3 minute read
Herb of the Month
from The Bare Issue
Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens)
Marianne Hughes, with illustration by Hazel Brady
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As we head into the tunnel of Winter, the deep green leaves, white flowers, and red berries of Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) seem such a gift, as though offering a promise of the coming Spring. Wintergreen grows in moist, acid soil, in partial shade and is also known as Checkerberry or Teaberry. Its leaves are a principal ingredient in ‘mountain tea’. The Gaultheria part of its name was given by Jean François Gaulthier (1708-56), a physician and botanist who worked in Canada (Bown, 2008) and it helps us to distinguish the plant from Culpeper’s (1653) mention of Winter Green. He is referring to Pyrola minor— an entirely different plant that is also known as Snowline Wintergreen, Lesser Wintergreen, or Common Wintergreen.
Wren (1988) notes the medicinal uses of our Wintergreen as anti-inflammatory, antirheumatic and diuretic, and that Oil of Wintergreen is used:
Indeed, peoples of the First Nations were well aware of the medicinal gifts of this lowgrowing evergreen. While carrying heavy loads or hunting, they used the leaves as a remedy for aches and pains, and to aid breathing. Wintergreen leaves were listed in the US Pharmacopoeia (1820-94). The oil, extracted from the leaves, is still listed, remaining widely available to this day, and is a source of methyl salicylate— an antiinflammatory, with similar effects to the acetylsalicylic acid present in aspirin.
Pengelly (2004) outlines the properties of salicins and salicylates:
He also notes that, unlike aspirin, natural salicylates do not have anti-platelet (blood thinning) effects. In explaining the actions associated with salicylic acid derivatives, Pengelly outlines their antipyretic effects. This means that they increase peripheral blood flow and sweat production by direct action on the thermogenic section of the hypothalamus. And this, in turn, explains why they are effective in easing neuralgias, sciatica, and back pain. Bartram (1998) echoes the use of Oil of Wintergreen as a mild analgesic for backache, adding a keynote application for rheumatism. A word of caution, though: the salicylate content means excess use of Oil of Wintergreen can be toxic, causing liver and kidney damage, and it is not suitable for people who are hypersensitive to aspirin. However, as with many of our herbal preparations, more scientific research could promote the kind of safe use familiar for so many years to peoples of the First Nations.
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Recent research (Herbert et al, 2014) considers the personal and economic problems that so often accompany chronic lower back pain (CLBP), and the cardiovascular and upper gastrointestinal risks associated with ongoing use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). NSAIDs tend to offer only short-term improvement, the research suggests, and the authors go on to explore topical herbal remedies as alternatives. They consider Capsicum frutescens (Cayenne or Capsaicin) and a combination of Gaultheria procumbens (Wintergreen oil) and Menthe piperita (Peppermint oil). The authors note that 10ml of a 2.5% formula of high-quality Wintergreen oil, applied topically, delivers the same amount of salicylate as one 325mg aspirin tablet. The lack of published randomised trials involving Wintergreen oil perhaps explains why it is currently much less frequently used than Capsaicin, for which randomised placebo-controlled trials have demonstrated its success as a powerful local stimulant for pain relief. It would be useful to have such trials of Wintergreen oil and Peppermint oil, as the resulting side effects (and costs) would be very much lower than those of prolonged use of NSAIDs.
References
Bartram, T. (1998) Bartram’s Encyclopaedia of Herbal Medicine. Robinson: London
Bown, D. (2008) Encyclopaedia of Herbs. Royal Horticultural Society, Dorling Kindersley: London
Culpeper, N. (1653) Culpeper’s Complete Herbal. Foulsham & Co: Slough
Herbert, P. et al (2014) ‘Treatment of Low Back Pain: The Potential Clinical and Public Health Benefits of Topical Herbal Remedies’, in Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 20(4): 219-220
Pengelly, A. (2004) The Constituents of Medicinal Plants: An introduction to the chemistry and therapeutics of herbal medicine. CABI Publishing: Oxford
Wren, R.C. (1994) Potter’s New Cyclopaedia of Botanical Drugs and Preparations. C.W. Daniel: Saffron Walden
