwell's Popular Rhymes, etc.)

It has been employed as snuff, and is also called Old Man's Pepper, on account of the pungency of its foliage. Both flowers and leaves have a bitterish, astringent, pungent taste.

In the seventeenth century it was an ingredient of salads.”

Fossilized yarrow pollen has been found in Iraq within Neanderthal burial sites dating back over 60,000 years! The plant’s genus name, “Achillea,” is derived from Achilles, who was reputed to have carried it into battles. According to a Greek myth, Achilles would paint himself everywhere but his heels with a tincture of yarrow to make himself invulnerable to arrows. It was sometimes called “soldier’s woundwort.” It was used in Ancient Greece and Rome in poultices and ointments to treat wounds. Yarrow is known as a “styptic”– an astringent herb that stops bleeding.

Homer tells the story of the centaur Chiron, a healer who conveyed herbal secrets to human students and is credited with teaching Achilles how to use yarrow on the battlefield to both heal wounds and for its magical healing properties. When used by the goddess Aphrodite, the plant becomes a loving herb used in love potions and to heal emotional wounds of the heart.

Yarrow’s most ancient use is to heal skin. It helps stop bleeding, ease pain, soothes irritated skin, and prevent infection. It can aid the healing of broken capillaries and is wonderful for sensitive skin.

Yarrow is also said to grow around the grave of Confucius. It is said the most effective way to cast the I Ching is by using Yarrow straws, as the stems are good for divining the future. An old Chinese proverb asserts that yarrow has the ability to brighten the eyes and promote intelligence. Yarrow and tortoise shells are both considered good luck in Chinese traditions. Where Yarrow grows in the mountains no tigers, wolves, or poisonous plants will be found on the trails.

An ancient Chinese saying said Yarrow, “reconciles opposing forces and brings balance.” It was used to reawaken the spiritual forces of the mind, balancing Yin and Yang, and thereby reuniting the energies of heaven and earth.

The Cherokee, Iroquois and Mohegan Native Americans used yarrow as a digestive aid and to treat a variety of types of swellings. The Peoples of the Pacific Northwest used dry yarrow to keep away flies and mosquitoes. The herb has been boiled and used to purify an area where sick people have been being treated. The Teton Dakota People call Yarrow “medicine for the wounded”. It is also called, “warrior plant” in native communities across the United States and Canada, referring to the plant’s ability to stop internal and external bleeding.

Yarrow both stops and helps promote bleeding. It has been used to heal wounds, reduce heavy menstrual bleeding, lower blood pressure, improve circulation, tone varicose veins, and treat cerebral and coronary thrombosis. Yarrow helps draw blood from wounded tissue back into the vessels, aiding the healing of deep cuts, bruises, varicose veins, and internal injuries. Yarrow both activates blood platelets and breaks up coagulated blood. It can help to reverse “thick blood” which can be the result of a sluggish liver or weak pancreatic function due to high insulin levels or low digestive enzymes. Blood high in fats and other compounds does not flow well through the vessels, straining the heart, causing stress, and impacting health.

Yarrow has been used during birth by midwives and herbalists to treat hemorrhage. It is often used in a sitz bath to cool and heal tissues. It can help to stimulate menses or stop excessive flow, and can help harmonize hormones during menopausal hormone shifts.

The flowers are mildly stimulating and have even been used as snuff. It is mainly used to treat colds and influenza. As yarrow is believed to be anti-allergenic, it aids the treatment of hay fever and other grass and pollen related allergies.

It is safe for children to use too, so it is useful as a treatment for children and adults with colds, flu, fever, and the irritability and discomfort associated with lung infections and upset stomachs.

King's Dispensatory writes "Yarrow possesses astringent properties and is tonic, alterative and diuretic. In infusion its use in chronic diseases of the urinary apparatus is especially recommended. It exerts a tonic influence upon the venous system, as well as upon mucous membranes. It has been efficacious in sore throat, hemoptysis, hematuria and other forms of haemorrhage where the bleeding is small in amount, incontinence of urine, diabetes, hemorrhoids with bloody or mucoid discharges, and dysentery; also in amenorrhoea, flatulency and spasmodic diseases, and in the form of injection in leucorrhoea with relaxed vaginal walls". Prof. T. V. Morrow made much use of an infusion of this herb in dysentery. Given in half-drachm doses of the saturated tincture, or 20 drop doses of specific achillea, it will be found one of our best agents for the relief of menorrhagia.

The aerial part is said to be best for treating phlegmy conditions. As a bitter digestive, yarrow encourages the flow of bile. The flowers are more aromatic, and the leaves are higher in tannins. Leaves can be harvested any time of year, but are the most potent in the spring and summer. The roots, used for treating toothaches, are harvested in the fall.

Yarrow can also be rubbed on clothes and skin as a mosquito and fly repellent. Native Americans hung yarrow in their longhouses to repel insects and sprayed fresh caught salmon to repel flies from landing on it.

F Ellingwood writes "it is a beneficial remedy in diseases of the mucous surfaces, relieving irritation and profuse secretion. It soothes intestinal irritation and overcomes mild forms of diarrhea. It is of benefit in improving the tone of the urinary apparatus, relieving irritation, overcoming strangury and suppression of the urine. It acts best in strong infusion and its use must be persisted in"

Put yarrow under your pillow and you will dream of your own true love. If you dream of cabbages, which have a similar scent, then there will be death or other serious misfortune striking. If you hang dried yarrow over a wedding bed you ensure lasting love, or at least seven years will be happy!

Yarrow has been planted to prevent soil erosion. Especially as it is a drought resistant plant. Prior to mono-culture farming yarrow was always allowed to grow in fields as its roots grow deep and the leaves are rich in minerals, so it helped prevent mineral deficiencies in other species and plants that grew nearby and ingested it.

WM Cook wrote "it is stimulant and astringent, very positive in quality, moderately slow in action, and yields its virtues to both water and alcohol. The combined qualities are expended to advantage in chronic dysentery and diarrhea; and also in that feeble condition of the digestive organs known by precarious appetite, passive looseness of the bowels, and consequent nervous prostration. Its influence upon the uterus and renal apparatus is well marked"

As a popular companion plant it also repels bad insects while attracting good predatory ones and improves soil quality. It also attracts ladybugs and hoverflies. It is thought to be a good fertilizer and is good for composting. Yarrow directly improves the health of nearby sickly plants.

Starlings and other cavity nesting birds use yarrow to line their nests. Studies show this helps inhibit growth parasites in the birds.

The British Herbal Pharmacopoeia (BHP) describes the actions of Yarrow as a "diaphoretic, antipyretic, hyoptensive, astringent, diuretic & urinary antiseptic" it says it is specifically indicated for thrombotic conditions with hypertension, including cerebral and coronary thrombosis and also for fevers, common cold, essential hypertension, amenorrhea, dysentry & diarrhoea. The BHP recommends a dose of 2-4 grams or by infusion (a heaped tsp is close to 2 grams) and 2-4mls of the 1:5 tincture and suggests it may be combined well with Elder & Peppermint for fevers, with Limeflowers for hypertension and with Nettles for coronary thrombosis.

Yarrow, along with Feverfew and Aspen was compared, in a randomised, double-blind, crossover trial to the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen in patients with osteoarthritis. It was found to give a similar level of pain-relief but to be much better tolerated with low side-effects. The dose used was quite conservative and would equate to no more than about 1 or 2 ml of the tincture in a day

Yarrow tincture, in laboratory studies, was found to be effective against Staph.aureus, Bacillus subtillus, Mycobacterium smegmatis, Escherichia coli, Shigella sonnei, and Shigella flexneri

In laboratory experiments Yarrow infusion was found to demonstrate anti-inflammatory and antipyretic (fever reducing) actions. The active ingredients were identified as protein-carbohydrate compounds within the plant 

 

Gut healing tea recipe:

Chamomile 20 g

Agrimony 20g

Yarrow 20 g

Calendula flowers 20 g

Plantain leaf 20 g

Add 4 grams of blend into a large glass of freshly boiled water, then cover and steep for about 10 minute before straining and drinking. A stronger dose of herbs or a more frequent use of the tea can be safely given for more acute need.

 

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