Rhubarb - The Herb

General description and domicile:
Whenever I come across Rhubarb I cannot help but think back to a childhood where Rhubarb pie was put on the dinner table almost every week as a desert. I hated it and still do, but my mother firmly believed that rhubarb once a week kept one regular, and she was not wrong.
However, the rhubarb used in herbal medicine is not Rheum Rhaponticum - the English Rhubarb, which was the source of my childhood dislike, but Rheum Officinale - the Chinese Rhubarb, which is much larger (up to four meters high) and the part used is not the young stalks of the leaves that I had cooked for my sins but the huge rhizomes.
Rhubarb is a perennial herbaceous plant that takes six years or so to mature to the stage that it is dug up for its rhizome. Most rhubarb rhizomes used for medicinal purposes are still imported from Tibet and China although several attempts have been made to cultivate it in other countries.

Remedy Profile
Major therapeutic effects:
Rhubarb has both astringent and laxative properties (due to different constituents: the anthraquinones laxative and the tannins astringent).
As a laxative it is effective and is reported to lack the tendency to constipate after use.
It is also effective against diarrhea as a gentle cleanser in adults but care should be taken with small children as there are cases where it has cured dysentery but left a persistent diarrhea that was difficult to stop.
 

Minor therapeutic effects:
Small doses are used as a stomachic or digestive tonic.

How to choose the right remedy/Herb:
In many cases there are several herbal remedies to choose from. This can be very confusing. Our Choose the Herbal Remedy page explains how to refine your choice

Part used:
The root or rhizome that is at least five years old is dried and sold as longitudinally cut sections in the case of smaller roots while the large rhizomes are sliced into short cross sections before drying.
 

Remedy preparation:
Powdered root, tincture and syrup.
 

History:
Used since the early days of Chinese Medicine the use of this relatively safe purgative has made its way across to the west by a slow process of converting the middle east to its use first. In Chinese medicine it is still used for all complaints of the gastrointestinal tract, liver complaints like jaundice, kidney and spleen disorders.
 

Used for treatment of:
Diarrhea
Dysentery
Constipation (requires larger dosage)

Properties:
Laxative
Astringent
Anti-inflammatory
Anti-allergenic
Tonic
Stomachic
Purgative
Antioxidant

Constituents:

Anthraquinones: Occurring mostly as glycosides anthraquinones are brown to yellow pigments traditionally used as fabric dyes.

In experiments it was concluded that Anthraquinones pass through the digestive tract unaltered until they get to the colon where they are converted to Dianthones which are then turned into anthrone which has a laxative effect increasing peristaltic action and inhibiting the absorption of water by the colon.

Anthraquinones are pale yellow thin prisms that are insoluble in water and has caused tumours in rats that have ingested it.

Anthraquinone can cause skin irritation, dermatitis and allergic reactions if applied to the skin.

Tannins: Tannins are the largest group of polyphenols found widely in bark, wood, leaves and even some fruit. Widely used to tan animal hides in the leather production industry this constituent is an Astringent, works against inflammation in mucus membranes and other skin conditions, prevents bleeding of small wounds as well as uterine bleeding and is effective against diarrhoea and dysentery.

Tannins should be used with care as they tend to inhibit the absorption of other nutrients and substances therefore reducing the efficacy of other medicinal compounds in the medication.

Resveratrol - C₁₄H₁₂O₃:

A hydroxstilbene found in species of Polygonacea like Rheum (Rhubarb). Resveratrol is antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. Recent tests have determined that there may be an anticancer effect. It is also antiallergenic.