History
Burdock root and seeds have been used for centuries, in many parts of the world, to treat a variety of ailments.
In China, Arctium lappa seeds are used medicinally. They are found as a component in Honeysuckle and Forsythia powder (yin qiao san) from the ’Analysis of Warm Diseases’ by Wu Ju Tong, 1798 which is still a very popular formula treating Wind-Heat and Heat Toxin including respiratory infections. They are also found in some versions of Eliminate Wind Powder (xiao feng san) for eczema and dermatitis, first recorded in the Tai Ping Welfare Dispensary Bureau ( tao ping hui min he ji ju fang) 1151CE and later in Orthodox Lineage of External Medicine (wai ke zheng zong) 1617CE by Chen Shi-Gong.
It was used during the medieval period for breaking stubborn fevers, as a blood purifier to treat leprosy, boils and eczema and as a diuretic. In his ‘Complete Herbal’ 1653CE, (still in print ),Nicholas Culpeper (1616 –1654CE), English botanist, herbalist, and astrologer’ lists usage of root and leaves as a poultice for bruising and ulcerated skin, citing the seeds for their use in the treatment of sciatica and the breaking and removal of urinary stones.
Anecdotal reports from the 19th century suggest that this medicinal plant has been used by the Ojibwa tribe, and in form an ingredient in Essiac tea for the alternative treatment of some cancers. Tests have shown no efficacy for these treatments.
The root was cooked as a vegetable. but now it is rarely used. It is is cultivated for its edible root in Japan. . A popular Japanese dish is kinpira gobō, julienned or shredded burdock root and carrot, braised with soy sauce, sugar, mirin , and sesame oil. In the second half of the 20th century, burdock achieved international recognition for its culinary use due to the increasing popularity of the macrobiotic diet which advocates its consumption as a ‘yang’ vegetable’ with a grounding energy which can counteract the dispersing effect of sugar.
Botanical outline
Arctium lappa is in the Asteraceae family, which is rivaled only by Orchidaceae as the largest of the plant families with 23,000 current species in 1,620 genera. The main feature of the family is the composite flower type (composed of a large number of individual florets arising from a platform-like base surrounded by an involucre (specialized leaves). Asteraceae fruit are often mistaken for seeds because the wall of the fruit hardens and encloses the solitary seed so closely as to seem like an outer coat. eg sunflower seeds.
Arctium lappa is a biennial that grows as a rosette of leaves the first year and then produces a 1-2 metre, bushy flowering stem. The leaves are large, alternating and heart-shaped with a long petiole and are pubescent on the underside. Located at the ends of branches or at leaf axils on the flower stem are closely packed flower heads of tubular, purplish flowers, with the modified leaves at the base curving to form hooks, allowing them to attach and be carried long distances by passing animals.
The plant is an hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and is both self-fertile and pollinated by bees and butterflies. It only reproduces by seed. The seeds are brownish-grey, wrinkled, 5mm long and 2mm in diameter. They are shaken out of the head and dried by spreading them out on paper in the sun. The fleshy tap-root, brownish green to black on the outside, can grow up to 1.2m deep and 2.5cm wide at the top.
It can grow in semi-shade or full sun. It is native to the temperate regions of Europe and northern Asia.
Medicinal properties
TCM:
Listed under ‘Herbs that release the Exterior’, Niu bang zi is included in ‘Cool, Acrid Herbs’, it also clears Heat Toxin and benefits the throat, moistens the intestine and vents rashes.
Cautions and contraindications: It’s cold and slippery properties means that caution is required in cases of qi deficient diarrhea and in the absence of excess heat.
General: Arctium lappa is recommended in modern herbals for the treatment of skin diseases, boils, fevers, sore throats, inflammation and fluid retention. The root consists primarily of carbohydrates, volatile oils, plant sterols, tannins, fatty oils and inulin, a natural dietary fiber.
Studies have shown that it contains the anti-oxidants, phenolic acids, quercetin and luteolin. The seeds contain arctiin. Arctiin and its aglycone, arctigenin has shown potent in vitro antiviral activities against influenza A virus in mice. “Therapeutic effect of arctiin and arctigenin in immunocompetent and immunocompromised mice infected with influenza” Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin 2010 33:7 (1199-1205).
The lignans arctiin and arctigenin were shown to inhibit the pro-inflammatory factors, nitric oxide (NO), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) (3) (4); polyacetylenes and chlorogenic acid have antibacterial properties and are thought responsible for burdock’s beneficial effects against infections and skin disorders. Animal studies indicate that burdock extract induces hypoglycemia and increases carbohydrate tolerance, stimulates uterine smooth muscle, and has antimutagenic activity; the tannin extract induces macrophage response. Burdock also exhibits hepatoprotective effects in rats due to its antioxidative activity . http://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/herb/burdock
A mixture of burdock fruit and astragalus root reduced urinary protein and albumin, and improved lipid metabolism and post-prandial blood glucose in patients with diabetic nephropathy . http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15307694
In Russia, burdock root oil, called Repeinoe maslo, is used to strengthen and encourage new hair growth as a treatment for baldness.