Western Herbalism
White snakeroot
Eupatorium Aromaticum
Also known as Small white snakeroot, Aromatic thoroughwort, Aromatic eupatorium.
Eupatorium aromaticum is a woodland composite of eastern North America, related to boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum) and to the true white snakeroot that causes tremetol poisoning. Eclectic physicians of the nineteenth century used the fresh root, prepared as a tincture, as a gentle diaphoretic and nervine. It never became a mainstream remedy and appears mainly in specific medication literature of the Scudder school, where it was noted chiefly for a calming effect on nervous irritability during fevers.
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Indications what the tradition reached for it in
- Nervous irritability during febrile illness
- Restlessness with disturbed sleep in convalescence
- Common cold with fretfulness and heightened sensory irritability
- Low grade fever with nervous overactivity
- Mild insomnia from overexcitation
- General debility following acute illness
- Cerebral irritation in children (historical use)
- Sympathetic overactivity with vague nervous complaints
Specific indications
Febrile restlessness with cerebral irritation and a fretful, overwrought quality to the patient's manner
Nervous exhaustion in convalescence with disturbed, unrefreshing sleep
Safety
Recognised toxicity. This plant carries a toxicity flag in the record; it is for trained practitioners only.
Low dose botanical. Used in drop doses in the classical practice; not a plant to dose freely.
Pregnancy: Avoid in pregnancy: no modern safety data exist and related species in this genus are documented to contain the toxin tremetol.
Breastfeeding: Avoid in lactation: tremetol-type toxins from related white snakeroot species are known to pass into milk and cause serious harm, and this species has not been confirmed free of similar constituents.
The record lists 6 contraindications; open the plate in the library to read them in full.
In practice
This is a minor, little-used Eclectic remedy known almost entirely from Scudder's own account, which describes it as quieting cerebral irritation and mildly promoting diaphoresis, with a suggestion of broader sympathetic nervous influence that he felt deserved further study but that was never substantiated by later writers.
Dosing as the sources wrote it
| Preparation | As written | Metric |
|---|---|---|
| Scudder's specific medication (fresh root tincture, 1:8 in 76 percent alcohol) | 0.6-4 mL (10-60 drops) as needed, per Scudder's low-dose specific medication theory, not equivalent to standard Eclectic dosing scales | 0.6-4 mL |
Doses are reproduced from the sources for practitioners and are not a recommendation for any person.
From the sources
Overview. Eupatorium aromaticum is a woodland composite of eastern North America, related to boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum) and to the true white snakeroot that causes tremetol poisoning. Eclectic physicians of the nineteenth century used the fresh root, prepared as a tincture, as a gentle diaphoretic and nervine. It never became a mainstream remedy and appears mainly in specific medication literature of the Scudder school, where it was noted chiefly for a calming effect on nervous irritability during fevers.
Clinical Notes. This is a minor, little-used Eclectic remedy known almost entirely from Scudder's own account, which describes it as quieting cerebral irritation and mildly promoting diaphoresis, with a suggestion of broader sympathetic nervous influence that he felt deserved further study but that was never substantiated by later writers.
Specific indications and reasoning. (WHITE SNAKEBOOT.) Preparation: Prepare a tincture from the recent dried root, in the proportion of 5viij. to Alcohol 76° Oj. Dose, gtts. x. to 3j. This variety of the Eupatorium exerts a marked influence upon the brain, relieving irritation and promoting normal action. It is also diaphoretic, and probably influences, to a slight degree, all of the functions governed by the sympathetic. It will repay careful investigation.
Drawn from Scudder's Specific Medication and Specific Medicines, and the Bountiful Herbs editorial.
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