Coltsfoot

Tussilago farfara

PART USED: Leaf

PROPERTIES: Expectorant, Demulcent, Emollient, Anti-inflammatory, Antispasmodic, Pectoral

SYSTEMS AFFECTED: Respiratory, Digestive

POSSIBLE USES: Coughs, asthma, diarrhea, burns

INGREDIENT IN: WC

The name of this herb, Tussilago, means cough dispeller and is very appropriate since Coltsfoot is one of the best cough remedies that we have. Coltsfoot has been used for at least 2,500 years. Dioscorides, a Greek physician of the 1st century A.D. recommended it for dry coughs, and for use by “those who are unable to breathe except standing upright.”

Coltsfoot is used for asthma, bronchitis, and any ailment that comes with breathing difficulties. The demulcent qualities of Coltsfoot also make it useful for diarrhea and inflammation of the digestive tract as well as ulcers. Coltsfoot made as a tea can be soothing to burns.

A caution is to be found suggesting that Coltsfoot should not be taken for more than 3 weeks at a time as overdoses of the alkaloids contained in Coltsfoot may negatively affect the liver. This seems to apply more to the flowers than to the leafy herbal part of the plant.

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