Boneset

Eupatorium perfoliatum

COMMON NAMES

• Agueweed
• Boneset
• Crosswort
• Eupatorium
• Feverwort
• Indian Sage
• Sweating Plant
• Thoroughwort
• Tse-Ian
• Vegetable Antimony
• Wood Boneset

Names of plants often reveal much information about them. They can also be misleading. There is little difficulty with the scientific name of boneset, Eupatorium perfoliatum L. The genus name of this member of the daisy family (Asteraceae) derives from Mithridates Eupator, ancient king of Pontus, who first used a closely related plant for medicinal purposes. The species designation, perfoliatum, refers to the manner in which the erect hairy stem of the hardy perennial herb, which attains a height of about five feet and is crowned with heads of white tubular florets, appears to perforate the center of the pairs of oppositely joined leaves. Boneset, the common name, is more likely to lead one astray since the plant was classically employed in the treatment of fevers, not to mend broken bones. However, when it is recognized that the old name for dengue was break bone fever, the derivation becomes clear.

American Indians introduced the use of boneset leaves and flowering tops to the early settlers for the treatment of colds, catarrh, influenza, rheumatism, and all kinds of fevers, including break bone (dengue), intermittent (malaria), and lake (typhoid). To break up colds and flu, the medication is taken in the form of a hot tea to induce sweating and relieve the associated aches and pains. For loss of appetite, indigestion, and as a general bitter tonic, cold boneset infusion is recommended thirty minutes before meals. In either case, the remedy is a bitter, astringent one with a nauseous taste. The hot version is much more likely to cause vomiting than the cold.

Chemical studies have identified some of the constituents of boneset, which include various flavonoid pigments, sterols, and triterpenes. Compounds with pronounced therapeutic virtues are generally absent. However, it has been reported that xyloglucurans from the polysaccharide fractions of aqueous extracts of boneset increased phagocytosis by a factor of 1 to 2.5 in the carbon clearance and granulocyte test, suggesting immunostimulating activity. Eclectic physicians reported using boneset as an effective preventative and treatment for the "Spanish influenza" epidemic of 1918, as well as flu epidemics of the nineteenth century.

The plant held official medication status in the United States from 1820 to 1950, even though boneset was rarely prescribed by physicians, at least during the latter part of that period. Nevertheless, there is presently a revival of interest in the use of boneset among adherents to herbal medicine who employ it primarily to relieve fevers. Although safer and more effective treatments, such as common aspirin, certainly exist, it is comforting to know that the medical literature is essentially devoid of reports of adverse incidents attributed to boneset. Given the presence of potential immunostimulating polysaccharides, coupled with historical reports of efficacy in the prevention and treatment of influenza in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, this herb, relegated to historical obscurity, is deserving of closer scientific scrutiny.

Legendary among North American Indians and early settlers for its capacity to cause profuse perspiration and to loosen the bowels, boneset was used to treat fevers associated with a number of illnesses, including colds and influenza as well as malaria and similar recurrent illnesses. Boneset was usually taken as a hot tea made from the leaves and flowers.

A related species, E. purpureum, more commonly known as joe-pye weed, generally shares the medicinal properties attributed to boneset. Identifiable by its purple flowers, joe-pye weed was named in honor of an Indian medicine man who was famous throughout New England for using it to cure typhus. Most herbal authorities, however, consider the species inferior to boneset in treating fever.

PARTS USED

Aerial parts.

USES

A hot infusion of bone set will bring relief to symptoms of the common cold. Boneset stimulates resistance to viral and bacterial infections, and reduces fever by encouraging sweating. Boneset also loosens phlegm and promotes its removal through coughing, and it has a tonic and laxative effect. Boneset has been taken for rheumatic illness, skin conditions, and worms.

Other medical uses
Homeopathy

HABITAT AND CULTIVATION

Native to eastern North America, boneset is found in meadows and marshland. Boneset is gathered when in flower in summer.

CONSTITUENTS

Boneset contains sesquiterpene lactones (including eupafolin), polysaccharides, flavonoids, diterpenes, sterols, and volatile oil. The sesquiterpene lactones and polysaccharides are significantly immunostimulant.

USUAL DOSAGE

Infusion: pour a cup of boiling water onto 1 - 2 teaspoonfuls of the dried herb and leave to infuse for 10 - 15 minutes. This should be drunk as hot as possible. During fevers or the 'flu it should be drunk every half hour.
Tincture: take 2 - 4ml of the tincture three times a day.

COMMENTS

From John Burket

My wife and I took boneset and suma root together to immediately arrest the onset of the flu.