Already Paracelsus knew about the positive properties of swallowwort and used it in the treatment of pester sufferers. Other historical sources also refer to the excellent expectorant effect. Today, the plant is used only in homeopathy and spagyric.
Occurrence and cultivation of swallowwort.
Medicines from swallowwort have mild antibiotic, antiviral effects, they discharge, detoxify the body, are antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, and diuretic and diaphoretic. Swallowwort has the scientific name Vincetoxicum hirundinaria or Vincetoxicum officinale Moench. Both plant species belong to the genus of swallowroot (Vincetoxicum). These, in turn, are part of the dogbane family, called Apocynaceae. The swallowwort is the only representative of a subfamily of the silkweed family found otherwise only in the tropics to be found in our latitudes. The name Vincetoxicum has its roots in the Latin and Greek language and means as much as poison victor (vince from Latin vincere = to win and toxicum from Greek toxicon = poison). It is a perennial herbaceous plant. It reaches a height of growth between 30 and 100 centimeters. Its foliage leaves are arranged opposite. They have a heart-shaped at the base and later elongated shape. The leaf edges are smooth. The upper and lower leaf surfaces differ in color. If the leaf is usually of dark, blue-green color when viewed from above, the underside always appears lighter. From May to August, the swallow-wort plant blooms. Its flowers form small clusters and grow directly from the leaf axis. The flower corolla reaches a width of five to seven millimeters. It is yellowish-white in color and forms a wheel shape. The origin of the swallow-wort is Europe, Asia and North Africa. Nowadays, this lime-loving plant can be found in all the states of Germany and Austria. It prefers dry and warm places, sparse forests or dry, stony lawns.
Effect and application
For the production of medicines from swallowwort, only plants from wild collections are used. There is no targeted cultivation. In historical documents, one reads about the use of the rhizomes for the preparation of infusions and tea mixtures. Today, the entire plant is used, including the rhizome. Those are harvested during the flowering period. In the case of swallow-wort, there are useful active substances in all parts of the plant. Especially in those that are under the ground. These are glycoside mixtures – called vincetoxin and asclepiadin. Furthermore, the plant contains asclepiine (a saponin-like substance) and camphor oil glycosides. These cause vomiting and diarrhea when taken orally. When taken in higher doses, paralysis of the heart and skeletal muscles may occur. The effect is similar to the ingestion of aconite preparations. The toxic effect, however, is controversial. Signs of poisoning are increased salivation, a rise in body temperature, vomiting and diarrhea. It also contains alkaloids (tylophorine) as well as triterpenes, sterols, phenolic carboxylic acid derivatives such as chlorogenic acid or sinapic acid. Medicines made from swallow-wort have a mild antibiotic and antiviral effect, they excrete, detoxify the body, are antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, diuretic and diaphoretic. In the past, swallow-wort was considered an antidote for poisoning by snakebite. Numerous traditional sources prove that swallow-wort with its disinfecting effect was also used for dog bites and other wounds inflicted by animals. This explains the popular name dogbane. Animals avoid the plant. Horses eat swallow-wort only after frost occurrence. Today, traditional medicine does not use preparations from swallowwort. However, it can still be used in homeopathic form. Medicines prepared according to the doctrine of alchemy – spagyric – are also available in selected pharmacies.
Importance for health, treatment and prevention.
Homeopathy uses Vincetoxicum for inflammation and viral infections of all kinds. According to the doctrine of spagyric, the swallowwort plant is used for bacterial and viral infections such as influenza or poliomyelitis. Also in case of possible relapses of those diseases. Here one uses the antibacterial, antiviral and slightly antibiotic effect of the plant.Viral and bacterial infections are usually accompanied by fever. Here, too, remedies from swallowwort can be used as a supportive measure, as its ingredients have a fever-reducing effect. It can also be used for infected skins. Swallowwort can kill existing bacterial infected areas and reduce inflammation. In bladder and kidney diseases, the excretory and diuretic effect of the components of swallowwort is used. Bacteria, which are mostly the cause of inflammation in the bladder and kidney area, can be successfully flushed out. Likewise, after surviving viral infections, toxins of the killed viruses can be found in the body. By administering a swallow root preparation, these residues can be flushed out of the body. This expelling and detoxifying effect can support the treatment of poisoning of any kind. Both homeopathically and spagyrically prepared remedies are not known to have any side effects. The pure components of the plant are present in such small quantities in the preparation that they cannot cause any undesirable secondary reactions. Homeopathy is a form of information medicine. If the plant is taken as a kind of drug, toxic effects may occur. Therefore, such ingestion is strongly discouraged. In homeopathic preparation, preparations from D3 and C2 are commercially available. Combination preparations, drops and injection solutions are also available for purchase. Injections are recommended for the elimination of toxins and in cases of vaccination damage. Spagyric preparations of swallow-wort are available as single essences. However, most often these are used as combination preparations.
