Ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata) belongs to the plantain family and is popularly known as horse rib, spearwort, or wayside trellis.
Occurrence and cultivation of ribwort plantain
The sticky seeds attach to the feet and quickly spread throughout the world. The perennial plant is a rosette-forming perennial with a glabrous, silky-haired flower on a 10-40 cm stem. The lance-shaped leaves are barely toothed, with 3 – 5 strongly constricted veins running parallel to the short petiole. Ribwort is relatively resistant to drought and able to grow on dry sites such as embankments. The German name refers to the characteristic leaf veins, while the Latin name derives from the Latin planta = sole of the foot. The sticky seeds attach to the feet and spread quickly throughout the world. Therefore, the Indians called ribwort plantain “the white man’s foot”.
Application and use
Ribwort plantain prepared for medicinal use comes mainly from selective cultivation. The leaves have a total content of at least 1.5 percent of ortho-dihydroxycinnamic acid derivatives and contain calcium, phosphate, potassium, sodium, and the trace elements cobalt and copper. The plant juices (mucilage content 2%) of ribwort contain catalpol, aucubin and asperuloside (content 1.9 to 2.4%) in addition to the main active iridoid glycosides:
- Flavonoids (luteolin, apigenin-7-O-monoglucoside).
- Desacetylasperuloid acid methyl ester
- Caffeic acid derivatives
- Phenolic carboxylic acids
- Coumarin
- Phenylethanoids (Acteoside)
- Tannins (6.5%)
- Globularin
- Silicic acid (1.3%)
Ribwort is prepared as a tea, plant juice as well as an aqueous plant extract due to its proven antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and immunostimulatory effect. The leaves are dried or pressed for juice extraction. For internal use, the enveloping properties of the mucilages contained in ribwort, the antibacterial effects of catalpol and aucubin, and the action of tannins are used. In external use, it is mainly used to treat inflammatory skin lesions. The use of ribwort plantain as a cough suppressant was so proverbial that in Germany the term “ribwort sap” has been used until today as a general name for a cough suppressant. The medicinal plant ribwort, highly valued since ancient times, can also be used as a food. The fresh young leaves are tastiest before flowering and make a healthy addition to salads and dips. They are also suitable for preparation as a vegetable and for soups. Ribwort seeds can be ground into powder and added to flour for making bread or cakes. The fibers from the leaves have been used to make textiles, and the mucilage from the seed coats has also been used to stiffen fabric. Golden and brown dyes can be obtained by soaking the seeds in warm water.
Importance for health, treatment and prevention
Ribwort plantain was already appreciated in ancient times. Today’s use in the medical field is extremely versatile due to the ingredients as well as minimal contraindications. It refers not only to the field of folk medicine but is pharmaceutically understudied. Since ribwort contains epidermal ingredients that stimulate the repair of damaged tissue, extracts are suitable for the effective treatment of bleeding wounds. Externally, a decoction from the leaves can also be used to treat inflammation of the skin, cuts, insect bites, and malignant ulcers. The preparation of the root of the ribwort plantain has been found to be suitable for the treatment of snake bites. The highly swelling seeds are an excellent remedy for parasitic worms or, as a tea, are helpful in treating diarrhea, dysentery, and bleeding of the mucous membranes. Plant extracts can be used as an ingredient in eye washes. Internally, they are used in the treatment of a variety of ailments including diarrhea, gastritis, gastric and duodenal ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, bleeding, hemorrhoids, cystitis, rhinitis, sinusitis, asthma, and hay fever. Ribwort very specifically affects inflammation of the bronchi and is therefore used as a remedy for cough and catarrhal inflammatory diseases of the respiratory tract.In folk medicine, the juice is used for blood purification cures in the spring. Diluted with chamomile tea, ribwort is used for the treatment of poorly healing wounds. Freshly picked and crushed leaves can be placed directly on fresh wounds to relieve itching and swelling.
