Elecampane, root, cut, organic

Product information "Alantroot".
Inula helenium L., root cut, from controlled organic cultivation
 
Indication
for complaints and diseases of the respiratory tract, facilitates expectoration, diuretic

Application
In case of cough and asthma the following tea mixture is recommended:pour 1/4 liter of hot (80°C) water over 1 heaped teaspoon of elecampane and let it steep covered for 15 minutes. Drink 1 cup 2-4 times a day. The tea can be sweetened with honey.

Medicinal herbs description
History:
Originally from Asia, elecampane used to be part of every farmer's garden.
Largely forgotten, it is today, however, only in the farmer's gardens in the mountains widespread. Yet it is a versatile medicinal plant.
In Thuringia it is still cultivated on a large scale.
Folklorically, the medicinal plant was used for diseases of the respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract (eg in worm infestation), as well as in the kidney and urinary tract. However, the efficacy of alant roots has not been sufficiently proven.

Botanical Description:
Elecampane belongs to the perennial medicinal herbs with a strong, richly branched, outside brown, inside white, fragrant rhizome, from which in spring first a rosette of long, ovate to elliptical basal leaves and later a stately, erect 50 to 180 cm high stem emerge. The large, coarse foliage leaves are finely toothed, narrowly cordate and felt-like hairy on the underside. The intense yellow flowers consist of very narrow ray florets and many small tubular florets. The flower heads are large and nectar-rich, and the fruits are crowned by a long fringe of hairs.

Occurrence:
Elecampane is native to Asia and Europe. It is now also widespread in China and the USA. It can be found along streams, in damp ditches and riparian bushes. Sometimes cultivated as an ornamental plant, elecampane finds favorable growing conditions on sufficiently moist, deeply plowed and well-fertilized soils in wind-protected locations. Propagation is by sowing or root division. The closed stand makes it difficult for weeds to emerge.

Plant family: 
Compositae = Asteraceae (Compositae).

Colloquial names:
Elecampane (English), alewurz, altwurz, Brustalant, Darmwurz, Donavarwurzel, Edelherzwurzel, Edelwurz, Glockenwurz, Großer Heinrich, Helenenkraut, Krätzenwurz, Odinskopf, Schlangenwurz

Applied plant part: The root, Radix Inulae, is used.

Active ingredient/gathering time:
March to mid-April, September to November.
Harvested are the roots, sometimes also the leaves. The alant roots of three- or four-year-old plants are carefully dug up in the fall, and some secondary shoots (root sprouts) can be cut off and planted out right away. When harvesting leaves just before the beginning of flowering, the medicinal plant must be left with enough leaves for its further development. The crop is dried at an air temperature of about 35 degrees Celsius. Alant drugs should be protected from light, moisture and insects in tightly closing containers, strongly aromatic, the taste spicy-bitter.

Ingredients:
Inulin (concentrated in the root in autumn), essential oil, alantic acid, camphor, resins, fructosides, azulene, pectin, wax, helenin (known as alant camphor).
The alant rootstock contains sesquiterpene lactones.

Medicinal properties:
In respiratory complaints and diseases, for expectoration, loss of appetite, asthma, chronic bronchitis, digestive problems, in menopausal complaints, metabolic disorders.
Diuretic, menstrual regulator, liver stimulant, vermifuge,
in higher doses as emetic.
Production of diabetic food (inulin is a sugar substitute).

Uses and dosage:
As a mild expectorant (sputum promoting) with minor spasmolytic (cough spasm relieving) action. Because of its content of bitter substances, elecampane is particularly suitable for chronic conditions that cause the patient to become fatigued.
Although external application may cause skin rashes (contact dermatitis), preparations from the root of elecampane are still used in cosmetic preparations.
For an alant tea, simply pour ½ liter of boiling water over 2 tablespoons of alant root and steep for 5 to 10 min. Then strain and drink several cups daily.
For bronchitis, 2 tsp 3 to 4 times daily (1 tsp drug per cup of water).

Special Notes:
Elecampane can be highly allergenic and cause severe skin rashes (contact dermatitis). The sesquiterpene lactones of the alant rootstock can cause allergies. These allergies often then also exist to other composite plants, such as chamomile, calendula and arnica. The application should therefore be avoided!
The ingestion of larger quantities of alantrootstock can lead to vomiting, diarrhea, cramps and paralysis!