Antirrhinum majus
Each tree, each shrub, and herb, down even to the grasses and mosses, agreed to furnish a remedy for some one of the diseases [of humankind] and each said: “I shall appear to help man whenever he calls upon me in his need.”—Oral teachings of the Cherokee Nation[1]
Last week I wrote about the medicinal uses of bearberry, shrubs I happened to find for sale at the big box store while cruising the outdoor aisles looking for clearance plants. My score that day was a shopping cart full of ½ gallon mostly dead snapdragons, 19 plants in all. And they were truly only mostly dead. All snapped back to life with water and are now scattered throughout the backyard.
Just for kicks and giggles, because I didn’t want to get up and exercise yet and it was still too chilly to work in the garden, I decided to google the medicinal uses of snapdragon. Mind you, I had never seen anything written on this topic. However, I have kept the teachings of the Cherokee covered in the quote above in mind for the past several years, ever since I read it. I’ve come to believe that many plants do indeed possess medicinal qualities. And while modern research on snapdragon has been limited, what has been done is promising.
As is the case with much of herbal medicine, most of the research is conducted in Asian countries, and in the case of snapdragon, South Korea, where the flowers are used extensively in food, as well as the Middle East, where they’ve been used medicinally for millennia. Unfortunately, none of the articles provides details on how exactly the poultices and decoctions were prepared or administered, and there were no indications regarding safe usage in pregnant women and children.
Because knowledge of how snapdragon was used is scant, it wouldn’t be my go-to for treating anything as long as I have other options, but I could certainly see using it in conjunction with herbs to manage minor issues. I wouldn’t hesitate to use it with hemorrhoids or if I thought I were dealing with some type of cancer and had no other remedies. There is still so much we don’t know and so much to learn.
HARVEST
Harvest the fresh flowers and leaves, including the unopened buds. Recent research suggests that the fresh flowers and leaves exert much greater antimicrobial effects than the dried plant matter. However, the dried flowers are what were traditionally used in making teas and decoctions and managing skin issues. Freeze-drying the flowers and leaves would offer the best of both worlds.
EFFECTIVE AGAINST
· Bacteria
o Gram-positive
§ Mycobacterium phlei[2]
§ Staphylococcus aureus[3]
o Gram-negative
§ Bortedella bronchoseptica[4]
§ Escherichia coli[5]
§ Pasteurella multocida[6]
· Fungi
o Aspergillus niger[7]
o Candida albicans[8]
PREPARATION
Tincture: Fresh flower and leaf, in a 1:2 plant to alcohol ratio, in 80% alcohol, for 5 days[9], shaking twice per day.
USAGE
· Cardiovascular
o Hypertension
§ Decoction
· Oral
· Respiratory
o Fever
§ Decoction
· Skin
o Abscesses
§ Dried leaf and flower poultice
o Boils
§ Dried leaf and flower poultice
o Hemorrhoids[14]
§ Poultice
§ Poultice
o Ulcers[17]
§ Poultice
o Wounds[18]
§ Leaf and flower poultice
§ Ointment showed in one study to be superior to poultice[19]
· Urogenital
o Urinary tract infection
§ Decoction
o Diuretic
· Other
o In vitro human lung and colon cancer cells[20]
Links to related posts:
The Medicinal Uses of Bearberry
[1] James Mooney, The Origin of Disease and Medicine, The Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees, 1891, https://pressbooks.pub/openamlit/chapter/the-origin-of-disease-and-medicine/ (accessed 18 April 2023).
[2] FG Saqallah, et al., Antimicrobial activity and molecular docking screening of bioactive components of Antirrhinum majus (snapdragon) aerial parts, Heliyon. 27 August 2022, Vol 8 No 8, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9441312/ (accessed 29 April 2023).
[3] A. Al-Snafi, The pharmacological importance of Antirrhinum majus-a review, Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, 2015, Vol 5 No 4, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313696645_THE_PHARMACOLOGICAL_IMPORTANCE_OF_ANTIRRHINUM_MAJUS-A_REVIEW (accessed 28 April 2023).
[4] FG Saqallah, et al., Antimicrobial activity and molecular docking screening of bioactive components of Antirrhinum majus (snapdragon) aerial parts, Heliyon. 27 August 2022, Vol 8 No 8, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9441312/ (accessed 29 April 2023).
[5] A. Al-Snafi, The pharmacological importance of Antirrhinum majus-a review, Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, 2015, Vol 5 No 4, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313696645_THE_PHARMACOLOGICAL_IMPORTANCE_OF_ANTIRRHINUM_MAJUS-A_REVIEW (accessed 28 April 2023).
[6] A. Al-Snafi, The pharmacological importance of Antirrhinum majus-a review, Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, 2015, Vol 5 No 4, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313696645_THE_PHARMACOLOGICAL_IMPORTANCE_OF_ANTIRRHINUM_MAJUS-A_REVIEW (accessed 28 April 2023).
[7] A. Al-Snafi, The pharmacological importance of Antirrhinum majus-a review, Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, 2015, Vol 5 No 4, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313696645_THE_PHARMACOLOGICAL_IMPORTANCE_OF_ANTIRRHINUM_MAJUS-A_REVIEW (accessed 28 April 2023).
[8] FG Saqallah, et al., Antimicrobial activity and molecular docking screening of bioactive components of Antirrhinum majus (snapdragon) aerial parts, Heliyon. 27 August 2022, Vol 8 No 8, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9441312/ (accessed 29 April 2023).
[9] FG Saqallah, et al., Antimicrobial activity and molecular docking screening of bioactive components of Antirrhinum majus (snapdragon) aerial parts, Heliyon. 27 August 2022, Vol 8 No 8, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9441312/ (accessed 29 April 2023).
[10] A. Al-Snafi, The pharmacological importance of Antirrhinum majus-a review, Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, 2015, Vol 5 No 4, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313696645_THE_PHARMACOLOGICAL_IMPORTANCE_OF_ANTIRRHINUM_MAJUS-A_REVIEW (accessed 28 April 2023).
[11] FG Saqallah, et al., Antimicrobial activity and molecular docking screening of bioactive components of Antirrhinum majus (snapdragon) aerial parts, Heliyon. 27 August 2022, Vol 8 No 8, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9441312/ (accessed 29 April 2023).
[12] A. Al-Snafi, The pharmacological importance of Antirrhinum majus-a review, Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, 2015, Vol 5 No 4,
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313696645_THE_PHARMACOLOGICAL_IMPORTANCE_OF_ANTIRRHINUM_MAJUS-A_REVIEW (accessed 28 April 2023).
[13] FG Saqallah, et al., In Vivo Evaluation of Antirrhinum majus' Wound-Healing Activity, Scientia Pharmaceutica, 7 October 2018, Vol 86 No 4, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30301270/ (accessed 29 April 2023).
[14] FG Saqallah, et al., In Vivo Evaluation of Antirrhinum majus' Wound-Healing Activity, Scientia Pharmaceutica, 7 October 2018, Vol 86 No 4, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30301270/ (accessed 29 April 2023).
[15] A. Al-Snafi, The pharmacological importance of Antirrhinum majus-a review, Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, 2015, Vol 5 No 4, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313696645_THE_PHARMACOLOGICAL_IMPORTANCE_OF_ANTIRRHINUM_MAJUS-A_REVIEW (accessed 28 April 2023).
[16] FG Saqallah, et al., In Vivo Evaluation of Antirrhinum majus' Wound-Healing Activity, Scientia Pharmaceutica, 7 October 2018, Vol 86 No 4, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30301270/ (accessed 29 April 2023).
[17] FG Saqallah, et al., In Vivo Evaluation of Antirrhinum majus' Wound-Healing Activity, Scientia Pharmaceutica, 7 October 2018, Vol 86 No 4, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30301270/ (accessed 29 April 2023).
[18] FG Saqallah, et al., In Vivo Evaluation of Antirrhinum majus' Wound-Healing Activity, Scientia Pharmaceutica, 7 October 2018, Vol 86 No 4, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30301270/ (accessed 29 April 2023).
[19] FG Saqallah, et al., In Vivo Evaluation of Antirrhinum majus' Wound-Healing Activity, Scientia Pharmaceutica, 7 October 2018, Vol 86 No 4, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30301270/ (accessed 29 April 2023).
[20] J. Seo, et al., Antirrhinum majus L. flower extract inhibits cell growth and metastatic properties in human colon and lung cancer cell lines, Food Science and Nutrition, November 2020, Vol 8 No 11, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/fsn3.1924 (accessed 29 April 2023).
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