| Common Names | Coltsfoot |
|---|---|
| Description | |
| Locations | Epirus |
| Clinical Summary | |
| Contraindications | The plant is harmful, due to its content in hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids, especially to patients who suffer from hypertension, heart disease, liver disease and allergies. Plant's consumption should be avoided during pregnancy and lactation. High concentration of pyrrolizidine alkaloids are liver-toxic (fresh plant), although they exhibit high temperature sensitivity and they are destroyed after plant's boiling. |
| Active Substance | bitter agents essential oil tannins flavonoids saponins carbohydrates inulin calcium potassium sitosterol carotenoids sesquiterpenes hydroxycinnamic acid Mucous zinc xanthophyll arnidiol faradiol pyrrolizidine alkaloids sterols. |
| Active Substance Plant Part | Flowers leaves |
| Adverse Reaction | |
| Educational Research | |
| Interaction | |
| Features Description | Tussilago farfara is a herbaceous, perennial plant growing from 10 to 25cm, with large, heart-shaped, fluffy, green leaves and large flowers with brown scales and gold-yellow tops. The fruit has a white calyx and shape which looks like donkey's footprinting trace. The root is thick and in spring it produces pubescent floral shoots. The flowering lasts from February to April and the harvesting takes place from March to April (flowers) and from May to June (leaves). |
| Method Administration | The plant is administered in the form of herbal tea (2 spoons of dried leaves and flowers in a cup of boiled water for 10min, 3 times a day). It is applied externally to the skin as healing, anti-inflammatory and astringent in the form of poultice, ointment and powder.Warning: The use of herb preparations is not recommended without seeking advice from your physician or pharmacist. The substances they contain may interact with the subscribed drugs that the patient already takes, thus eliminating their therapeutic efficacy or inducing toxicity. They may also burden further weakened vital functions of the body thus exposing the patient to increased morbidity and life threatened conditions. |
| Pharmacological Info | The plant has expectorant, emollient, antitussive, anticatarrhal, diuretic, healing, anti-inflammatory and bacteriostatic properties. It is recommended in the form of herbal tea for the treatment of tracheitis, bronchitis, common cold, cough, whooping cough, asthma, chronic emphysema and cystitis. It is applied externally to the skin in the form of poultice for the treatment of boils, abscesses and ulcers and in the form of tincture against toothache, rheumatic and articular pains. In Europe the leaves are usually used in medicine, while in China are mostly used the stalks of the flowers (due to their higher pyrrolizidine alkaloids concentration). |
| Pharmacological Use | |
| Mechanism Action | |
| References | https://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/c/coltsf88.html#con http://www.anniesremedy.com/herb_detail96.php http://www.pfaf.org/user/plant.aspx?LatinName=Tussilago+farfara http://www.drugs.com/npc/coltsfoot.html http://www.chineseherbshealing.com/tussilago-farfara/ |
| Research |
