Chelidonium majus
Part Used: Fresh flowering plant with root
Celandine is a biennial or perennial plant widespread in damp, rich soil in the north- eastern U.S. and along fences, roads, hedges, as well as in waste places, in Europe. The finger-thick, cylindrical rootstock is red-brown on the outside, orange-yellow inside, and contains a milky juice. The root is thick and fleshy. The stem, which is slender, round and slightly hairy, grows from 1 1/2 to 3 feet high and is much branched; at the points where the branches are given off, it is swollen and jointed and breaks very easily. The hollow stem is round, smooth, and swollen at the joints. The leaves are alternate, pinnate or pinnatifid, with ovate, mildly and irregularly lobed leaflets. It is primarily anodyne, antispasmodic, caustic, diaphoretic, diuretic, hydragogue, narcotic, and purgative.
Celandine has a special effect on the digestive system (stomach, gallbladder, liver), and its antispasmodic properties make it useful for asthmatic symptoms. As a hydragogue it is used for dropsical conditions. It can be used for skin diseases like herpes, eczema, and ringworm, when used externally. The juice has some antiseptic properties and has long been used to remove warts. It has a long history of herbal use. Traditionally it was employed as an ophthalmic to treat and clear the eyesight whilst in modern herbal medicine it is used more as a mild sedative, antispasmodic and detoxifying herb, relaxing the muscles of the bronchial tubes, intestines and other organs. The latex is much used externally to treat warts. The leaves and the sap are acrid, alterative, anodyne, antispasmodic, caustic, cholagogue, diaphoretic, diuretic, hydrogogue, narcotic, purgative. They are used in the treatment of bronchitis, whooping cough, asthma, jaundice, gallstones and gallbladder pains. The plant has also anticancer properties and is analgesic. It contains the alkaloid chelidonine, which is similar to the alkaloid papaverine found in poppies. This alkaloid has antispasmodic and sedative effects on the bile ducts and bronchi.
References:
Holistic Online. http://www.holisticonline.com/Herbal-Med/_Herbs/h213.htm
Plants for a Future. http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Chelidonium+majus
