Historical Botanicals
Part I
Between 1907 and 1911 the U.S. Department of Agriculture published a series of bulletins on the medicinal plants of the United States.
These bulletins contain valuable information and give us some insight into the value placed on medicinal herbs before the advent of the drug industry of today.
We quote from the preface of the first bulletin that was published: "Sir, I have the honor to transmit herewith and to recommend for publication as Bulletin No. 107 of the series of this Bureau the accompanying manuscript, entitled 'American Root Drugs.' This paper was prepared by Miss Alice Henkel, Assistant in Drug-Plant Investigations, and has been submitted by the Physiologist in charge with a view to its publication.
We find it quite interesting that the word drug was used in the 1907 government publication in reference to the medicinal qualities of herbs. Of course, the term "drugs" is not used today. but instead, "food," in reference to herbs.
The fifty drugs described include all the 'official' roots found in this country, besides such 'nonofficial' drugs as are most frequently quoted in drug catalogues.
There is a steady demand for information concerning the medicinal plants of this country, and this bulletin on American root drugs has been prepared as a first installment on the subject. It is intended as a guide and reference book for farmers, drug collectors, druggists, students, and others who may be interested in one way or another in the collection or study of our medicinal flora. Respectively, B.T. Galloway, Chief of Bureau."
More than half of the root drugs recognized in the Eighth Decennial Revision of the United States Pharmacopoeia occur in this country, some native and not growing elsewhere and others introduced. All of the official root drugs found in the United States have been included in this bulletin, as well as such native and introduced 'nonofficial' roots as seemed to be most generally mentioned in the trade lists of the country. The number of root drugs described in this bulletin being 50.
Good information is given on the collection of the roots. Generally speaking, the roots of annual plants (plants that live only one year or season) should be dug just before flowering, and those of biennial (a plant that lasts for two years) or perennial plants (having a life cycle of more than two years) late in autumn or early in spring, the idea being to collect them at a period when there is minimal growth; if the root is collected during times of growth the resulting product is of inferior medicinal quality.
The increasing interest in herbs over the years has helped to somewhat standardize their common names which is helpful in plant identification but one should take the extra precaution of knowing the scientific before getting serious in the gathering and preparing of herbs for use. There has been much confusion with regard to the common names of American plants. The common name of a plant in one locality may be the same as that of an entirely different plant in another locality, and on account of this confusion the collector is not always sure of the identity of the plant he is collecting. Always check the description of the plant with the common and scientific name.
After the roots have been dug they should be freed from dirt and all foreign particles, such as stones and bits of other plants. In most cases the roots may be washed in clean water, after which they should be carefully dried. The roots can be sliced or split when fresh in order to facilitate drying.
For drying the roots should be spread out in thin layers on racks or shelves, or on clean, well-ventilated floors exposed to light and air but no direct sunlight, and turned occasionally each day until thoroughly dry. If the roots are dried out of doors, they should be placed under shelter at night or upon the approach of damp or rainy weather. Thoroughly dried roots snap readily when bent, and it requires from three to six weeks to cure roots, depending upon the weather conditions and the character of the roots.
We will discuss briefly some of the herbs mentioned in this bulletin.
COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF HERBS
MALE-FERN: (Dryopteris) Common names: Male shield-fern, sweet brake, knotty brake. These ferns are found in rocky woods, from Canada westward to the Rocky Mountains and Arizona. It is widely distributed also through Europe, northern Asia, northern Africa, and South America. The rootstock as taken from the ground is from six to twelve inches in length and one to two inches thick, covered with closely overlapping, brown, leaf bases and soft brown chaffy scales. The inside of the rootstock is pale green. The root has a disagreeable odor, and the taste is described as bittersweet, astringent, acrid, and nauseous.
The best time for collecting male-fern root is from July to September. The root should be carefully cleaned, but not washed, dried out of doors in the shade as quickly as possible. The United States Pharmacopoeia lists the male-fern as a remedy, from the remotest of times, for worms. Grave results are sometimes caused by overdoses.
COUCH-GRASS (Agropyron repens) Common names: Dog-grass, quack-grass, twitch grass, wheatgrass. Like many of our weeds couch-grass was introduced from Europe, and is now one of the worst pests the farmer has to contend with, taking possession of cultivated ground and crowding out valuable crops. It occurs most abundantly from Maine to Maryland westward to Minnesota and Missouri, and is spreading on farms on the Pacific slope. The pale-yellow, smooth, rootstock is long, tough and jointed, creeping along underneath the ground and pushing in every direction. It has a sweetish taste but is odorless. Couch-grass is official in the United States Pharmacopoeia. It should be collected in spring, carefully cleaned, and rootlets removed. The rootstock (not the rootlets) is then cut into short pieces. about two-fifths of an inch in length.
A fluid extract is prepared from the rootstock which is used in affections of the kidney and bladder. It is also recommended in gout and rheumatism. A tea is made by pouring a pint of boiling water over an ounce of the dried root and freely taken.
WILD-TURNIP (Arisaema triphyllum) Names: Indian turnip, jack-in-the-pulpit, marsh-turnip, dragon-turnip, bog-onion, lords-and-ladies.
The Wild turnip inhabits moist woods from Canada to Florida and westward to Kansas and Minnesota. The underground portion of this plant is known botanically as a corm, and is somewhat globular and shaped like a turnip. The outside is brownish gray and the inside white and mealy. It has no odor, but an intensely acrid burning taste. The partially dried corm is used in medicine. It is dug in summer, transversely sliced and dried. When first dug it is intensely acrid, but drying and heat diminish the acridity. It was official in the United States Pharmacopoeia from 1820 to 1870. It was used as a stimulant, diaphoretic, expectorant, and irritant. It should never be taken fresh as violent gastro-enteritis and even death may result. The dried root is safe. The usual dosage is 10 grains of the powdered root two or three times a day.
SKUNK-CABBAGE (Spathyema foetidus) Common names: skunkweed, polecat-weed, swamp-cabbage, fetid hellebore, stinking poke. Found in swamps and other wet places from Canada to Florida, Iowa, and Minnesota abound with this ill-smelling herb. Skunk-cabbage is one of the very earliest of our spring flowers, appearing in February or March. Most of the common names applied to this plant, as well as the scientific names are indicative of the most striking characteristic of this herb: namely the rank, offensive, carrion odor that emanates from it.
Skunk-cabbage has a thick, straight, reddish brown rootstock, from three to five inches long, and about two inches in diameter, and having a whorl of crowded fleshy roots which penetrate deep into the soil. When bruised, the root has the characteristic fetid odor of the plant and possesses a sharp acrid taste, both of which become less the longer the root is kept.
The rootstock should he collected early in spring soon after the appearance of the flower, or after the seeds have ripened, in August or September. It should he carefully dried, either in its entire state or with the roots removed and cut in transverse slices.
Skunk-cabbage, official from 1820 to 1990 is used in affections of the respiratory organs, in nervous disorders, rheumatism, and dropsical complaints. Large doses cause nausea, vomiting. headache, vertigo and dimness of vision. It is said to be helpful in epilepsy, and convulsions during pregnancy and labor.
SWEET-FLAG (Acorus calamus) Common names: Sweet cane, sweet grass, sweet myrtle, sweet sedge, beewort. This plant is found in wet and muddy places and borders of streams from Nova Scotia to Minnesota, southward to Florida and Texas, also occurring in Europe and Asia. It is usually partly immersed in water, and is generally found in company with the cut-tail and other water-loving species of flag.
The sword like leaves of the sweet-flag resemble those of other flags so much that before the plant is in flower it is difficult to recognize simply by the appearance of its leaves. The leaves of the blue flag or poison-flag, as it has been called, are very similar to those of the sweetflag and this resemblance often leads to cases of poisoning among children who thus mistake one for the other. However. as the leaves of the sweet-flag are fragrant, the odor will be a means of recognizing it. Of course when the sweet-flag is in flower the identification of the plant is easy.
The long, creeping rootstock of the sweet-flag is thick and fleshy, somewhat spongy, and produces numerous rootlets. The odor is very aromatic and agreeable and the taste pungent and bitter. The United States Pharmacopoeia directs that the unpeeled rhizome or rootstock be used. It is collected either in early spring or late in autumn. After cleaning, the rootstock is carefully dried, sometimes by means of moderate heat. Sweet-flag deteriorates with age and is subject to the attacks of worms.
Sweet-flag is used as an aromatic stimulant and tonic in feeble digestion. The dried root is frequently chewed for the relief of dyspepsia. The volatile oil present in the rootstock acts as a carminative, removing the discomfort caused by flatulence and checking the growth of the bacteria which give rise to it.
BLUE-FLAG (Iris versicolor) Common names: Iris, flag-lily, snake-lily, poison-flag, American fleur-de-lis. Found in wet swampy localities such as marshes, thickets, and wet meadows from Newfoundland to Manitoba, south to Florida and Arkansas. The name poison-flag has been applied to it on account of the poisonous effect it has produced in children, who mistake it for sweet-flag.
The rootstock is thick. fleshy. branched and producing long fibrous roots. It is collected in autumn, and usually brought 7 to 10 cents a pound, back in 1907. It is an old Indian remedy, being esteemed highly in stomach troubles, and was sometimes cultivated by them in nearby ponds on account of its medicinal value. It has also been used as a domestic remedy, and is regarded as an alterative, diuretic, and purgative. It was official in the United States Pharmacopoeia of 1890.
AN IMPORTANT NERVINE
LADY'S SLIPPER (Cypripedium hirsutum) Common Names: Venus-shoe, yellow indian shoe, American valerian, nerve-root, male nervine, monkey flower. Found in bogs and wet places in deep shady woods and thickets.
The rootstock is of horizontal growth, crooked, fleshy, and with numerous wavy, fibrous roots. The odor is rather heavy and disagreeable, and the taste is described as sweetish, bitter, and somewhat pungent.
Both rootstock and roots are used, and these should be collected in autumn, freed from dirt, and carefully dried in the shade. Sometimes such high-priced drugs as goldenseal and senega are found mixed with the lady's slipper, but as these are more expensive than the lady's slipper, it is not likely that they are included with fraudulent intent, and they can be readily distinguished. The prices paid to collectors of this root range from 32 to 35 cents a pound in 1907 when this publication was written.
The principal use of Lady's Slipper, which is official in the United States Pharmacopoeia, is as an antispasmodic and nerve tonic, and it has been used for the same purposes as valerian.
CANADA SNAKEROOT (Asarum canadense) Common Names: Asarum, wild ginger, Indian ginger, Vermont snakeroot, heart-snakeroot, cat's foot, colic-root. Frequents rich woods or rich soil along roadsides from Canada south to North Carolina and Kansas. In the drug trade the rootstock is usually found in pieces a few inches in length and about one-eighth of an inch in diameter. The odor is fragrant and the taste spicy and aromatic, and has been said to be intermediate between ginger and serpentaria.
SERPENTARIA (Aristolochia serpentaria) Common Names: Virginia serpentaria, Virginia snakeroot, snakeweed, sangrel, Texas snakeroot. Found in rich woods from Connecticut to Michigan and southward, principally along the Alleghenies and Texas serpentaria occurs in the Southwestern states, growing along river banks from Arkansas to Louisiana.
The dried root has a very agreeable aromatic odor, somewhat like camphor, and the taste is described as warm, bitterish, and camphoraceous. The roots are collected in the autumn. The price of serpentaria ranges from 35 to 40 cents a pound.
Serpentaria is used for its stimulant, tonic, and diaphoretic properties and is listed in the United States Pharmacopoeia.
YELLOW DOCK (Rumex Crispus) Common Names: Curled dock, narrow dock, sour dock. This troublesome weed, introduced from Europe, is now found throughout the United States, occurring in cultivated as well as in waste ground, among rubbish heaps, and along roadsides. The root is large and fleshy, usually from eight to twelve inches long, tapering or spindle shaped, with few or no rootlets. The inside of the root is whitish at first, becoming yellowish.
The roots should be collected in late summer or autumn, after the fruiting tops have turned brown, then washed, either left entire or split lengthwise into halves or quarters, and carefully dried. Price per pound runs about 4 to 6 cents.
In the United States Pharmacopoeia of 1890 the roots of Rumex crispus and of some other species of Rumex were official, and both of the above-named species are used, but the Yellow Dock (Rumex Crispus) is the species most commonly employed in medicine. The docks are largely used for purifying the blood and in the treatment of skin diseases. The young root leaves are sometimes used in spring as a pot herb.
GOLDTHREAD (Coptis trifolia) Common Names: Coptis, cankerroot, mouthroot, yellowroot.
This pretty little perennial is native in damp, mossy woods and bogs from Canada and Alaska south to Maryland and Minnesota. It is most common in the New England States, northern New York and Michigan, and in Canada, where it frequents the dark sphagnum swamps, cold bogs, and the shade of dense forests of cedars, pines and other evergreens.
The roots of goldthread, running not far beneath the surface of the ground, are indeed like so many tangled threads of gold. The plant, in general appearance of its leaves and flowers, very closely resembles the strawberry plant. Goldthread has a long, slender, creeping root, which is much branched and frequently matted. The root is bitter and has no odor.
The time for collecting goldthread is an autumn. The roots will be seen very close to the surface of the ground, from which they can be very easily pulled. They should be carefully dried.
The Indians and early white settlers used this little root as a remedy for various forms of ulcerated and sore mouth, and it is still used as a wash or gargle for affections of this sort. It is also employed as a bitter tonic. Goldthread was official in the United State Pharmacopoeia from 1820 to 1880.
BLACK COHOSH (Cimicifuga racemosa) Common Names: Black snakeroot, bugbane, bugwort, rattleweed, squawroot. Although preferring the shade of rich woods, black cohosh will grow occasionally in sunny situations in fence corners and woodland pastures. It is most abundant in the Ohio Valley, but occurs from Maine to Wisconsin, south along the Allegheny Mountains to Georgia, and westward to Missouri.
The rootstock is largely horizontal, and knotty or rough and irregular in appearance. When fresh the root is reddish brown on the outside, white within, showing a large central pith from which radiate rays of a woody texture. Black Cohosh has a heavy odor and a bitter, acrid taste.
The root should be collected after the fruit has ripened, usually in September. The price ranges from 2 to 3 cents a pound.
The Indians had long regarded Black Cohosh as a valuable medicinal plant, not only for the treatment of snake bites, but also as a very popular remedy among their women, and it is today considered of value as an alterative, emmenagogue, and sedative, and is recognized as official in the United States Pharmacopoeia.
OREGON GRAPE (Berberis aquifolium) Common Names: Rocky Mountain grape, holly-leaved baerberry, trailing Mahonia. This shrub is native in woods in rich soil among rocks from Colorado to the Pacific Ocean but it is especially abundant in Oregon and northern California.
Oregon grape is a low-growing shrub, resembling somewhat the familiar Christmas holly of the Eastern States, and, in fact, was first designated as mountain-holly by members of the Lewis and Clark expedition on their way through the western country. The fruit consists of a cluster of blue or bluish purple berries, having a pleasant taste, and each containing from three to nine seeds.
The rootstock and roots of Oregon grape are more or less knotty, in irregular pieces of varying lengths, and about an inch or less in diameter, with brownish bark and hard and tough yellow wood, showing a small pith and narrow rays. Oregon grape root has a very bitter taste and very slight odor.
Oregon grape root is collected in autumn and brings from 10 to 12 cents a pound. The bark should not be removed from the rootstocks. This root has long been used in domestic practice throughout the West as a tonic and blood purifier, and is now official in the United States Pharmacopoeia. The berries are used in making preserves and cooling drinks.
MORE MEDICINAL ROOTS
TWINLEAF (Jeffersonia diphylla) Common Names: Jeffersonia, rheumatism-root, helmetpod, squirrel pea, yellowroot. Twinleaf inhabits rich shady woods from New York to Virginia and westward to Wisconsin.
Twinleaf has a horizontal rootstock, with many fibrous, much-matted roots, and is very similar to that of blue cohosh, but not so long. It is thick, knotty, yellowish brown externally, with a resinous bark, and internally yellowish. The inner portion is nearly tasteless, but the bark has a bitter and acrid taste.
The rootstock is collected in autumn, and is used as a diuretic, alterative, antispasmodic, and a stimulating diaphoretic. Large doses are said to be emetic and smaller doses tonic and expectorant. The price paid for twinleaf root ranges from about 5 to 7 cents a pound.
CANADA MOONSEED (Menispermum canadense) Common Names: Texas sarsaparilla, yellow sarsaparilla, vine-maple, yellow parilla. Canada moonseed is usually found along streams in woods, climbing over bushes, its range extending from Canada to Georgia and Arkansas.
The rootstock and roots are employed in medicine. In the stores it will be found in long, straight pieces, sometimes 3 feet in length only about 1/4 of an inch in thickness, yellowish brown or grayish brown. It has practically no odor, but a bitter taste.
Canada moonseed is collected in autumn, and brings from 4 to 8 cents a pound. It is used as a tonic, alterative, and diuretic, and was official in the United States Pharmacopoeia for 1890.
BLOODROOT (Sanguinaria canadensis) Common Names: Redroot, red puccoon, red Indian-paint, snakebite, sweet-slumber, tetterwort, turmeric. Bloodroot is found in rich, open woods from Canada south to Florida and west to Arkansas and Nebraska.
When dug out of the ground bloodroot is rather thick, round, and fleshy, slightly curved at the ends, and contains a quantity of blood-red juice. It is from one to four inches in length, from 1/2 to 1 inch in thickness, externally reddish brown, internally a bright-red blood color, and produces many thick, orange-colored rootlets. It has a slight odor, and the taste is bitter and acrid and very persistent. The powdered root causes sneezing.
The rootstock should be collected in autumn, after the leaves have died, and after curing it should be stored in a dry place, as it rapidly deteriorates if allowed to become moist. Age also impairs its activity. The price paid to collectors for this root ranges from about 5 to 10 cents a pound.
Bloodroot was well known to the American Indian, who used the red juice as a dye for skins and baskets and for painting their faces and bodies. It is official in the United States Pharmacopoeia. and is used as a tonic, alterative, stimulant, and emetic.
HYDRANGEA (Hydrangea arborescens) Common Names: Wild hydrangea, seven-barks. Hydrangea frequents rocky river banks and ravines from the southern part of New York to Florida, and westward to Iowa and Missouri, being especially abundant in the valley of the Delaware and southward. A peculiar characteristic of this shrub and one that has given rise to the common name seven-barks, is the peeling off of the stem bark, which comes off in several successive layers of thin, different colored bark.
The root is roughly branched and when first taken from the ground is very juicy, but after drying it becomes hard. The smooth white and tough wood is covered with a thin, pale-yellow or light-brown bark, which readily scales off. The wood is tasteless, but the bark has a pleasant aromatic taste becoming somewhat pungent.
Hydrangea root is collected in autumn and as it becomes very tough after drying and difficult to bruise it is best to cut the root in short transverse pieces while it is fresh and still juicy and dry it in this way. The price ranges from 2 to 7 cents a pound.
Hydrangea has diuretic properties and is said to have been much used by the Cherokees and early settlers in calculous complaints.
INDIAN-PHYSIC (Porteranthus trifoliatus) Common Names: Gillenia, bowman's-root, false ipecac, western dropwort. Indian-hipp. Indian-physic is native in rich woods from New York to Michigan, south to Georgia and Missouri.
The root is thick and knotty with many smoothish, reddish brown rootlets, the latter in drying becoming wrinkled lengthwise and showing a few transverse fissures or breaks in the bark. There is practically no odor and the woody portion is tasteless, but the bark, which is readily separable, is bitter, increasing the flow of saliva.
The roots are collected in autumn. The price ranges from 2 to 4 cents a pound. This root was a popular remedy with the Indians, who used it as an emetic. From them the white settlers learned of its properties, and it is still used for its emetic action. This drug was at one time official in the United States Pharmacopoeia from 1820 to 1880. Its action is said to resemble that of ipecac.
WILD INDIGO (Baptisia tinctoria) Common Names: Baptisia, Indigo-weed, yellow indigo, American indigo, clover-broom, rattlebrush, horsefly-weed, shoofly. This native herb grows on dry, poor land and is found from Maine to Minnesota, south to Florida and Louisiana. Many who have been brought up in the country will recognize in the wild indigo the plant so frequently used by farmers, especially in Virginia and Maryland, to keep flies away from horses, bunches of it being fastened to the harness for this purpose.
Wild indigo has a thick, knotty crown or lead, with several stem scars, and a round fleshy root, sending out cylindrical branches and rootlets almost 2 feet in length. The white woody interior is covered with a thick, dark brown bark, rather scaly or dotted with small, wartlike excrescences. The root breaks with a tough, fibrous fracture. There is a scarcely perceptible odor, and the taste, which resides chiefly in the bark, is nauseous, bitter, and acrid.
Large doses of wild indigo are emetic and cathartic and may prove dangerous. It also has stimulant, astringent, and antiseptic properties, and is used as a local application to sores, ulcers, etc.
The herb is sometimes employed like the root, and the entire plant was official from 1830 to 1840.
In some sections the young tender shoots are used for greens, like those of the pokeweed, but great care must be exercised to gather them before they are too far advanced in growth, as otherwise bad results will follow.
A blue coloring matter has been prepared from the plant and used as a substitute for indigo, to which, however, it is very much inferior.
CRANE'S-BILL, (Geranium maculatum) Common Names: Spotted crane's-bill, spotted geranium, wild geranium, alumroot, crowfoot, dovefoot, old-maid's nightcap, shameface. This plant flourishes in low grounds and open woods from Newfoundland to Manitoba, south to Georgia and Missouri.
When removed from the earth, the rootstock of crane's-bill is about 2 to 4 inches long, thick, with numerous branches of stems of previous years, brown outside white and fleshy internally and with several stout roots. The root is without odor and the taste is very astringent.
Crane's-bill root depends for its medicinal value on its astringent properties, and as its astringency is due to the tannin content, the root should, of course, be collected at that season of the year when it is richest in that constituent. Experiments have proved that the yield of tannin in crane's-bill is greatest just before flowering, which is in April or May, according to locality. It should, therefore, be collected just before the flowering period and not, as is commonly the case, in autumn. The price of this root ranges from 4 to 8 cents a pound. This root is official in the United States Pharmacopoeia and is used as a tonic and astringent.
SENECA SNAKEROOT (Polygala senega) Common Names: seneca snakeroot, Seneca-root, rattlesnake-root, mountain-flax. Rocky woods and hillsides are the favorite haunts of this indigenous plant. It is found in such situations from New Brunswick and western New England to Minnesota and the Canadian Rocky Mountains, and south along the Allegheny Mountains to North Carolina and Missouri.
The root has a slight nauseating odor, the taste is sweetish, afterwards acrid. The time for collecting Seneca snakeroot is in autumn. Labor conditions play a great part in the rise and fall of prices for this drug. It is said that very little Seneca snakeroot has been dug in the Northwest during 1906, due to the fact that the Indians and others who usually engage in this work were so much in demand as farm hands and railroad laborers, which paid them far better than the digging of Seneca snakeroot. Collectors receive from about 55 to 70 cents a pound for this root. This drug, first brought into prominence as a cure for snake bite among the Indians, is now employed as an expectorant, emetic, and diuretic. It is official in the Pharmacopoeia of the United States.
STONEROOT (Collinsonia canadensis) Common Names: Collinsonia, knobroot, knobgrass, horse-balm, horseweed, richweed, richleaf, ox-balm, citronelia. Stoneroot is found in moist, shady woods from Maine to Wisconsin, south to Florida and Kansas. Like most of the other members of the mint family stoneroot is aromatic
also, the fresh flowering plant possessing a very pleasant. lemon-like odor.
The fresh root of this plant is very hard. It is horizontal, large, thick, and woody, and the upper side is rough and knotty and branched irregularly. The odor of the root is rather disagreeable, and the taste pungent and spicy. In the fresh state, as well as when dry, the root is extremely hard, whence the common name stoneroot.
Stoneroot, which is collected in autumn, is employed for its tonic, astringent, diuretic, and diaphoretic effects. The price of the root ranges from 2 to 3 1/2 cents a pound. The leaves are used by country people as an application to bruises.
CULVER'S-ROOT (Veronica virginica) Common Names: Culver's-physic, blackroot, bowman's-root, whorlywort, tall veronica, tall speedwell. This plant is found abundantly in moist, rich woods. mountain valleys, meadows and thickets from British Columbia south to Alabama, Missouri and Nebraska.
The dried rootstocks have a grayish brown appearance on the outside, and the inside is hard and yellowish. It has a bitter and acrid taste, but no odor.
The rootstock and roots should be collected in the fall of the second year. When fresh these have a faint odor, resembling somewhat that of almonds which is lost in drying. The bitter, acrid taste of Culver's-root also becomes less the longer it is kept, and it is said that it should be kept at least a year before being used. The price paid to collectors ranges from 6 to 10 cents a pound.
Culver's-root, which is official in the United States Pharmacopoeia, is used as an alterative, cathartic, and in disorders of the li
