Western Herbalism
Wild cherry
Prunus serotina
Also known as Virginia prune bark, Wild black cherry, Prunus, Wild Black Cherry Bark.
Wild cherry is an excellent sedative and tonic, quieting irritation of the mucosa, terminal nerves, and lessening violent cardiac action dependent upon weakness. When a tonic and sedative is desired that will not unduly excite the circulation, wild cherry is a most useful drug.
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Indications what the tradition reached for it in
- Cough (painful)
- Cough (disturbs sleep)
- Cough
- Cough (spastic)
- Cough (paroxysmal)
- Anxiety
- Bleeding
- Bronchitis
- Diarrhea
- Insomnia
- Respiratory congestion
- Restlessness
- Respiratory complaints
- Excessive discharge
Safety
Pregnancy: Use with care in pregnancy
The record lists 2 contraindications; open the plate in the library to read them in full.
Dosing as the sources wrote it
| Preparation | As written | Metric |
|---|---|---|
| Cold infusion | 2-3 tsp/c TID, 8 hour infusion | |
| Tincture (1:2-1:3) | 3-5 ml TID | 3-5 mL |
| Dose, two fluid drachms or more, generally in company with other expectorants | 7.39-7.39 mL | |
| Extractum Pruni Virginianae, Fluid Extract of Wild Cherry | Dose, from a half to one dram. | 1944-3888 mg |
| Specific Medicine Prunus | Dose, from one to ten minims. | 0.06-0.62 mL |
| Dose, 5 to 60 grains. | 324-3888 mg |
Doses are reproduced from the sources for practitioners and are not a recommendation for any person.
From the sources
Action and Therapy. Wild cherry is an excellent sedative and tonic, quieting irritation of the mucosa, terminal nerves, and lessening violent cardiac action dependent upon weakness. When a tonic and sedative is desired that will not unduly excite the circulation, wild cherry is a most useful drug.
Therapy. The tonic influence of this agent is more markedly apparent when it is administered in disease of the respiratory apparatus of a subacute or chronic character. It is not given during the active period of acute cases, but is of value during the period of convalescence.
Properties and Uses. This bark is a mild and soothing tonic, slightly astringent. It is chiefly valued for the soothing influence which accompanies its tonic action; for while it gently improves appetite, digestion, and the general strength, it quiets nervous irritability and arterial excitement.
Medical Uses and Dosage. When largely diluted (2 per cent), it has been employed in medicine as a sedative to subdue spasm, and allay nervous irritability. It has been used to relieve revere vomiting and purging, to check colliquative diarrhoea, to cure pertussis and spasmodic coughs, asthma, hysteria, chorea, dyspepsia connected with morbid irritability of the stomach, etc.; also externally in several diseases of the skin.
Drawn from Cook's Physio-Medical Dispensatory; Scudder's Specific Medication and Specific Medicines; King's American Dispensatory, 18th edition (Felter and Lloyd); Ellingwood's American Materia Medica, Therapeutics and Pharmacognosy, and the Bountiful Herbs editorial.
In formulas
Wild cherry stands in 150 documented formulas in the library, among them Dry Cough & Irritated Throat Formula, ùng gián công chi tāng, má huáng tâng, sǎn ǎo tāng, hua gài sǎn, má huáng xing rén yì yi gàn cǎo tàng.
Often paired with
PrunePrunus
Licorice rootGlycyrrhiza glabra
PeachPrunus persica
GingerZingiber officinale
PoriaWolfiporia extensa
tangerineCitrus reticulataNearby on the shelf
White snakerootEupatorium ageratoides
White snakerootEupatorium Aromaticum
Wide-leaved crinum lilyCrinum latifolium
Wild BergamotMonarda fistulosa
Wild GingerAsarum Candense
Wild guavaCareya arborea
Wild hydrangeaHydrangea arborescens
Wild indigoBaptisia tinctoriaThe whole plate is in the library. The compass, Compare, the Sky of eleven hundred plants and the formulary open with an email address and a password, free, with the formula builder and its safety engine. Herbert without limit, his formulating, clients, the handouts and the labels are the paid room.
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