Medicinal plant herb Stinging nettle Urtica dioica Brennessel
The Latin root of Urtica is uro meaning I burn indicative of the small stings caused by the little hairs on the leaves of this plant that burn when contact is made with the skin There are over 500 species of nettles some of which have a sting so bad it lasts for months and may cause death The common stinging nettle may be found throughout Europe Asia east to Japan and in Africa Australia and the Andes mountains in South America as well as in North America Nettles are a cornucopia of vitamins minerals and the list of uses is almost endless From ancient Greece to the present nettle has been documented for its use in treating coughs tuberculosis and arthritis and in stimulating hair growth When the Romans invaded Europe and Britain they brought nettles with them believing they would need them to beat themselves to keep warm They were also used in this way on areas affected by arthritis or rheumatism The young leaves may be eaten as a green leafy vegetable and are a good source of minerals The tough fibres from the stalks were used to make cloth rope fishing nets and whatever else needed to be sewn before flax and hemp came along Many remarkable healing properties have been attributed to nettles including prevention of baldness allergic rhinitis and rheumatic pain However the nettle root is recommended as a diuretic and relatively recently for relief of benign prostatic hyperplasia BPH Nettles have a cooling energy and are drying and astringent The aerial parts may be used as an astringent diuretic expectorant haemostatic stop bleeding circulatory stimulant nutritive tonic improve milk flow for nursing lower blood sugar levels treat gout and arthritis and prevent scurvy The combination of iron and vitamin C is useful in treating anemia because the vitamin C improves iron absorption from the GI tract When boiled they have also been used as a green dye The root is used in combination with other herbs such as saw palmetto and pygeum to relieve symptoms of BPH It has also b
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Keywords: brennessel, dioica, nettle, stinging, urtica
