Yerba Santa Profile
Also known as- Eriodictyon californicum, holy herb, bearsweed, consumptive's weed, mountain balm, and tarweed.
Introduction
Yerba santa is a sticky-leafed evergreen native to the southwestern United States. Spanish missionary priests impressed with usefulness in treating coughs, colds, asthma, pleurisy, tuberculosis, and pneumonia gave it the name "holy weed," or yerba santa. Unlike many other astringent herbs, yerba santa actually has a pleasant taste. It is used as a food flavoring and as an additive to herbal cough syrups to disguise the taste of other ingredients.. It was given its name ("holy weed") by Spanish priests impressed with its medicinal properties.
Constituents
Bitter resins, eriodictyol, eriodictyonic acid, eriodictyonine, essential oil, tannins.
Parts Used
Dried leaves.
Typical Preparations
Can be used as a tea, but must be allowed to steep for at least half an hour to dissolve the resins. More often used as an alcohol tincture.
Summary
Yerba santa is a warm and pungent herb that is both astringent and stimulant. A study published in 1951 in the journal Archives of Biochemistry notes that the resins are mildly antibacterial.
Precautions
Safety in young children, pregnant or nursing women, or in persons with severe liver or kidney disease has not been established
