Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis)
Native Americans, especially the Cherokee, used goldenseal root for digestive disorders, including ulcers.(3,7 In addition, they employed goldenseal root as a yellow dye, as an eye wash, and as a treatment for skin disorders.(3,11) The Iroquois found it useful for diarrhea, digestion, and whooping cough.(11) Goldenseal became popular among European settlers, especially in the mid-nineteenth century when it was an official herbal remedy in the United States Pharmacopeia.(3,11) By 1905, the herb was much less plentiful, partially due to over-harvesting and partially to habitat destruction.3 Wild goldenseal is now so rare that the herb is listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).(19)
Herbalists consider goldenseal an alterative, anti-catarrhal, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, astringent, bitter tonic, laxative, and muscular stimulant.(1,3,20) They recommend goldenseal for gastritis, colitis, duodenal ulcers, loss of appetite and liver disease.(1,3,20) They discuss the astringent effect it has on mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract (applied as a mouthwash or used as snuff), the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, the bladder, and rectum (applied topically), and the skin. Goldenseal is very bitter. Bitters in herbal medicine stimulate the appetite, aid digestion, and often stimulate bile secretion.(2)
Today, manufacturers of herbal products include goldenseal in preparations for upper respiratory infections, GI disorders, liver disease, cancer, urinary tract infections, menorrhagia and dysmenorrhea.(2) Goldenseal is in many topical products, including those for sore gums, skin rashes, ulcers, wounds, and infections, itching, acne, dandruff, ringworm, and herpes.(2) It is a component of products for eye infections and inflammations.2 Goldenseal is also available as a homeopathic remedy for chronic nasal discharge and uterine hemorrhage.(11)
In a less healthful use, some people have taken goldenseal with large amounts of water to mask drugs in the urine.