Medicinal plant 2014 Healing plantain

Spitzwegerich in Naturopathy: Medicinal Plant of the Year: Ribwort Plantain

09/28/2013

The ribwort plantain is versatile in natural healing. It is an important cough suppressant, has a hemostatic effect and fights bacteria. Now the ribwort plantain has gained more recognition by being declared a medicinal plant in 2014. In natural medicine, the plant has been used for millennia.

Medicinal plant of the year
The medicinal plant of the year 2014 is the ribwort plantain. With its help, one can mitigate the onset of cough and fight bacteria, scientists at the University of Würzburg justify their choice. The medical historian Johannes Gottfried Mayer explained to Plantago lanceolata, the scientific name of the plant: „It helps with respiratory diseases as well as the first wound care or insect bites.“ In the ribwort leaves were substances that put a protective film over the mucous membrane in the mouth and throat and thus alleviated the coughing.

Call for research
Other components of the plant were antibacterial and hemostatic. Although no current clinical studies would be available, this has been confirmed by laboratory studies. The award is thus also as one „Call for research“ to see.

Ribwort plantain tastes a bit bitter
The name of the plant derives from its long, tapered leaves. You can find them mainly on roadsides and on dry meadows. The Heilwegerich, as the herb is also popularly called, is an ideal means for traveling. According to Meyer, one could chew the leaves for a short time and then, for example, lay on an insect sting. The medical historian said that you could infuse a tea from ribwort plantain when coughing, but with additional ingredients, because the medicinal plant alone „tastes a bit bitter.“

Make natural cough syrup yourself
Plantain is also an excellent ingredient for naturally produced cough syrup. For example, the well-known author and alternative practitioner Adelheid Ling explained how to make an onion cough syrup yourself. For this you need an onion, 100 grams of sugar candy, 1 teaspoon of thyme, a teaspoon of ribwort and a teaspoon of yarrow. First, the onion is minced very finely. Then simmer the onion pieces with thyme, ribwort and yarrow in about 100 milliliters of water. Stir occasionally. When the sugar candy has completely dissolved, strain everything and let it cool. Melt the onion cough syrup 3 to 5 times daily with a teaspoon on the tongue.

Versatile medicinal plant
The plantain is not only a natural home remedy for cough, but it is said to have other positive properties. So you could take the freshly squeezed plant juice against indigestion. He helps with intestinal inflammation, stomach pain and regulate the digestive activity and thus can help with weight loss. In case of skin diseases, one can take the ribwort juice internally, because it purifies the blood and helps the skin to heal. The seeds of the ribwort plantain are also useful in natural healing if you soak them in water and then boil them up. In infants, they could be used against thrush (candidiasis), an infectious disease caused by fungi. (Ad)

Image: Angelina Ströbel