Alkanet

A slow-healing wound or ulcer on dry, cracked skin that benefits from a tinted, oil-based dressing

Superficial burns or sunburn where a soothing, coloring emollient is wanted alongside cooling care

Overview. Alkanna tinctoria is a low, bristly-leaved plant of the borage family native to the Mediterranean basin, cultivated and gathered chiefly for the deep red pigment in its root bark. In eclectic and older European herbal practice the root was infused in oil or fat and applied to wounds, ulcers, and burns, and the same red infused oil remains valued today mainly as a natural colorant in salves, lip balms, and cosmetic oils. Its clinical herbal use is now almost entirely external.

Clinical Notes. Alkanet's practical place in the modern dispensary is as a base for tinted, soothing wound and burn ointments rather than as an internal remedy. The dried root is infused in a carrier oil (often warmed gently over several days or simmered briefly on very low heat) to draw out the naphthoquinone pigments, giving an oil that ranges from rose to deep burgundy depending on concentration; this infused oil is then worked into salves for cracked skin, minor burns, diaper rash, and hemorrhoids, frequently alongside calendula, comfrey leaf (not root), or plantain.

Action, Medical Uses, and Dosage. Logwood is a tonic and unirritating astringent, less constipating than many other astringents, and is useful in hemorrhages from the uterus, lungs, and bowels, in old diarrhoeas and dysenteries, in summer complaint of children, and in night-sweats.

History and Description. This tree grows in Jamaica, on the eastern shore of the bay of Campeachy, and in many of the West India Islands. The wood consists of a yellowish alburnum, and a dingy cherry-red inner wood, which last is the part used in medicine and the arts; it forms a useful commercial commodity, and is extensively used as a dye-stuff.