Chickweed:
The ubiquitous, small, green chickweed plant grows across the
United States and originated in Europe. The leaves, stems, and
flowers are used in botanical medicine.
Historical or traditional use (may or may not be supported by
scientific studies): Chickweed was reportedly used at times for
food.1 Chickweed enjoys a reputation in folk medicine for
treating a wide spectrum of conditions, ranging from asthma and
indigestion to skin diseases. Traditional Chinese herbalists used
a tea made from chickweed for nosebleeds.
The active constituents in chickweed are largely unknown. It
contains relatively high amounts of vitamins and flavonoids,
which may explain some of its activity. Although some older
information suggests a possible benefit for chickweed in
rheumatic conditions, this has not been validated in clinical
studies.
Although formerly used as a tea, chickweed is mainly used
today as a cream applied liberally several times each day to
rashes and inflammatory skin conditions (e.g., eczema) to ease
itching and inflammation. As a tincture, 1–5 ml per day can be
taken three times per day. Two teaspoonfuls of the dried herb
may be used to make a tea. This may be drunk three times daily.
No side effects with chickweed have been reported. At the time
of writing, there were no well-known drug interactions with
chickweed.
