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Common Name/s: |
Other Name/s: |
Botanical name/s: |
| Club Moss, Common Club Moss |
Lycopodium seed, Wolf's Claw, Vegetable Sulphur, Stag's horn moss,
Running Pine |
Lycopodium Clavatum |
General description and domicile:
Lycopodium grows all over but mostly confined to the northern hemisphere. It is
a pine-like, spiky leaved moss that grows in woody stems that tend to hug the
ground. In summer club shaped spikes develop with spore cases at the ends.
Part used and extraction:
Spikes with spore cases are picked in summer and the spores (a yellow powder)
shaken out. Although all of the plant was used in ancient times, today only the
spores are used.
Remedy preparation:
Spores are applied as a dusting powder on wounds, chafed areas and skin diseases
like eczema. A tincture has been prescribed for irritability of the bladder.
History:
In ancient times the whole herb was dried and used as a stomachic and diuretic
and it was only in the seventeenth century that the spores were harvested and
used.
Used for treatment of:
The most recent use of clubmoss spores is as a pill coating to avoid pills
clumping or sticking together. This is because the spores are very water
repellent.
The alkaloids in clubmoss are toxic and could be life
threatening in large doses.
Properties:
Stomachic (not recommended)
Diuretic (not recommended)
Constituents:
Lycopodine: An alkaloid found in Lycopodium Clavatum.
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Alkaloids Typical alkaloids are alkaline organic vegetable
substances containing one or more nitrogen atoms. This nitrogen base is capable
of combining with acids to form crystalline salts. Most alkaloids are derived
from amino acids while a few are derived from isoprene units. Alkaloids are white or colourless solids containing oxygen (oxygen
free alkaloids are few and far between and then can only exist as liquids) Most
alkaloids are not water soluble, extraction is normally by tincture.
Alkaloids are found in about one quarter of all flowering plants. Thousands of
alkaloids have been identified from a large number of plants where the alkaloid
can be present in virtually every part of the plant or just a specific part like
rhizome, leaf or seed.
Alkaloids
generally have profound physiological impact on the human body and nervous
system effects are predominant.
Many alkaloids are used as extracted and refined compounds derived from the
actual plants or synthesised compounds in pharmaceutical drugs.
Several Alkaloids are banned in many countries because of the extreme impact
on the nervous system (strychnine for instance is a deadly poison in very small
doses) and the habit forming nature of some of the alkaloid compounds. |
Triterpenes: A very wide group of compounds that include
saponins and steroids some of which could be harmful. Apigenin: A Flavone. Flavones are the most common substances in
the flavonoid group. Apigenins have been shown to have spasmolytic and topical
anti-inflammatory properties.
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Flavonoids: Flavonoids occur (as white and yellow plant pigments
found almost as commonly as chlorophyll) as Glycosides or in a free state. In
plants it is essential for protecting plant tissue from UV radiation and acts as
antioxidants. As pigments it is also responsible for Autumn colors in leaves and
yellow/red pigmentation in flowers. Laboratory experiments have been
conducted on the beneficiary effect of Flavonoids on the heart and circulatory
system. Flavonoids are also used to mitigate stress, especially environmental
stress. Flavonoids are often used for their antioxidant effect against free
radicals. There are also strong indications that they have antiviral,
anti-inflammatory and anti-hypertensive properties but dosage has not been
determined which will obviously have a profound effect on their efficacy as a
component of this herb. |
* Statements made
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or authority of any other country.
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