Rue

Clinical Notes. Traditional abortifacient used externally for anti-inflammatory effects highly phototoxic - avoid sunlight exposure after skin contact low internal doses only due to toxicity

Action and Therapy. Rue is a gastro-intestinal irritant and a poison to the nervous system, capable, in large doses, of causing death. It is emmenagogue and anthelmintic. Acting strongly upon the uterus, it may be given in amenorrhea due to atony, but the dose must be small lest an inflammatory action be induced. It is a good vermifuge, though its disagreeable taste is a decided obstacle to its use. It has been suggested as a remedy for irritability of the urinary tract when due to atony, and in nervous disorders of a spasmodic type. On account of its ecbolic qualities it should not be administered during pregnancy.

Action, Medical Uses, and Dosage. Oil of rue is stimulant, antispasmodic, and emmenagogue. It has decidedly active properties. Locally it is irritant, and internally, even in small doses, it has produced severe gastro-intestinal and nervous disturbances. Oil of rue, in the dose of from 1 to 5 drops, 3 times a day, has been used with advantage in hysteria, convulsions, pertussis, amenorrhoea, and dysmenorrhoea. It is sometimes criminally used for the purpose of producing abortion, in which it is highly dangerous, having been followed by fatal consequences.

Preparation and Description. The fresh leaves and tops of Ruta graveolens, Linné, an herbaceous plant indigenous to the Mediterranean countries, yield, when distilled with water, about 0.06 per cent of volatile oil (Gildemeister and Hoffmann, loc.