PLANT PROFILE: ALKANET {ANCHUSA OFFICINALIS}

Alkanet has a long history of use with many traditional herbalists and finds mention in Dr. Robert Thornton's New Family Herbal, that was published in England in 1810 - it notes that "a decoction of the leaves and root of the alkanet is advantageous in inveterate coughs and all disorders of the chest. ...the expressed juice is given with great success in pleurisy." Furthermore, Dr. Thornton also speaks of the alkanet's other beneficial properties such as its "efficacy in the cure of melancholia and other hypochondriacal diseases". Therefore, this herb has a long history of use in traditional herbal medications.

A herbal tea made from the alkanet is still extensively used as a remedy in modern folk medicine for treating problems such as melancholy; this tea is also used to ease the symptoms such as persistent coughing. The tea is also used to promote perspiration and to break a prolonged fever. Alkanet tea is used to soften and soothe irritated skin, it also finds use as a potent diuretic, as well as an astringent and a "blood purifier"- this means it is seen as an agent that can perhaps purge all the toxic substances out of the human body.