Sea Onion: Applications, Treatments, Health Benefits

Even the famous Greek physician Hippocrates knew the healing properties of dried sea onion. In later centuries, the plant, native to the entire Mediterranean region, is praised in all major botanical and medical works of antiquity and the Middle Ages as having healing properties. In the 18th century, medicine recognized its beneficial effects on human heart health.

Occurrence and cultivation of the sea onion

In the 18th century, medicine recognized the positive effects of sea onion on human heart health. Sea onion (Urginea maritima, Scilla maritima, Drimia maritima) is also called white sea onion. It belongs to the hyacinth family. The perennial herbaceous medicinal plant can grow up to 50 centimeters high, based on its green foliage. Its inflorescence sometimes even reaches a height of 1.50 meters. The ancient medicinal herb grows from a bulb covered with thin, reddish-brown and dry skins. This can weigh up to three kilograms and reach a maximum width of 30 centimeters in diameter. Sometimes the upper part of the bulb is visible. The sea onion has exclusively basal lanceolate, hairless, gray-green leaves that dry out in early summer and do not sprout again until autumn – after the inflorescences appear. From August, the plant shows its terminal racemose inflorescences, about 40 centimeters long, with flowers on stems about three centimeters long. They have narrow bracts and grow in large numbers on the inflorescences. The fruits of Urginea maritima are trifurcate spherical capsules. The bulbs of the white-onion variety (there are also varieties with red flesh) are dug up and dried shortly after flowering. The sea onion is found throughout the Mediterranean region, where it grows mostly near the coast and in pastures. The ancient medicinal plant prefers rocky and sandy ground. It is also cultivated today in Pakistan, India and North America.

Effect and application

Sea onion contains bufadienolides (scillaren A, proscillaridin A and B, scillinoside), flavonoids, polysaccharides, anthocyanins, glucoscillaren A, sugars, laevulose, saponins, fat, caffeine, bitter compounds, tannins, resins, citric acid, many minerals and essential oils. There are about twelve cardiac glycosides (bufadienolides) in the ancient medicinal plant. Medicinally, only the middle fleshy skins of the sea onion variety with the white flesh are used, as they are not as toxic as those of the varieties with red flesh. The membranes, cut lengthwise and crosswise into tiny pieces, are dried and further processed. They have a blood pressure lowering effect in patients with pathologically elevated venous pressure and have cardiac strengthening properties. They increase cardiac function, supply of vital oxygen and nutrients to the heart muscle, and reduce heartbeat. The heart, strengthened thanks to the sea onion remedy, does not have to pump as hard to supply all organs and tissues with oxygen and vital substances. Since the sea onion remedy directly affects the kidneys, it has additional strong draining properties. In addition, the following effects have been documented for the medicinal Mediterranean plant in natural medicine and homeopathy: anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, expectorant, expectorant, antispasmodic, wound healing and sedative. However, since all parts of the plant of the sea onion have a strong toxic effect, the patient should in no case self-medicate with it, but first consult his attending physician. The red bulb variety of sea onion is even 10 to 15 times more toxic than the white bulb variety. Standardized ready-made medicines are recommended, because with them the user cannot cause accidental overdose: The bulbs of one and the same variety of sea onion differ greatly in terms of the amount of active substances contained in them location and season. He should also take the homeopathic remedies only under medical supervision. The German Pharmacopoeia lists sea onion (white onion variety) as a drug for mild heart failure. However, it is no longer used in this form today. In the past, the middle onion peel particles were used internally and the crushed leaves of the plant were used externally (as an overlay).The patient should not use sea onion ready-made medicines and homeopathic remedies if he suffers from acute inflammation, sensitive gastrointestinal tract, potassium deficiency and hypercalcemia, receives calcium therapy or has to take heart medicines containing digitalis.

Health significance, treatment, and prevention.

The cardiac glycosides contained in sea onion remedies are used to treat heart failure and angina. They have a faster and more intense effect than digitalis drugs, thanks to scillaren A. Consumed perorally, 25 percent of the active ingredient is immediately available to the body. In addition, they are not accumulated in his body. Standardized sea onion remedies also still help in upper respiratory diseases such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, hoarseness and cough, inflammatory liver diseases such as hepatitis, intestinal inflammation, kidney inflammation, urinary tract diseases such as anuria and urinary gravel, edema, spleen tumors, gout and epilepsy. In today’s medicine, sea onion preparations are mostly administered orally only in heart diseases (sometimes even together with medicines containing digitalis) and as a dehydrating agent. Folk medicine still knew external applications, which helped against skin diseases, tissue hardening, boils and burns. The healer applied a layer of onion peel particles crushed with cod liver oil to the affected area. In today’s homeopathy, Tinct. Scillae (alcohol-based sea onion tincture) is prescribed in a 1:5 ratio as drops or a mixture of drops. For heart complaints, the patient must take 10 to 20 drops each 3 to 5 times a day. Indications are tachycardia, old age heart, mild to moderate heart failure with edema formation, impending decompensation and angina pectoris. Scilla maritima globules are prescribed for chronic bronchitis with severe mucus formation and uncontrolled urination.