Remedy Snapshot

Phytolacca blooming in the spring

Phytolacca decandra L.

Synonyms:

Latin: Phytolacca Americana L.

English: Poke, American nightshade, Scoke

Biological classification: Family: Phytolaccaceae (Pokeweed Family)

Range and habitat: Indigenous to North America, it has become a common weed in Mediterranean countries; found on cleared and in low ground, also on the side of new roads.

Preparation and Classification: Tincture of the root (Class C)

(Homeopathica Pharmacopoeia of the United States)

Ripening berries

Introduced into homeopathy by Hale (4), Phytolacca is one of the most important remedies made from a purely American plant (5). Phytolacca is highly associated with glandular conditions, particularly such swellings associated with heat and inflammation (2). It is particularly useful in complaints of the breasts, nasal pharynx, throat and tonsils (3).

Missing berries - a birdie feast

Nash, who points up an interesting symptom associated with this remedy “irresistible inclination to bite the teeth or gums together,” pronounces Phytolacca an exceedingly valuable remedy for sore throats when the symptoms so indicate. The throat having become generally inflamed, the tonsils swell, becoming at first very red followed by the appearance of white spots, which can spread and coalesce. Boericke’s Materia Medica says throat dark red or bluish red, much pain at the root of the tongue, soft palate with swollen tonsils, especially on the right, sensation of a lump in the throat.

Phytolacca in late summer

The pain in the throat may radiate into the ears on swallowing. Clarke adds to the description of the swelling in the throat area that the uvula can be enlarged and almost translucent. He describes a sensation of dryness in the throat and nasopharynx, which can provoke cough and a tendency to clear the throat. The various authors describe the throat symptoms as being aggravated by hot drinks, even to the point that the patient is unable to swallow anything hot.

Phytolacca in the snow

Another acute condition in which Phytolacca can be useful is that of mastitis. Boericke’s Materia Medica describes the mastitis in patients who may respond toPhytolacca as being characterized by breasts that are hard and very sensitive. Boger describes the breasts as stony hard, heavy, swelled, worse on the left. Nash comments that every time the child nurses the pain radiates from the breast all over the body. Clarke describes mastitis where the hardness is very apparent from the first and is associated with great burning; very sensitive nipples. Nash describes the nipples as being cracked or inverted.

Worse: Electrical changes. Raising up. Motion. Swallowing. Hot drinks. Getting wet when it rains. Exposure to damp. Cold weather. Change of weather. Night. Right side.

Better: Warmth. Dry weather. Rest. Lying on abdomen. Cold drinks.

1. Allen, MD, T. F. The Encyclopedia of Pure Materia Medica. New Delhi: B. Jain Publishers Pvt. Ltd., 1990, pp. 502-519.

2. Boericke, MD, William. Pocket Manual of Homeopathic Materia Medica. Philadelphia: Boericke & Runyon, 1927, pp. 514-516.

3. Boger, MD, C. M. A Synoptic Key of the Materia Medica, 4th Edition, 1931, p. 221.

4. Clarke, MD, John Henry. A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica, Volume 3. London: The Homoeopathic Publishing Company, 1925, pp. 802-806.

5. Millspaugh, Charles F. American Medicinal Plants. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1974, pp. 557-561.

6. Nash, MD, E. B. Leaders in Homeopathic Therapeutics. Philadelphia: Boericke & Tafel, 1898, pp. 348-351.